Göbeklitepe to boost visitor capacity with new investments

ŞANLIURFA

A new welcome center, rest areas, walking paths and expanded parking facilities are under construction at Göbeklitepe, a UNESCO World Heritage site hailed as the “zero point of history,” with completion expected next year as authorities aim to increase both visitor numbers and site capacity.

Interest from domestic and international tourists continued to grow at Göbeklitepe, discovered in 1963 during surface surveys near the rural Örencik neighborhood, 18 kilometers from Şanlıurfa. The ancient site now draws around 1 million visitors annually, with ongoing investments to accommodate the rising demand.

Supported by the Culture and Tourism Ministry, the Industry and Technology Ministry and the Transport and Infrastructure Ministry, the new welcome center, rest facilities, walking routes and parking areas are planned to open next year. The upgrades are intended to allow visitors to spend more time at the site in greater comfort.

Provincial Culture and Tourism Director Aydın Aslan said the new projects are being carried out under the “Heritage for the Future Project.”

He noted that infrastructure investments have progressed in line with increasing visitor traffic and that the work aims to make the site more comfortable and easier to navigate.

“Because our previous parking area and visitor facilities had become insufficient, we established a new welcome center about 2.5 kilometers below the main site,” Aslan said. “This will reduce the load on Göbeklitepe itself while offering visitors a journey through the natural surroundings along the 2.5-kilometer route. Alongside the new parking area, we are opening the welcome center and have created a café space where visitors can rest. We have also widened the walking paths and made them accessible for people with disabilities. With these new investments, we will boost the number of visitors and strengthen the site’s capacity.”

Mehmet Kamil Türkmen, head of the Şanlıurfa Tourism Committee, said the new facilities would encourage longer stays. “We are pleased to see efforts to expand the facilities and increase capacity at Göbeklitepe. This is an appropriate and timely decision, and we support it. These investments will directly contribute to both the rise in tourist numbers and the length of their stay in Şanlıurfa,” he said.