The excavation site of Göbekli Tepe with several circles of stone monuments (All photos: Lee Yu Kit)
Below me lay one of the most startling sites in human history. It may redefine human history as we know it. In the vast pit were standing stones, giant T-shaped limestone blocks, surrounded by other standing stones, smooth-surfaced and carved with bas-reliefs of a menagerie of animals: snarling lions, stinging scorpions, boars, vultures, snakes and other creatures. The stones were arranged in rings, in this vast excavation on the low grassy hill, whose name means “pot-belly hill”: Göbekli Tepe.
Göbekli Tepe has been dated to 11,600 years ago. It is 7,000 years older than the Egyptian Pyramids and 6,000 years older than Stonehenge in England. At the time it was built, humans were hunter-gatherers, foragers who wandered about in small bands in search of food.
Researchers agree that human civilisation arose in the Fertile Crescent, the arc of land stretching from Gaza upwards into southern Türkiye and ending in southern Iraq, where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers meet. This view, known as the Neolithic Revolution, holds that as humans started to cultivate grains instead of foraging for them, agriculture began, humans settled, populations increased because of food security, and religion, art and culture arose subsequently.
Starting in 1994, when it was first discovered, excavations at Göbekli Tepe upend that view. Here, early man came together to build a monumental structure, the earliest known in the world. Amazingly, some of the pillars in the site, weighing as much as 16 tons, were excavated at nearby quarries, shaped and hauled to the site without any metal tools, wheels or beasts of burden. Nothing of comparable scale existed anywhere else. Minimally damaged in the devastating earthquake of February 2023, the site was reopened two months later.
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Was Göbekli Tepe a temple, as long supposed, or was it a communal site for social gatherings? The idea that humans were still wanderers at the time was supported by the absence of evidence of human habitation near the site. However, excavations in 2015 and 2016 unearthed settlement structures nearby, suggesting settled hunter-gatherer populations. Animal bone remains found at the site provide evidence that humans still hunted wild animals for food. Tantalisingly, the closest known source of wild wheat, from which wheat was first domesticated, is found just several dozen miles from Göbekli Tepe. Did humankind indeed start to gather for ritual before they domesticated grains, before agriculture and domesticated animals?
I peered back millennia in time at the clarity of the bas-reliefs, the smoothness of the finish, the unknown purpose in these mysterious stone rings. The largest T-shaped standing stones represented humans, with stylised arms, hands and loincloths. Only a small fraction of the site has been excavated. What mysteries lie hidden beneath the slopes of the hill?
Over the excavation, a giant dome has been erected to protect the site, with a boardwalk surrounding it. The country all around is low, scrubby grassland, a golden brown under the burning sun, but 10,000 years ago, this area was wetter and milder, with trees, herds of wild animals and rivers. The prevailing view today is that the first glimmerings of human civilisation arose in several places in the Fertile Crescent, rather than during a single event, but the debate goes on.
A few miles from Göbekli Tepe is the city of Sanliurfa, a Turkish city of mixed Arab, Kurdish and Turkish population. Sanliurfa, or Urfa as it was officially known until 1984, is ancient in the biblical sense. It may have been inhabited as far back as 11,000 years ago.
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There is a cliff overlooking the city. At the base of the cliff is a lush green park with a well-tended lawn, meandering pathways, mature trees and running water, with a small lake where families go for boat rides, with fountains and overhanging greenery. The centrepiece is a large rectangular pool in the courtyard of the Halil-ur Rahman mosque. Fat grey carp swim in the pool, but these aren’t just any fish. They are sacred and protected because this is the Pool of Sacred Fish or Pool of Abraham, called Balikligol, held sacred by Muslims, Christians and Jews.
Believers claim that Prophet Abraham (Ibrahim in Islam), who is revered in the three major monotheistic religions, was born and raised in Urfa. He earned the ire of King Nimrod by turning against idol worship. The king condemned him to death by being cast into a fire, but the miraculous happened: the fire turned into water and the faggots into fish. It is believed that the very spot where Abraham was condemned to death by fire is by the Pool of Sacred Fish, against the backdrop of the lush garden.
