From Yozgat to Sorgun: A Day on the Bozok Plain

This route fits Yozgat's city center and Sorgun's Hittite heritage into a single day — a full program starting with a morning walk in the city center and extending by car in the afternoon to the archaeological sites east of the plain, showing you both the city and the countryside. Start your day in front of Çapanoğlu Mosque; with the adjacent Hamidiye Clock Fountain and the Clock Tower a few steps away, you can complete the city-center tour within half an hour — all three are within walking distance of each other. Take a simit-and-tea break here before getting in the car, because the rest of the route is entirely by road. About 45 minutes after leaving the center on the road toward Sorgun (D-765), you'll reach Gelingüllü Dam; the facilities by the lake are ideal for eating trout and stretching your legs, especially if you time it around lunch. Continue on to the Kerkenes Ruins — you'll need to walk up the hill a bit to see the walls of this Iron Age city dating back to the 6th century BCE, so comfortable shoes are a must. After Kerkenes, head south to Alişar Höyük; the excavation pits opened by American archaeologists in the 1920s are still visible on the mound, telling the story of a layered settlement stretching from pre-Hittite times to the Roman period. After Alişar, enter the Sorgun district center and take a tea break in the courtyard of Salih Paşa Mosque — a nice stop to observe the district's daily rhythm, with plenty of food options nearby. Close out the day at the Hapisboğazı Hittite Sculpture Workshop in the district's countryside; seeing the half-finished sculpture drafts in the rocky quarry area under daylight is most striking, so try to time it for mid-afternoon rather than evening. In total, you'll cover about 140 km between stops from the center to eastern Sorgun (not including the return trip); if you set out around 9:00 AM, you can comfortably return to Yozgat by early evening. Spring and autumn are the best seasons both for the scenery at Gelingüllü and for the walk at Kerkenes — touring the mound and ruins in the midday summer heat can be exhausting. The biggest advantage of this route is that in a single day you can see both the Ottoman-Çapanoğlu heritage of the city center and the much older Hittite and Roman layers of the plain. One local tip worth adding: when climbing up to Kerkenes, follow the marked path left by the excavation team — shortcuts that look tempting tend to be steeper and rockier. On the way back, if you have time, don't leave Sorgun without trying the district's famous lamb tandır at a butcher-restaurant; it's a tradition locals favor for weekend family gatherings and a satisfying way to close out the route's demanding pace.