Şanlıurfa Province

Around 1 million tourists are expected to visit the southern province of Şanlıurfa, where Göbeklitepe and Karahantepe, two of the oldest traces of civilization, are located, by the end of the year.

Göbeklitepe, thousands of years old Neolithic archaeological site in the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa, may lure as many as 5 million foreign tourists in the next five years, Culture and Tourism Minister Nuri Ersoy has said.

The excavation works in Göbeklitepe, a 12-000-year-old Neolithic archaeological site in the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa, may continue for decades, an expert has said.

"The site unearthed until today is not even 10 percent of all the complex that is still underground," Necmi Karul, a member of the Göbeklitepe Science Board, told Demirören News Agency.

The remains of a 12th-century madrasah have been unearthed in the Harran ruins, which is one of the oldest settlements in the world and on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List.

Discovery Channel, one of the best-known documentary channels in the world, has begun filming documentaries on history in important places of the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa, particularly Göbeklitepe, which is considered the "zero point of history."

The Culture and Tourism Ministry and the Turkish Tourism Development and Promotion Agency (TGA) have introduced the Stone Hills, which host the first examples of settled life and social communities in the world, at an event held at the Şanlıurfa Museum.

The opening ceremony of the "Karahantepe and Neolithic Man" exhibition was also held during the event.

A replica of an obelisk from a famous site in Turkey over 10,000 years old will be exhibited on the grounds of the United Nations headquarters in New York.

A quartet of sites in southeastern Turkey are drawing more and more attention from tourists with their countless millennia of rich history.

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The famed ancient site of Göbeklitepe in Şanlıurfa province is one the most popular destinations for both domestic and foreign tourists.

The first hot air balloons of the season soared into the sky on July 12 at the famed ancient site of Göbeklitepe in the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa, heralding the festive season.

The rides in Göbeklitepe, which was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in June 2018, resumed after a long break due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Turkey announced on June 27 that it has discovered 11 new hills around the famed ancient site of Göbeklitepe in southeastern Şanlıurfa province.

"We have [discovered] 11 more major hills on a 100-kilometer line around Göbeklitepe. Here, we will give the details for the first time, and now call it 12 hills," Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said at an event in Sanliurfa.