Göbeklitepe, The World’s Starting Point Is Introduced to Rome

The Yıldız Palace Foundation organized an event in Rome, Italy to promote the project “Göbeklitepe: Rewriting Human History.”

Göbeklitepe, recognized as the world’s oldest temple with its 12,000year history and included on the UNESCO World Heritage List, was promoted under the sponsorship of Turkish Airlines with a panel and photography exhibition in Rome, Italy.

The event was attended by the Turkish Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism Özgül Özkan Yavuz, Yıldiz Palace Foundation President Prof. Dr. Zeynep Karahan Uslu, Mayor of Şanlıurfa Metropolitan Municipality Zeynel Abidin Beyazgül, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Turkish Embassy in Rome Özgür Yavuzer, Turkish Airlines General Manager of Rome Hakan Yılmaz and many Italian and foreign guests.

The panel “Understanding the Past, Walking to the Future” hosted by the Yunus Emre Institute Cultural Center in Rome and with the support of the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism Directorate Generale for Copyrightwas moderated by Prof. Dr. Zeynep Karahan Uslu and organized with the participation of archaeoastronomer Prof. Giulio Magli from the Polytechnic University of Milan, archaeologist Prof. Dr. Bahattin Çelik from Iğdir University, and Dr. Lee Clair, Göbeklitepe excavation coordinator from the German Archaeological Institution.

Yıldız Palace Foundation President Prof. Dr. Zeynep Karahan Uslu said that while the panel “Understanding the Past, Walking to the Future” reveals the recent developments in Göbeklitepe, the photography exhibition “Heritage of Time” introduced Göbeklitepe to large segments of society including Italian travel agencies, columnists, and bloggers. Uslu said in December they will be hosting a group in Şanlıurfa and this will give them the opportunity to see the site firsthand.