The National Geographic Society Committee for Research and Exploration visited Gordion on June 4. Months of planning went into the visit. The NGS apparently does not like surprises, and we were scheduled to the minute! We met up with them at their hotel at 7 AM (sharp), and we headed out from Ankara to Yassıhöyük (7:30 AM sharp) in two buses (dubbed ‘beer’ and ‘icky’ — one and two spelled phonetically for English speakers).
Mary Voigt (Penn PhD) gave a tour of the site and I told everyone about the Gordion Ecopark (shorthand for the landscape preservation and site conservation projects that focus on biodiversity preservation, the preservation of the historical landscape, and the conservation of the stone structures). Brian Rose showed them the great Tumulus and its tomb chamber, and G. Kenneth Sams walked them through the museum in the village. Another highlight was arrange at lunchtime by Ayse Gursan-Salzmann, who helped the village women’s craft cooperative set up tables at the Gordion museum. They make scarves, knitted goods, and jewelry.
As scheduled, we were back in Ankara at 2 PM (sharp).
Learn more about Gordion on the Digital Gordion website.