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World’s first religious hotspot: In Turkey’s Gobeklitepe theories run galore
In 9600 BC, before the agricultural revolution, before the wheel was invented, pre-dating pottery and metalwork, on a plateau in the eastern part of Germus Mountain chain of modern Turkey, a site existed, which is now considered to be the oldest temple of the World. Unearthed by archaeologist Klaus Schmidt, Gobeklitepe raised alarming questions against the prevalent theories of human evolution. Merely 20 kilometres from the city of Sanliurfa, I am here at Gobeklitepe, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2018. On the arid land, from the parking point a walkway has been constructed which take tourists towards the site. The walkway ends midway and the rest of the journey…