"We used to think agriculture gave rise to cities and later to writing, art, and religion. Now the world’s oldest temple suggests the urge to worship sparked civilization" . National Geographic, June 2011 13000 Years Ago! Göbekli Tepe is the oldest human-made place of worship yet discovered. Until excavations began, a complex on this scale was not thought possible for a community so ancient. The massive sequence of stratification layers suggests several millennia of activity, perhaps reaching back to the Mesolithic. The oldest occupation layer (stratum III) contains monolithic pillars linked by coarsely built walls to form circular or oval structures. So far, four such buildings, with diameters between 10–30 metres (33–98 ft) have been uncovered. Geophysical surveys indicate the existence of 16 additional structures.
Travel notes and photos of archaeological tours in ancient Anatolia, Turkey.