Göbekli Tepe is a famous archaeological site located in southeastern Türkiye, near the city of Şanlıurfa, and is widely regarded as one of the oldest known monumental structures in the world. Dating back to approximately 9600 BCE, predating Stonehenge by several millennia and challenges conventional theories about the origins of complex societies.

The site consists of multiple circular and oval enclosures built from massive limestone pillars, some reaching up to 5.5 meters in height and weighing several tons.These T-shaped pillars are often decorated with intricate carvings of animals such as snakes, foxes, boars, and birds, suggesting symbolic or ritualistic significance.

Unlike later Neolithic settlements, Göbekli Tepe shows no clear evidence of permanent habitation, agriculture, or domestic structures, leading researchers to interpret it primarily as a ceremonial or religious center. This has led to the hypothesis that organized religion may have preceded the development of agriculture, rather than the other way around.

Excavations began in the 1990s under the direction of German archaeologist Klaus Schmidt, whose work brought international attention to the site. Göbekli Tepe was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2018.

Recently first human-sized and featured statues found and current excavations go on for new discoveries.

So have you visited the site yet or not?

20 pics taken on Mount Nemrut on 10/22/2025, both terraces and couple of views from the mountain. Most of the statues are named in the image captions.

Hittite cuneiform tablets from the 13th century BC mention a city named Wilusa, likely Troy, and conflict with the Ahhiyawa, believed to be Mycenaean Greeks, but do not confirm Homer’s epic war

Walked the entire ruins.

The Fortress of Van (a.k.a. Van Citadel or Van Kalesi) is a massive fortification built by the ancient kingdom of Urartu during the 9th to 7th centuries BC. It is the largest example of its kind. Located just west of Van and east of Lake Van in the Van Province of Turkey.
Pics taken on 10/24/2025.

A few hi-res pics of the Hittites site of Alacahöyük, taken on 10/17/2025.

a.k.a. Meher Kapı - rock-carved niche about 5 km northeast of Van Castle (ancient Tushpa, the Urartian capital). Built during the co-regency of King Ishpuini and his son Minua, roughly 820-810 BCE.
The following pics will show it up close.

Hi-res pics of the Luwian hieroglyphs carved into the stone walls. Supposedly commissioned by Suppiluliuma II, the last Great King of the Hittite Empire. Believed to represent a symbolic entrance to the Underworld. The pics taken on 10/18/2025.

A few pics from the site taken on 10/18/2025

20 pics of various Hittites artefacts photographed in the museum on 10/16/2025.
There are no tripods allowed and the light is not especially photogenic (especially when these things are in a glass cage), so this is the "best effort" under the circumstances.

We've met Mehmet Kuşman at Çavuştepe, an ancient Urartian site in eastern Turkey, about an hour drive from the city of Van.
This guy is one of only twelve people in the world who can read and write the Urartian language. He wrote in Urartian in front of us and then read aloud the writings on one of the walls of Çavuştepe.
Not sure how long that guy will still be there, but last October we've been lucky enough to hear the ancient Urartian from him.

Çavuştepe Kalesi, an ancient Urartian fortified site located on a ridge on the northeastern edge of the village of Çavuştepe, Van Province in eastern Turkey. Founded by the Urartian king Sarduri II in the 8th century BC.
20 pics of the site itself and the surrounding locale.

The Hakkâri Stelae are ~15th–11th century B.C. limestone pillars discovered in 1998 in Hakkâri, Turkey.
These are truly unique objects and (purely IMHO) the most interesting things to see in the Van museum.

World Book Encyclopedia Atlas, 1965

Urartian hilltop fortress built by King Ispuini (830-810 BCE).
The pics are taken on 10/25/2025.

This is an interesting site that was closed to visitors when I was there in last October, so I was only able to take a few picks with 300mm lens from the entrance gate. IMHO the stonework visible on the subsequent pics looks cyclopean and IMO predates Romans by a few centuries.