Archaeological Site
Göbeklitepe
Around 11km northeast of Urfa, 'Pot Belly Hill' was first excavated in 1994 by a team led by Professor Klaus Schmidt. Their discovery of a ritual complex dated to the pre-pottery Neolithic era (around 10,000 BC) has turned the previously accepted theory that religion followed the evolution of agriculture on its head. The small site, protected by a space-age-style dome, contains a complex of circular buildings containing megalithic T-shaped pillars now thought to be the world's first place of worship.