The oldest temple of humanity

Discoveries of Göbekli Tepe temple in southern Turkey suddenly reverse all previous notions about the ancient past of mankind.

After Göbekli Tepe temple was discovered a hilltop in southern Turkey, near the Syrian border, the tour operators quickly organized a series of tours. Tourists not only include Turkish residents but also from Europe and many other countries.

White painted buses, air-con and televisions connected on a bumpy, winding road before passing through a large stone gate. Visitors slowly climb the hill, when they reach the top, all seem overwhelmed by the scenery.

Panorama of Göbekli Tepe temple.(Photo: travelingmyself.com)

In front of their eyes, a series of huge stone pillars formed a circle, this column followed the other column. All stone columns are T-shaped, 3 to 6 meters high, conjectured as a stylized figure, based on the image of four limbs carved on some columns.

Göbekli Tepe is reminiscent of Stonehenge, however, this temple was built earlier, not made of slate, but from limestone columns carved of animal reliefs such as antelopes, snakes, foxes and scorpions. , wild boars, and abstract symbols, sometimes linked into a scene.

T-shaped stone pillars are assumed to be stylized figures

About the date, Göbekli Tepe formed about 11,600 years ago, ie 7,000 years before the Giza Pyramid. This is the oldest temple ever known with the first structure that mankind has built with a much larger and more complex stature than the huts they once took refuge in.

During the time when Göbekli Tepe was built, most of the humanity still lives in small groups of nomads, living on hunting and gathering. The construction of this work requires a huge amount of labor, concentration, which has never happened before. The masons can cut, trim and transport 16 tons of stone with a total height of hundreds of meters without the need for a wheel or animal.

Archeologists imagine the ancient pilgrimage group had approached the temple from low, making the pillars look like giants. When they lit the fire, the stone carvings leaped like messengers from a spiritual world that people had only faintly imagined.

Göbekli Tepe looks from above

Today, archaeologists continue to excavate Göbekli Tepe temple area and argue about its meaning. They claim that this area has a significant meaning in a series of unexpected discoveries that reverse all previous notions about the ancient past of mankind.

20 years ago, most researchers still believed that they knew about the New Stone Age (9,600 - 7,300 BC), the same time Göbekli Tepe was born. But in recent years, the temple has revealed things that made them consider.

Now, if you come to Göbekli Tepe, you can witness the tourists, after a moment of overwhelming moments, start using cameras and phones to save beautiful frames.

Most of the major religious centers of the world, in the past and present, have become pilgrims' destinations such as the Vatican, Mecca, Jerusalem, Bodh Gaya, Cahokia . And Göbekli Tepe temple is most likely is the first of them, the origins of religious architectural patterns.

From Göbekli Tepe on Turkish soil, one can see the very sense of man about the sacred, as well as the love for the majestic landscapes, which produced human civilization.