Abstract:

Gobeklitepe undoubtedly provided new perspectives both for understanding the ritualization processes of the Anatolian geography in the Neolithic age and for the reception of life practices. The settlement, which is thought to be the first settlement of anthropologists and archaeologists dating back to 12,000 years before today, was found to be one of the oldest known religious shrines in the history of humanity, and it is remarkably overlapping with Sanlıurfa's centuries lasting old city image. The reason for this is based on the historical basis of the city in different periods of history is associated with many prophets like Moses, Adam, Abraham, Noah. In this regard, the city is known as the City of Prophets in our country. The findings obtained in the Orencik campus of Sanlıurfa's central district in recent years are important in terms of preserving the vitality of this collective image and taking its image to the Neolithic era and placing it on a historical basis. Sanlıurfa province has the chance to internationalize its image, which has settled into our national collective consciousness as a point of religious intersection, thanks to these excavations, which are closely followed not only by our country but also by many others abroad. In this context, this article will evaluate the Gobeklitepe excavations in the light of recent findings and the impact of the excavations on the image of the city of Sanlıurfa.