World’s oldest temple in Turkey introduced in China

Göbeklitepe in southeastern Turkey, the site of the world's oldest temple, was introduced in a tourism seminar in Chinese capital on Monday.

Hosted by the Turkish Embassy in Beijing, Mehmet Özdoğan, a professor of archeology at İstanbul University, and Ambassador Abdulkadir Emin Önen delivered speeches to the audience, explaining the importance of the historical site in southeastern Turkish province of Şanlıurfa.

Ambassador Abdulkadir Emin Önen stated that the beauty and mystery of Göbeklitepe and the nearby sites had been heard in many parts of the world.

He underlined that Göbeklitepe dated back to 6,500 years before the Stone Age and was 7,000 years older than the oldest Egyptian pyramid. He noted that diverse historical artifacts dating back 12,000 years had been discovered in the site.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency after the seminar, Özdoğan said Göbeklitepe was "the common culture of humanity".

Professor Özdoğan said there was no information on the language used by the civilization that once lived here, adding that DNA detection studies were being carried out on the remains discovered in Göbeklitepe.

"It is not possible to say that well-preserved DNA samples have been found, nor can we clearly establish which civilizations the sites belonged to," he said.

Göbeklitepe is on the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites and is recognized as the oldest temple in the world by many international organizations.

During preparations for its candidacy, a 4,000-square-meter steel roof was erected to protect the site.

After being temporarily closed to visits due to work on its new roof, Göbeklitepe partially reopened last month.