Virtual Visit to Göbeklitepe Archaeological Site

Göbeklitepe Archaeological Site is located 18 kilometers northeast of Şanlıurfa city center, near Örencik Village. The site was discovered in 1963 during a survey carried out in partnership with the Universities of Istanbul and Chicago and was identified as the “V52 Neolithic Settlement”.

Although Göbeklitepe's discovery date goes back to 1963, which caused new pages to be opened in history and made it necessary to change some of the information accepted for hundreds of years, the first excavations started in 1995.

There are multiple temples in this place, which is not used as a residential area, but serves only religious purposes. In this respect, it is considered not only the oldest in the world, but also the largest center of worship.

The shapes of the monumental structures, which suggest that this whole region was the center of belief and pilgrimage of the Neolithic Age, and which were determined by geomagnetic measurements, whose total number reached 6 even though 20 of them have been unearthed until today, are similar to each other. The animal depictions, some of which are three-dimensional, are the oldest paintings carved into stone in the Neolithic Age, carved on T-shaped columns up to 6 meters in length, revealing the artistic talent of our ancestors.

Having carried out excavations here for 20 years, Prof. Dr. Klaus Schmidt unequivocally states that these T-shaped columns, some of which also have hands and fingers, represent human figures. It is possible to see some of the finds obtained during the excavations in the Şanlıurfa Museum.

Although Göbeklitepe has revealed a lot of new information, the still unsolved questions about the finds continue to puzzle the scientists. Who built these temples, how the pillars weighing 60 tons were transported and erected, why they were buried with tons of soil and stone, what the exact purpose of the temples was, are mysteries that will likely require years of research.

The only certainty is that all this research will continue to contribute to human history and completely change what has been written so far.

To visit Göbeklitepe Ruins virtually Click here.