What do Hattusa visitor numbers tell us? Read the data on Çorum's heritage sites, the psychology of overlooking what is close by, and small steps to take.
For many people from Çorum, Hattusa is one of those places about which they say "we will definitely go one day". The road to Boğazkale is familiar, the Lion Gate from school textbooks is well known, yet the visit never quite makes it into the calendar. And yet Hattusa has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1986, the fourth site from Turkey to join that list. Hattusa visitor numbers, however, remain rather modest in the shadow of that title. In this article we look at what the figures say, why we fail to notice the valuable things close to us, and how this "it's always there" feeling resembles other kinds of postponement in our daily lives. The aim is not to blame anyone, but to examine a familiar habit with psychological curiosity.
Hattusa Visitor Numbers: What Do the Figures Say?
According to local news reports based on the Provincial Council Tourism Committee report, Çorum's three main museums and archaeological sites (Çorum Museum, Alacahöyük, and Boğazköy Museum together with Hattusa) received a total of 117,424 visitors in 2023. Of these, 108,670 were domestic visitors and 8,754 were from abroad. In the same year, according to the Cultural Heritage Statistics of TÜİK (the Turkish Statistical Institute), the number of visits to museums and archaeological sites across Turkey was 55,752,208. A simple calculation from these two figures puts Çorum's share at roughly two in a thousand, that is, approximately 0.21%.
Looking at the sites one by one, the picture is as follows:
- Boğazköy Museum and the Hattusa archaeological site: 56,833 visitors (49,251 domestic, 7,582 from abroad; a foreign share of about 13%)
- Alacahöyük archaeological site and museum: 33,737 visitors (809 from abroad)
- Çorum Museum: 26,854 visitors (363 from abroad)
To give a sense of scale for comparison: according to TÜİK data, in 2024 museums in Istanbul received more than 18 million visitors and those in Nevşehir more than 4.4 million. Because the years differ, this is only a rough comparison; even so, the difference in magnitude is clear.
The figures also have a hopeful side. Visits that fell sharply during the pandemic years have recovered; in the first seven months of 2024 alone, Hattusa reached 43,996 visitors. In addition, the excavations that began on the site in 1906 entered their 120th year in 2026; in other words, Hattusa is still a living site that yields new findings every season.
The limits of the data should also be stated. Official province-level visitor tables for the whole of 2024 and for 2025 could not be accessed while this article was being prepared. A visitor count does not show how many times a person came, or whether they came on a school trip or with their family. Still, one thing stands out: around 92% of the visitors in 2023 were domestic. Hattusa is less a tourist showcase than a place visited by the region's own people. And this is where the real question begins: how often do the people of this region visit their own heritage?
Why Do We Say "It's Always There"? A Sociological Reading
There is no single reason for the low number of visits; several structural factors may be playing a part together. It is better to think of these not as definite causes but as possible factors.
Transport and time. Hattusa is considered close to the city centre, but it is not a place you simply happen to pass. You need to set aside a particular day and arrange a car or a tour. In a calendar where weekdays are spent at work, weekends hosting guests and religious holidays visiting relatives, a "special day" is not easy to find.
Heritage being filed under "school trip". For many people, their first and only contact with Hattusa is a primary or middle school trip. As a result, the place becomes, in the mind, somewhere "you went as a child"; no reason is seen to visit it again in adult life.
The priorities of daily life. As the cost of living, workload and caring responsibilities increase, free time also comes to be seen as a resource that has to be spent more "productively". Touring an archaeological site does not feel as urgent as finishing an unfinished task.
Visibility and narrative. Whether a place is visited also depends on the stories told about it. While Cappadocia or Istanbul are at the centre of national and international narratives, Hittite heritage can often be perceived as a distant subject reserved for specialists.
Regional visiting habits. Accommodation data points to a similar picture: the same report shows that the great majority of the approximately 183,000 people accommodated in Çorum's hotels and guesthouses in 2023 were domestic guests. A large proportion of those who come to the city may be coming for work, family visits or a short stopover; this may lead to heritage being seen not as the main purpose of the journey, but as a stop added "if there's time".
These factors are not a shortcoming specific to Çorum; it is a familiar situation in many places that the people who live in a city are often the last to see its famous sights. What makes Çorum different is that this happens right next to a heritage site of global significance.
The Invisibility of What Is Close: A Psychological Reading
In psychology there is a process called habituation: a stimulus that is constantly around us gradually stops capturing our attention. We notice the tree in front of the house when we first move in, but a few months later we no longer even see it. Historic places nearby can slip into "the background" in a similar way.
Procrastination is added to this. When something always seems within reach, we are in no hurry to do it. The thought "It's always there, we'll go one day" seems reasonable, but that "one day" often never comes. We recognise the same thought pattern in other areas of life as well: calling a grandmother to ask about old photographs, finally meeting the friend you have been talking about seeing for ages, the walk you keep putting off. Beneath procrastination there is sometimes tiredness and sometimes the illusion that "I can always do it later". You can find more detailed information on this in our article on procrastination.
We assume that everything close to us can be done at any time; yet what makes something valuable is often the time we set aside for it.
Another dimension is place identity. In environmental psychology, place attachment is defined as the emotional, cognitive and behavioural bond a person forms with a place (Scannell and Gifford, 2010). This bond is strengthened not only by living there but by accumulating experiences connected to that place. Someone who has never toured Hattusa can still be proud of being from Çorum; but walking on the site, touching the stones and telling one's child something about it turns that pride into a personal experience.
