Turkey [antikvár]

PREFACE It is now ten years since Turkey first appeared among the collection of Hachette World Guides (the title under which our Guides Bleus are published in English). This new edition has been prepared not only because of the success enjoyed by its predecessor, but also in order to take into account the most recent archaeological and historical research and the rapid progress made in the tourist amenities of a country determined to advance with giant strides. Within the next five years the bold project of building a bridge across the Bosporus will be completed. This bridge will become the visible witness to the twofold vocation of Turkey: to be both European and Asiatic. In Europe, Turkey can hope to find solutions to some of her economic and political problems; but, at the same time, Turkey must remain essentially Asiatic, for it is in Asia that her deepest roots lie. In this new edition both scholars and amateur archaeologists will find a detailed account of the present state of knowledge concerning Turkey. Our knowledge of this land is constantly growing as a result of the excavations being conducted by teams of archaeologists, who are vying with one another to unearth the secrets buried in the soil of Anatolia, rather like skilled psychologists trying to delve into the subconscious of a nation with a prodigiou / rich history. The excavations carried out since 1961 at Ha^ilar and, in particular, at Catal Höyük have given us an insight into the importance of the role which Asia Minor played, well before the beginning of the period of recorded history, in the formation of a civilization that may have been the distant ancestor of our own. However, the archaeological research of recent years has not been limited to prehistoric times. The French Institute in Istanbul has conducted excavations on the site of Xanthus and, not far from this site, has begun clearing the Letoon described by Ovid in the Metamorphoses; another team has been working at the Hittite site of Kemerhisar. The British Institute in Ankara, which has broken off (temporarily, it is to be hoped) its exploration of Catal Höyük, has been engaged in excavations near Varto which have brought fresh knowledge of the civilization of Urartu. The German archaeologists are continuing their systematic exploration of Bogazkale, the ancient Hittite capital, while their Italian colleagues have devoted their energies to the site of lasus.