Göbeklitepe prepares to welcome visitors with its new look

Göbeklitepe prepares to welcome visitors with its new look

ŞANLIURFA
Göbeklitepe prepares to welcome visitors with its new look

Göbeklitepe, known as the "zero point of history" with a history dating back 12,000 years and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is preparing to welcome visitors with a new visitor center, walking paths and parking areas that are currently under construction.

 

Göbeklitepe, known as the "zero point of history" and dating back 12,000 years, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site preparing to welcome visitors with a new visitor center, walking paths, and parking areas currently under construction.

 

Discovered during a surface survey in 1963 near the rural Örencik neighborhood, 18 kilometers from the city center in Şanlıurfa’s Haliliye district, Göbeklitepe has become a major attraction for both domestic and international tourists.

 

The site's visitor center, roads and parking facilities are being expanded to accommodate the nearly one million visitors it receives annually. The Culture and Tourism Ministry is building new walking paths around the historical site, while work on a new visitor center and parking area about two kilometers from the site is progressing rapidly. The construction is expected to be completed within a year.

 

Şanlıurfa Provincial Director of Culture and Tourism Aydın Aslan told the state-run Anadolu Agency that after 2019 was declared the "Year of Göbeklitepe," the site's visitor numbers have been breaking records each year.

 

Noting that the ministry has implemented various services to meet the growing interest in the site, Aslan said: "By the end of 2024, we started construction on our new visitor center, which will include a parking lot for 500 vehicles, nearly 50 bus stops, caravan parking areas, charging stations for electric vehicles, new roads, waiting areas and landscape arrangements. We aim to ensure that visitors to Göbeklitepe can explore and experience this historical site in greater comfort and tranquility. Work is also ongoing on the new walking paths within the area. Göbeklitepe has long been regarded as a model archaeological site in terms of tourism.”