Göbeklitepe: ~12,000 Years Ago

We came to Şanlıurfa to travel as far back as 12,000 years and visit the “temple that changed the timeline of civilization.”

To do this, we had to drive some 10+ miles from Şanlıurfa Merkez (City Center) to the Neolithic site of Göbeklitepe. While the site, only 5% of which has been excavated, may pre-date “writing in its earliest forms,” it was unknown to the modern era until 1963. Even then, the general world populace was mostly unaware of its significance until after excavations began in 1995. In 2018, the site was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Göbeklitepe, which is located in the foothills of the Taurus Mountains — overlooking the fertile Harran Plain — was described by the German archaeologist who originally excavated the site as the world’s first temple … a sanctuary, if you will, that was used by nomadic hunter-gatherers before the advent of permanent settlements.

Archaeologists have dated Göbeklitepe to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic Period, estimating that it was founded around 9,500 BC and abandoned some 1,500 years later in 8,000 BC. A number of circular structures, supported by massive t-shaped stone columns that may well represent human figures, have been unearthed during the excavations that continue to this day.

Decorated with carvings and bas relief antromorphic animal figures and more, these pillars are said to be the world’s oldest megaliths. More accurately, I should perhaps say “oldest known to date” as two other sites have been identified in Southeastern Turkey that show signs of being even older than the 12,000-year history Göbeklitepe boasts. To put that number in perspective, the site pre-dates the Egyptian pyramids and England’s Stonehenge by some 7,000+ years.

We started out in the Visitor Center where we watched an artistic video rendition explaining the birth of mankind and the building of Göbeklitepe. Then we viewed the short documentary about the site. I was hoping that there would be artifacts here excavated from the site, but apparently they are on exhibit at the Archaeological Museum in the city, which we did not have time to visit today. Next time!

From the Visitor Center, we boarded a shuttle that took us to the actual site where four of the excavated structures are located. It was great to have the place mostly to ourselves so that we could take our time studying the details of what our eyes beheld while, at the same time, trying to wrap our minds around the fact that everything around us was from 12,000 years ago.Read more