The round table “Göbeklitepe: Understanding the past with a look towards the future” was held at the Yunus Emre Institute – Turkish Cultural Center in Rome, Italy.
The event was organized by the Yıldız Palace Foundation in collaboration with the Culture and Information Office of the Turkish Embassy in Rome. Attending were the Hon. Prof. Zeynep Karahan Uslu, President of the Council of the Foundation of the Yıldız Palace, along with the Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey in Rome, H.E. Murat Salim Esenli, as well as the Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Turkey, Ozgul Ozkan Yavuz.
Of great importance
Esteemed archaeologists included Prof. Giulio Magli (Archaeoastronomer of the Polytechnic of Milan), Dr. Lee Clare (Coordinator of the excavations of the German Archaeological Institute), and Prof. Bahattin Çelik (Archaeologist of the University of Iğdir) who gave a “Lectio Magistralis” on the magnificence of the site and the immense importance of these excavations, which are changing the perspective of archeology and the origins of sedentary and no longer nomadic civilization.
This is cultural event of great importance, realized for the year of Göbeklitepe 2019 within the project “Göbeklitepe: The History of Humanity is rewritten,” during which it was recalled that the excavations carried out by the German archaeologist Prof. Klaus Schmidt from 1995 to 2014 made it possible to find the oldest example of a stone temple in the world, whose construction began 11,600 years ago, about 7,000 years before the construction of the pyramids in Egypt.
Listed on the UNESCO World Heritage in 2018, the archaeological site of Göbeklitepe is located about 18 kilometers from the city of lanlıurfa in southeastern Turkey. Its discovery has deeply stirred interest on the old theories of archeology and is also reaching tourism.
In steps tourism
The area is coveted by hundreds of tourists, attracted by the exceptional nature of the place, which is contributing to its development in a decidedly faster way.
Protecting the area is a priority for those working at the archaeological site, but the goal is also to make it accessible to people so that they can understand its extreme beauty and the revolutionary strength of the discovery. Göbeklitepe is a precious commodity for humanity.
The presentation was followed by a classical guitar concert of Master Ahmet Kanneci and by the inauguration of a photo exhibition of the archeological sites named “The Heritage of Time.”