Sumera ExpeditionsSUMERAPrivate Cultural Expeditions
    Notes from the Taş Tepeler
    Field Journal

    Notes from the Taş Tepeler

    Long-form guides, dispatches and quiet essays from the world's oldest sanctuaries.

    Aerial view of the Göbeklitepe enclosures under a protective canopy at dawn
    9 min read

    Göbeklitepe vs Karahantepe: A Traveller's Guide to the World's Oldest Sanctuaries

    Twin sanctuaries of the Tas Tepeler. One redrew the timeline of civilisation; the other is rewriting it again. Here is how they differ — and how to walk both in a single Şanlıurfa morning.

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    Sacred carp pool at Balıklıgöl in Şanlıurfa with arched stone arcade reflected in still water
    7 min read

    The Best Time to Visit Şanlıurfa: A Month-by-Month Guide

    Şanlıurfa is a year-round city, but only two windows in the calendar are genuinely magical for the Taş Tepeler. Here is our month-by-month field guide.

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    Aerial view of Göbeklitepe enclosures under the tensile canopy at first light
    8 min read

    Klaus Schmidt: The Archaeologist Who Rewrote Human History

    In 1994 a shepherd's story sent a quiet German archaeologist to a stony hill outside Şanlıurfa. The next morning, the human story changed. A tribute to Klaus Schmidt.

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    The life-sized Neolithic seated statue from Karahantepe displayed under a single warm spotlight at the Şanlıurfa Archaeology Museum
    10 min read

    Inside the Şanlıurfa Archaeology Museum: Where the Taş Tepeler Come to Rest

    Turkey's largest archaeology museum and the only place on Earth where you can stand face-to-face with a 12,000-year-old human being. A field guide to its great halls — and the order in which to walk them.

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    Göbeklitepe enclosures at sunrise, seen from above on the limestone ridge
    7 min read

    Göbeklitepe Was Never Alone

    Understanding the Wider Story of Upper Mesopotamia — an expert insight into why Göbeklitepe is one chapter within a far larger Neolithic landscape.

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