Bodrumkale - Kastabala City: (Hierapolis) It is located in the borders of Kesmeburim Village and Bahçe Village which are at 15 kilometers distance to Osmaniye province.

The most important ancient remains that could be able to reach today in good condition in Kastabala are the avenue with pillars and its amphitheater with five thousand spectator capacity. Beside those, the other important ruins of the ancient city are two churches, the castle, the Roman bath , the stadium, the necropolis' surrounding all around the city and the ruins of the aqueduct constructed over the Ceyhan river located approximately 5 km north-east of the city. Kastabala is one of the most important promenade areas and touristic places of Osmaniye province.

Karatepe - Aslantaş Open Air Museum: The open air museum is located at the southeast of Kadirli district and is at 22 kilometers distance to the district, 30 kilometers distant to the Osmaniye Province and 130 kilometers distant to Adana province.

There are two burnt building ruins which are assumed to be the palace and the grain storage wells located on the hill. The castle has two main entrances which are located at southwest and northeast respectively. There are two statues of lions with broken pieces at the southwest entrance gate. At the left and right side chambers, there are reciprocal Finike (peg writings) and Hittite hieroglyph inscriptions located on the swarthy and light yellow, hard pieced basalt stone blocks in the style of wall plating depicting the daily living and religious activities in the form of various figure relieves (stone embossed designs) and similar inscriptions. The 3 meter long statue depicting the God of Storms is located inside the gate. At the southeastern gate, there are two reciprocal sphinxes with human heads and lion bodies. The left and right chambers contain the relief of the God of Sun and various other relieves together with the reciprocal Finike (peg writings) and Hittite hieroglyph inscriptions.

The Finike (peg writings) discovered in this ancient city had provided a key for the decryption of the Hittite hieroglyphs which were not been able to be decrypted wholly before. The Hittite inscriptions in the world had been primarily decrypted and read in this ancient city. After the decryption of these inscriptions, the entire hieroglyph inscriptions located in Anatolia extending to the date of BC 2000 was been able to read.

The ruins and findings of Karatepe - Aslantaş ancient city had been exhibited at the same location by founding an open air museum.
Telephone of the Museum: (+ 90 - 328) 719 20 73 - 719 20 03
Open hours to visit: 08.00 - 16.30

Osmaniye Karatepe-Aslantaş A Late Hittite Fortress: The fortress of Karatepe-Aslantaş (in the province of Adana, now Osmaniye and in the district of Kadirli) was founded in the 8th century B.C. by Azatiwatis, ruler of the plain of Adana as a frontier castle against the wild hordes lurking in the north. He named it Azatiwadaya. A caravan road leading from the southern plains up-to the Central Anatolian plateau, skirted it on the west, the Ceyhan river (antique Pyramos)- now the Aslantaş dam lake-on the east. Two monumental Tshaped gate-houses, flanked by high towers. Gave access to the citadel. An entrance passage between two towers led up to a double-leafed wooden gate, which swung on basalt pivot-stones, from there to two lateral chambers and further on into the citadel. In a holy precinct at the inner entrance of the southwest gate stood the monumental statue of the Storm-God on its double bull-socle. The inner walls of the gate-houses were adorned with sculptures of lions and sphinxes, inscriptions and reliefs, depicting cultual, mythological and daily-life scenes carved on blocks of basalt. A bilingual text in Phoenician and Hieroglyphic Luwian, the longest known texts in these languages, was inscribed on slabs of each gate with a third one in Phoenician on the Divine Statue, constituting the key for the final decipherment of the Hieroglyphs, (known in Anatolia since the 2nd mill B.C.), being thus reminiscent of the famous Rosetta Stone.

After the fall of the Hittite Empire (which ruled Central Anatolia in the 2nd mill B.C.), due to the invasion of the "Peoples of the Sea" (around 1200 B.C.), small kingdoms such as those of Malatya, Sakçagözü, Maraş, Kargamış, Zincirli, sprang up south of the Taurus mountain range. They were conquered and destroyed in the course of various Assyrian campaigns. The reign of Asatiwatas coincides with this period. His citadel was probably looted and burnt down to the ground by Salmanassar V around 720 B.C. or by Asarhaddon around 680 B.C.

Azatiwatas Speaks:
I am indeed Azatiwatas,
The blessed of the Sun, the servant of the Storm-God,
Whom Awarikus exalted, king of Adanawa.

The Storm-God made me father and mother to the city of Adanawa,
And I developed the city of Adanawa,
And I enlarged the land of Adanawa,
both to the west and to the east.

And in my days the city of Adanawa had prosperity,
Satiety and comfort, and I filled the arsenals of Pahara,
I added horse upon horse, shield upon shield,
Army upon army, all for the Storm-God and the Gods
I crushed the arrogance of the arrogant, all the evil that was in the land I cast outside.
I erected mansions for my lordship,
I brought prosperity to my race,
And I sat on the throne of my father, I made peace with every king.
Kings considered me their father, for my righteousness, for my wisdom,
And for the goodness of my heart.

I built mighty fortresses on all my borders,
On the borders where there had been bad men, leaders of gangs, none of whom had been subservient to the house of Mopsos I, Azatiwatas put them at my feet.

I destroyed the fortresses there, I built fortresses in those places, so that the people of Adanawa might dwell in ease and in peace.
In the west
I subjugated mighty lands
Which the kings before me had not subjugated.
And I, Azatiwatas subjugated them, made them my servents.
And I settled them in the east of my land, Within my borders.
The people of Adanawa, too, I settled there. And in my days I enlargened the borders of Adanawa to the west as well as to the east, so that, in the places which had formerly been feared,
on the desolate roads where men would be afraid to walk, in my days women could stroll with their spindles. And in my days there was plenty, satiety, comfort and peace. And Adanawa and the land of Adanawa lived in peace and plenty. And A built this citadel,
And I gave it the name of Azatiwadaya, Because the Storm-God and the Gods directed me towards this,
So that this citadel might protect the plain of Adana and the house of Mopsos.
In my days there were in the people of Adanawa was plenty and peace,
In my days none of the people of Adanawa was put to the sword.
And I built this citadel, I gave it the name of Azatiwadaya, There I settled the Storm-God and I made sacrifices to him; annually an ox, in the season of ploughing a sheep, in autumn a sheep I sacrificed to him.
I sanctified the Storm-God,
He granted me long days, countless years and great, strength above all kings.
And the people who dwell in this land became owners of cattle,
herds, plenty (of food) and wine,
Their offspring was plenty, by the grace of the Storm-God and the Gods They rendered service to Azatiwatas and to the house of Mopsos.
And if any king among kings, or any prince among princes, or a person of renown,
Obliterates the name of Azatiwatas in this gate and puts here another name,
or even covets this city and destroys this gate which Azatiwatas made, and builds another gate in its place and puts his name upon it,
Whether he destroys this gate from greed, or from hate and evil,
Then may the God of the Sky, the God of the Earth And the Sun of the Universe and all the generations of gods obliterate this king, this prince or this person of renown from the face of earth.
Only the name of Azatiwatas is immortal in eternity,
Like the name of the Sun and of the Moon.