How to Visit Göbekli Tepe: the World’s Oldest Temple

I’m guessing that if you’ve landed on this blog post, you’ve heard of the ancient and mysterious Göbekli Tepe.

Even though it is one of the most significant anthropological discoveries in the history of civilisation, it doesn’t seem to be mainstream information or attract the crowds of visitors that you would expect.

And it was brand new information to me, too! So I did a lot of research, went to the site and its museum, and the fascinating museum in nearby Sanliurfa (it has to be one of the best museums I’ve visited ever).

Find out how to visit Göbekli Tepe, and everything you need to make your visit go smoothly in this travel guide.

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What is Göbekli Tepe?

Göbekli Tepe is the oldest monument known to human kind, with some suggesting that it is the world’s oldest temple. Only uncovered and excavated in 1995, the site shows huge megalith stone pillar structures arranged in an oval shape by hunter-gatherers over 11,000 years ago. This makes the site 6000 years older than Stone Henge!

Where is Göbekli Tepe?

Göbekli Tepe is in the south east of Turkey, close to Sanliurfa. It is in an area deemed the ‘Cradle of Civilisation’ as this is understood to be the first place where cities, agriculture, and writing came about; the area where humans first moved away from the hunter-gatherer way of life.

What does the name Göbekli Tepe mean?

In Turkish, it literally means ‘potbelly hill’ because of the rounded shape of the landscape, presumably caused by the site of Göbekli Tepe underneath.

Tickets for Göbekli Tepe

Tickets are not cheap. The price has increased dramatically since we visited in 2022. They cost around £20, and you can buy these in person when you arrive or online. This includes the visit to the site, an interactive museum, and a shuttle to take you from the museum to the site. Though, you can definitely walk it in 10/15 minutes.

Where should I base myself to visit Göbekli Tepe?

How to Get to Göbekli Tepe from Sanliurfa

There is a bus stop by the Sanliurfa Archaeological Museum marked here on Google Maps. Bus number 0 heads from here to Göbekli Tepe three times per day: 09:45, 12:45, 15:45. The journey lasts about 40/45 minutes. The bus will take you right to the entrance, wait in the car park for an hour and a half, and then do the return journey. The bus will leave Göbekli Tepe at 12:00, 15:00, 17:30. You can tap your Urfakart or a regular credit card.

Other things to do nearby

You absolutely should visit the Sanliurfa Archaeological Museum. It is fascinating, and we ended up staying for three hours! Take a look at all the best things to do in Sanliurfa in this blog post.

Is Göbekli Tepe worth visiting?

If you are into history, and anthropology, this is a must-see. It’s the oldest known monument in the world that has absolutely thrown theories about civilisation, agriculture and religion out of the window! However, the entrance fee now is pricey. For a site that will only take you an hour or so to walk around, it’s a lot. It depends on your interests, but even now with this elevated fee, I would go.

Is it safe to visit Göbekli Tepe?

I felt completely safe when we visited Göbekli Tepe and nearby Sanliurfa; people were friendly and helpful. 

On 6th February 2023, South East Turkey and Syria were hit by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake, followed another and around 30,000 aftershocks in the following three months. More than 50,000 people died, and more than 4 million buildings were affected. Göbekli Tepe was not affected. This part of the country lies on a fault line and is always at risk of earthquakes.

What is the controversy with Göbekli Tepe?

Up until the discovery of Göbekli Tepe, it was believed that agriculture brought about religion. 

Ok, this is my simplified way of understanding this concept – you’re growing your crops 12,000 years back, and you’re wishing for rain because it’s been really dry for ages. It then rains, and it’s almost as if someone or something was listening and answering your wish/prayer. This was the original theory which suggested that agriculture brought about religion.

However, Göbekli Tepe excavations changed this. It is suggested instead that religion was around before agriculture. The theory is that the megaliths were a religious site that brought in pilgrims. By bringing many people to an area where they wouldn’t usually be, there was more demand on food production, places to stay etc. So in this controversial theory, religion brought about agriculture and civilisation.

I love a controversial theory! But I can totally see this from both sides.

In a Nutshell

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