Intergenerational transmission also comes into play here. Our bond with a place is often shaped by the person who first showed it to us: the sentence "My grandfather brought me here" gives the stones a personal meaning. When parents are distant from their own heritage, it is not surprising that children know the place only as a photograph in a textbook. Conversely, a small trip taken together adds a concrete memory to a child's sense of "my city".
Let's say a family living in Ankara comes to Çorum for the religious holidays and only goes round relatives' homes. Over the years, Çorum comes to mean "grandmother's house and a long drive" for the children. A few hours set aside for a visit to Hattusa on a holiday morning can open a completely different window onto the same city.
The research literature shows that visiting heritage sites may be associated with wellbeing. A study in England found that people who visited heritage sites reported higher life satisfaction (Fujiwara et al., 2014). This is not Çorum data and it does not show causation; those who visit may already be people who feel better and have more time and means. Still, walking in the open air, learning something new and sharing an experience with loved ones are known components that support wellbeing.
Can Hattusa Visitor Numbers Grow? Suggestions for Individuals and Families
Promotional work by institutions matters, but the subject of this article is people's own experience. Each person added to Hattusa visitor numbers every year actually represents a day a family has set aside for itself. The following suggestions are worth considering to reduce postponement and make such a visit meaningful:
- Turn "one day" into a date. Vague intentions are the easiest ones to postpone. Choosing a Saturday within the next two months and writing it down makes the visit concrete.
- Start small. You do not have to see the whole site in one day. Going only to the Lion Gate or to Yazılıkaya is also a beginning.
- Go with a story. Watching a short video or reading a few pages together as a family before you go turns the stones into a story. Children become more engaged when they ask "what happened here?"
- Link the visit to a ritual. Trips tied to recurring events, such as a change of season, report card day or a visit from a relative coming home, are easier to keep up.
- Keep expectations realistic. An archaeological site is not a fun fair; walking, wind and silence are part of the experience. Going with comfortable shoes and water is enough to keep the day enjoyable.
- Share the experience, but don't turn it into a show. Taking photographs is lovely; but the aim of the day is not posting, it is the time spent together.
If you have an older relative, accompanying them, or making it possible for them to see again a place they visited in their youth, can also create a powerful memory. We look separately at what museum and heritage visits mean for different age groups in our article on visiting museums and mental health.
When Should You Seek Professional Support?
Not going to Hattusa is, of course, not a mental health problem. Sometimes, however, the feeling "I don't want to go anywhere" says more than a mere habit. In the following situations, talking to a professional may be helpful:
- If you have felt reluctant for weeks about trips, get-togethers or hobbies you used to enjoy
- If you keep making plans and then cancelling them at the last minute, and feel guilty afterwards
- If leaving the house, joining a crowd or setting off on a journey causes marked anxiety
- If postponement has begun to affect your work, your relationships and your self-esteem
- If feelings such as tiredness, disrupted sleep and hopelessness are making daily life difficult
These signs do not on their own mean a diagnosis. However, when an inability to enjoy things lasts a long time, it may be related to anhedonia or a depressive episode, and it is important to have it assessed. You can find more information on our depression and mood page.
How Are Procrastination and Withdrawal Approached in Therapy?
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) addresses procrastination and withdrawal through both thoughts and behaviours. First, the person's daily activities and the mood associated with them are monitored together. It often turns out that, in a week the person thought of as having "no time at all", there is room for small but meaningful activities.
In the approach called behavioural activation, small and achievable steps are planned in the areas the person values. For example, if "spending more time with my family" is a value, its concrete counterpart might be "seeing a new place together once a month". The size of the step is adjusted to the person's energy at that moment.
In addition, automatic thoughts such as "I'll do it later anyway", "Even if we go, nothing will change" or "Everything has to be sorted out first" are examined. How realistic these thoughts are, what they cost the person and what alternative perspectives exist are discussed. With a schema-focused view, deeper beliefs such as "taking time for myself is selfish" can also be addressed.
Let's say someone has wanted to go somewhere with their children for years, but every weekend fills up with housework and guests. In therapy, the work might focus on this person rethinking their priorities for themselves and their family, and learning to say "no" or to notice when they are postponing. In Çorum, such work can be planned through face-to-face or online sessions at a pace that suits the person.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much time should I set aside to visit Hattusa?
This depends on how thoroughly you want to explore. The archaeological site is large and requires walking; even a visit of a few hours makes it possible to see the main points. If you would also like to include Yazılıkaya and Boğazköy Museum, setting aside most of the day is more comfortable.
Won't children get bored touring an archaeological site?
They might; that is natural. Telling a short story before you go, giving them small tasks such as "find the lions at the gate" and keeping the trip short can increase their interest. The aim is not to teach them everything but to leave them with a positive memory.
Is it a problem to keep putting off nearby places?
Usually it is not; most people visit the famous places in their own city late. However, if postponement has spread to many areas of your life and it upsets you, it may be helpful to talk about the tiredness, anxiety or reluctance behind it.
Does visiting heritage sites really benefit mental health?
Research shows that taking part in heritage and cultural activities is associated with life satisfaction; however, this relationship has not been proven to be causal. Walking in the open air, learning something new and spending time with your loved ones are experiences that can support wellbeing.
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Eda Erkan Alapala
Klinik Psikolog. İstanbul Kent Üniversitesi Klinik Psikoloji Tezli Yüksek Lisans mezunu; bilişsel davranışçı terapi, çocuk merkezli oyun terapisi ve çocuk-ergen psikoterapisi alanlarında eğitimlerini tamamlamıştır.
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