At the end of the garden, against the cliff face, is a large mosque called Mevlid-I Halil Magarasi, with a domed roof and cool marble courtyard. At the back of the courtyard, there are a couple of entrances, one for men, the other for women. Leaving my shoes at the entrance, I entered the tunnel-like entrance for men, which led into a small cave, where it is believed that Abraham was born.
There are other candidate sites besides Sanliurfa being the city of “Ur of the Chaldees” mentioned in the Hebrew Bible where the events took place, but that doesn’t deter the crowds of believers.
Sanliurfa was once known by the Greek name of Edessa, just one of its many historical names. It was fought over and ruled by a long line of conquerors, including Romans, Arabs, Armenians, Byzantines, Persians, Assyrians, Hittites and a host of other civilisations that have long since vanished and been forgotten. The detritus of history can be found, stacked in layers beneath the city. Occasionally, city workers stumble upon an archaeological find during excavations for city development. And that is how the Haleplibahce Mosaic Museum came about.
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While clearing land in the city, Roman era mosaics in a remarkable state of preservation were discovered. Fine villas once occupied the site. Rather than relocate the extensive mosaics, a modern museum was built over them, with a large domed roof and elevated glass walkways that allow visitors to view the mosaics up close. The mosaics are astonishing for the artistic detail and beauty even after thousands of years. Constructed of fine tesserae of various natural colours, there are depictions of Greek mythology, including the first depictions of Amazon women warriors, which rank as among the most valuable mosaics in the world.
Nearby is the Sanliurfa Museum of Archaeology, with displays and dioramas arranged in a chronological order. A section is dedicated to Göbekli Tepe, in the context of the historical timeline. The oldest life-size statue in the world, called Urfa Man, dated to about 9000 BC, is displayed here, unearthed nearby during excavations in the city. There are thousands of artefacts, a stunning treasure trove that expands perceptions of early human civilisation in this area of the Fertile Crescent.
Sanliurfa was a major stop on the ancient Silk Road. Traces of this long history can be glimpsed in the ancient, vibrant bazaar abutting Balikligol, where the timeless rhythms of commerce continue to unfold in the warren of covered narrow alleyways, where age-old handicrafts and local produce are sold. In the warren of meandering alleys, small shops ply their trade in fabrics, metal craft, leather, fresh and preserved food, piles of fragrant spices, woodwork, jewellery and a bewildering assortment of other goods.
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In the evenings, as the heat of the day receded, I dined on Turkish pide and lahmacun (both are types of Turkish pizza, topped with minced meat and other garnishing and freshly baked in ovens) at street-side cafés near the bazaar.
Early one morning, I walked up the broad, zigzag flight of stairs to the top of the cliff behind Balikligol. There is the ruin of an old Roman fortress on the hill, with two tall pillars. One of the more colourful stories is that these are the arms of the catapult used to hurl Prophet Abraham into the pyre. In the evenings, people have dinner or drinks at tables on the terraces beside the stairs watching the sun set over the city.
It was deserted at this hour of the morning. At the top of the stairs was a flat area with a Turkish flag fluttering in the wind and large letters spelling “Eyyubiye”, which is a district of the city directly below. It was cool and quiet, even as the temperature would climb inexorably later in the day to nosebleed-inducing highs.
Modern travellers have the privilege to discover this cradle of life, civilisation and religion at their own pace. And even as its residents remain sweetly in slumber, those who choose adventure over sleep can repose in the sobering yet awe-inspiring thought that just outside the city limits, on a low hill, early humans first congregated at Göbekli Tepe to do great things. Things that still stand today in testament to man’s spirit of endurance and ability to flourish.
This article first appeared on Nov 11, 2024 in The Edge Malaysia.
