A city like no other

Around 9,000 years ago people still wandered the earth, like nomads, covering vast tracts of land, following the movement of the animals very likely, in order to survive. But, at Çatalhöyük, something inspired prehistoric man to stop wandering; to begin to construct more permanent housing where people could stay longer. Mud huts were built side by side. Homes formed together as a group, gradually forming a settlement. Perhaps the environment was a stimulus: there were reeds here, for thatching; marshes to catch fish when animals were thin on the ground, and peaty mud that could easily be made and dried into neat, even bricks that could be glued together with the watered down clay.

So a settlement formed. Over time it came to have something like 8,000 people living in it. Virtually a city. In truth, one of the earliest cities ever built anywhere in the world. Possibly only Jericho, further south, is older. Çatalhöyük is certainly the oldest city found in the land that is now known as Turkey.

It was discovered by a team of archeologists, led by James Mellaart, not so long ago. In 1958. Mellaart sought funding and brought back excavation teams for four seasons between 1961-1965, revealing a discovery that had the rest of the world enthralled as discoveries were revealed about one of the first cities ever built on earth. Mellaart fell foul of the government and was not allowed to continue his work but, in 1993, Ian Hodder was given 25 years to continue the research; and each year teams come from all over the world to contribute to the work unfolding here.

So Çatalhöyük is very much a working site. There are permanent buildings on site that now form a small museum, though the main finds are on display in Ankara and Konya archeological museums. There are dig headquarters, and specialist rooms for animal bones, bone tools, plant remains, human remains and site building material. There is accommodation and living facilities for the excavation teams that come each summer, a guard house, and an experimental model house set up on the grounds to test theories formed onsite. On the two mounds that hold the city that once rose up out of the marshes are two purpose built structures that cover and protect the dig. There is a small path between the two and we were allowed to wander freely, after an introduction by the guard.

The first site of Çatalhöyük takes your breath away. The houses are built quite separately and completely. Not like terraced houses of today which share a communal wall. These houses are tucked tight together against each other, external wall against another external wall. Tight. Close. There are no alleyway, and no streets. The houses are of the land: mud brick, with pole supports for the roof which offer support, help to prevent it caving in. But they do cave in. The homes seem to last about 80 years, then another is built on top of it. Layer upon layer upon layer of built up housing side by side, and above was built and rebuilt over many thousands of years. With no roads. Access was through holes in the roof, using ladders. So the flat roof tops of the buildings might have been a bit like the Italian piazzas of today. Meeting places. But at different levels accessed by smaller or taller ladders. Here, people likely gathered to talk, have a cup of warmed spring water infused with herbs, lay their washing out to bake dry, and to chat about what they might have for dinner tonight.

Or, where to bury grandma. Çatalhöyük burials, like many Lycian burials, were kept close to the living. The dead were often buried in pits under a stone that when covered with a reed mat became a bed for the family. Sometimes as many as 60 bodies were buried in the one cavity beneath a floor surface in one of the rooms. Very close.

Wall art has been found in some such rooms. On walls rendered with fine sticky clay. And some theorists put forth the notion that such art might be there to honour the dead. Or, it might simply be decoration.

So, Çatalhöyük homes and roof top terraces seem to be all inclusive in their functionality: they not only operate as homes, but also as meeting places for decision-making in lieu of dedicated public meeting houses; as well, they are places of spiritual practise, often decorated with art.

We loved it. This was one of the highlights of our trip. We have been looking forward to the visit, and were completely enthralled by all of it. Mind you, today, the area is not as it once was. This is flat steppe land, virtually treeless. It appears to be the breadbasket of Turkey as irrigated grain crops stretch as far as the eye can see.

We also came across many more yorek encampments over these high plains; and dusty villages, themselves with many buildings of mud brick and render, along with a touch of reed thatch, after the style of Çatalhöyük. Still, making use of the local environment.

oooOOOooo