Mayan Temples - Turkey?

[heypaulie]

On a recent holiday my friend met some people who travel the world viewing Mayan Temples. They told him some of the best Mayan Temples can be found in Turkey? Can anyone point me in the right direcrtion to finding out more information as I am planning to go to turkey this year anyway....

[JK2]

I think your friend must have misunderstood what the people said. There are some magnificent archaelogical sites in Turkey & some splendid ancient temples but you will only see Mayan sites in parts of Central America.

The Maya originated around 2600 B.C. and rose to prominence around A.D. 250 in present-day Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras and El Salvador. Inheriting the inventions and ideas of earlier civilizations, the Maya developed astronomy, calendrical systems, hieroglyphic writing, ceremonial architecture, and masonry without metal tools. Maya civilization started to decline around A.D. 900, although some peripheral centres continued to thrive until the Spanish conquest in the early sixteenth century.

[Buenchico]

As JK2 states, the Mayan civilization was in central America.

However, there's loads of information on the website of Turkey's Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Start here:
http://www.kultur.gov.tr/EN/BelgeGoster.aspx?1 7A16AE30572D3130239EEA0FCDF038BFFDE13C621852F4 4

Chris

[jno]

Turkey has some great ancient Greek sites (Ephesus is excellent) but as others have said, no Mayan ones. They can be found in Mexico (eg Chichen Itza) and Guatemala (eg Tikal), and very fine they are too.

Been trying to think what on earth your friend may have heard, but I can't think of anything