Around 11km northeast of Urfa, 'Pot Belly Hill' was first unearthed in 1995, and its circle of Neolithic megaliths is estimated to date from 9500 BC, around 6500 years before Stonehenge. A wooden walkway circles the site, making it easy to study the centuries-old stone stone pillars with exquisitely stylised carvings of lions, foxes and vultures. Previously the site was thought to be a medieval cemetery, but is now thought to be the world's first place of worship
The carved symbols on the Göbekli Tepe megaliths also predate Sumerian hieroglyphics – traditionally thought to be the basis of written languages – by around 8000 years. Geomagnetic surveys and ground-penetrating radar systems have identified another 16 ancient megalithic rings buried nearby, and at present only 5% of the entire site has been excavated.
A return taxi to Göbekli Tepe from Şanlıurfa is around TL40. The site can also be visited with Harran-Nemrut Tours , Mustafa Çaycı and Nomad Tours Turkey .
