General Information About Gobeklitepe
A brief travel information about Gobeklitepe, online maps, videos, tourist attractions, museums,
mosques, historical sites, old churches, sightseeing places and more...
Before the great monotheistic religions, before the
Greek gods, before ancient Egypt, before the Hittites,
there was one place in the world that formed the
earliest known religious spot. The earliest known temple
complex, the earliest known pilgrimage site.
That place is Göbekli Tepe
Göbekli Tepe is an archaeological site in the
Southeastern Anatolia Region of Turkey, approximately 12
km (7 mi) northeast of the city of Şanliurfa.
The site was first noted in a survey conducted by
Istanbul University and the University of Chicago in
1963. American archaeologist Peter Benedict
identified lithics collected from the surface of the
site as belonging to the Aceramic Neolithic, but
mistook stone slabs (the upper parts of the T-shaped
pillars) for grave markers, postulating that the
prehistoric phase was overlain by a Byzantine cemetery.
In 1994, Klaus Schmidt of the German Archaeological
Institute, who had previously been working at Nevalı
Çori, was looking for another site to excavate. He
reviewed the archaeological literature on the
surrounding area, found the 1963 Chicago researchers’
brief description of Göbekli Tepe, and decided to
reexamine the site. Having found similar structures at
Nevalı Çori, he recognized the possibility that the
rocks and slabs were prehistoric.
Göbekli Tepe goes all the way back
12,000 years ago! 10,000 years before Jesus walked the
Earth, pilgrims were flocking from all over Mesopotamia
to visit the massive temple complex erected at Göbeklitepe.
This coincides with the first time in human history that
we moved from hunter-gatherer societies to more settled
agricultural societies, again around 12,000 years ago.
As humans learned to use and grow wild cereals (again,
in the Levant and Mesopotamia. In fact, nearby Karaca
Dağ is the location that many geneticists believe the
first ever grains were cultivated!) (Isn’t this region
just fascinating!), they were forced to leave behind
their previously nomadic lifestyle for a life of
farming. This led to the first permanent cities and
towns, and it appears to have rapidly led to the first
ever permanent religious complex in Göbeklitepe..
What do we know about Göbeklitepe and how do we know it?
We know the dates of
over 200 T-shaped megaliths in about 20
circles. Each pillar is absolutely massive – 6 meters
tall and up to 10 tons. They were fitted into sockets
carved right out of the bedrock, all fairly impressive
feats of engineering for a society previously thought to
be capable of little more than cave painting. Carved
into the pillars and other rock in the complex are loads
of animal figurines.
These pillars date to the 10th millennia B.C., but
there’s even evidence that it may have been a spiritual
center even before that, which would literally change
what we know about the nature of hunter-gatherer
societies and their transformation to agricultural
societies.
But it’s not just the existence of these pillars that is
fascinating, but the fact that there appears to be just
about no residential element to the complex. This
suggests that, rather than an imperial capital of some
sort, Göbeklitepe was a sacred ceremonial temple, a
pilgrimage site where people came from all over
Mesopotamia to worship. Isn’t that amazing?
This is even in line with ancient Sumerian beliefs,
which speak of the sacred mountain Ekur, inhabited by
various deities.
Archaeologists have intentionally excavated only around
5% of Göbeklitepe, waiting until new techniques are
invented and the area can be completely excavated
without any chance of damage. All of the motifs of
animals carved into the pillars suggests animals were
immensely important to the belief structure, and there
is evidence of bones having been ritualistically carved.
Some archaeologists believe that further excavation will
reveal mass animal burial grounds with ritualized
objects.
Either way, what we do know indicates that Göbeklitepe
is indeed the “zero point in time,” the beginning of
what we know today as modern civilization. Now it’s open
to visitors, it’s time to discover your own history and
visit this incredible spot!
Gobeklitepe Map
Gobeklitepe / Sanli Urfa Travel Activities
Eastern Turkey by Plane - Cappadocia - Nemrut - Urfa - Gobeklitepe (5 Days-4
Nights)
Flights from / to Istanbul, hotel transfers, all tours
with English speaking guides, all connecting transfers,
accommodation at 3 / 4 star hotels, some meals, all tickets for
museums and archaeological sites which will be visited.
Eastern Turkey
by Bus
-
Cappadocia - Nemrut - Urfa - Gobeklitepe (5 Days - 6
Nights)
Discover the best of eastern Turkey. 4 guided day tours with
meals, all bus tickets and transportation, hotel transfers, 4
nights hotel accommodation at 3 star hotels, all tickets of
museums and sights that will be visited, professional licensed
tour guides.
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