The Kerkenes Project has provided fieldwork experience to students of archaeology, architecture and related disciplines from Turkey and abroad since 1993. New facilities gradually added over the years permit an increasing variety of educational activities for visiting students and villagers. Thus the Kerkenes Eco-Center Project continues to develop at the same time as involving villagers in the daily running of the expedition. A team based in Ankara at METU, The Middle East Technical University, works in collaboration with ŞAHDER, the Kerkenes and Şahmuratlı Village Association for Public Relations, Prosperity, Help and Support, to promote sustainable rural development. The Kerkenes Eco-Center is a platform from which sustainable rural life through the development of renewable energy, drip-irrigated organic gardens, and building with appropriate materials and energy-efficient designs are promoted. METU students come to the Kerkenes Eco-Center to take part in 'Hands on Building' sessions which give them the opportunity to gain practical experience while at the same time contributing to improvements at the Eco-Center.
     Thanks to the generosity of sponsors and friends, the Kerkenes Project is provided with facilities for teams of researchers, students and visitors. The Erdoğan Akdağ Center for Research and Education has a large meeting room with catering facilities (Fig. 5). The Solar House has a traditional tandır or village oven, as well as solar cookers and driers to promote the use of renewable energy (Fig. 6). The Strawbale House built in 2004 is used by ŞAHDER and accommodation of overnight visitors.

     Visitors
     Site access requires a four-wheel-drive vehicle with high clearance (Fig. 7). However, this visitor from a neighbouring village reminded us that Iron Age citizens would have been more accustomed to horses.
     In May, colleagues from the Büyük Nefes Project working in the Yozgat Museum and students from the METU Settlement Archaeology Program visited the Kerkenes archaeological site (Fig. 8). A group from Andante Travel, which offers tours with a special focus on archaeology, also spent an entire day at Kerkenes in May (Fig. 9), while in June the Turco-British Association organised a day trip from Ankara (Fig. 10).
     The chef from the Sorgun Büyük Termal Hotel served traditional testi kebab on a first occasion, in May, to the South Dakota State University 'Study Abroad' group (Figs 11 and 12) and on a second one, in June, to the Australian Ambassador Ian Biggs, Christine Biggs, Ian and Emma McGuirk and their son Sam (Figs 13 and 14).
    The Kerkenes Eco-Center has benefited from generous donations from the Ankara International Charities Committee (AICC). Visiting Kerkenes on the 16th of June, committee members saw improvements made to the solar drier designed by Güner Mutaf (Figs 15 and 16). Other parties and groups of schoolchildren toured the archaeological site and the Kerkenes Eco-Center (Fig. 17). Such visits contribute towards arousing the awareness of a younger generation that will be responsible for the preservation of the Turkey's cultural heritage and environment over the coming years.
     On Saturday the 1st of October, the day of the 2011 Kerkenes Festival, the METU Bilim Otobüsü brought a large group of students, faculty and staff from Ankara to Kerkenes (Fig. 18). Amongst them were 17 students who stayed overnight to take part in the 'Hands on' session of the 'Architecture in situ' course (Figs 19 to 23).

     The 2011 Kerkenes Festival
     Saturday 1st of October was the day chosen for the 2011 Kerkenes Festival during which the Governor of Yozgat welcomed many distinguished guests. The program started with a tour of the Yozgat Museum where the most important finds from Kerkenes are displayed. The museum visit was followed by a sumptuous breakfast hosted by the mayor of Yozgat, Yusuf Başer, at the Hayrı İnal Konağı (Fig. 22). At Kerkenes, a guided tour of the site (Figs 25 and 26), was followed by lunch and a folklore show (Figs 27 to 29). A kermes was organised by ŞAHDER to promote the solar-cooked and dried products (Fig. 30).
     Sorgun District Governor, Levent Kılıç, and Sorgun Mayor, Ahmet Şimşek, have to be thanked for their generous contributions and support that made this afternoon at the Kerkenes Eco-Center a most memorable occasion.

     The Future
     The 2011 Festival was also an opportunity for the project directors to thank the Yozgat Governor and his predecessors as well as all the local governmental organisations, sponsors and friends that have contributed to the achievements of the Kerkenes Project team since 1993. Assistant Director Sevil Tırpan explained some of the aspects of ongoing work to the guests (Fig. 31).
     As the end of the excavation program at the Cappadocia Gate brings closer the time for the excavation director to retire, Geoffrey and Françoise Summers expressed their support for the director designate, Scott Branting, who has been part of the Kerkenes team since 1995.
     Dr Scott Branting, Director of the Center for Ancient Middle Eastern Landscapes at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, has initiated a long-term program of excavation at the North End of the site. His application to the Directorate of Museums and Cultural Assets for transfer of the excavation permit has all the necessary institutional backing. Scott himself has made many fundamental contributions to the development and progress of the project since his first involvement in 1995, his innovative doctoral thesis being devoted to a study of this Iron Age capital.
     In December Scott visited the new and more spacious project office at METU (Fig. 32) while on a short trip to discuss future project development with the General Directorate at Ankara.