Hot air balloons to float over Göbeklitepe soon
ŞANLIURFA - Demirören News Agency
Hot air balloon tours will start over the outstanding 12,000-year-old Göbeklitepe complex, located 15 kilometers from the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa, as the first test drives have successfully been completed, locals said on Sept. 23.
Speaking about the success of the first test drive and that there will be more to ensure the safety of the tourists, the officials from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation noted the test drives will last for a month.
The hot air balloons will be up in the air, and tourists will be able to watch the Neolithic icon from the sky, added the locals.
After President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan declared 2019 the “Year of Göbeklitepe,” the number of annual visitors soared to 450,000 from 75,000 in a year.
Referred to as the “point zero of history,” Göbeklitepe, a site on the UNESCO World Heritage Temporary List, is considered the “first temple” in the world, with 40 T-shaped pillars.
