Suddenly we came across a lion!

The Neo-Hittite temple of Ishtar can be found at Ain Dara in northern Syria, near to the Turkish border. The basalt temple sits on top of a mighty tell rising over 30 metres above the plain below. As we ascended the tell we were suddenly and unexpectedly confronted by this huge and splendid lion that was hewn out of the solid basalt some 3500 years ago.