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UNESCO-listed Gobeklitepe, often described in Türkiye as the “zero point of history,” is set to increase its annual visitor capacity through a new visitor center, rest facilities, walking routes and parking areas that are planned to open next year, according to local officials.
Located near the rural settlement of Orencik in the Haliliye district of Sanliurfa province in Türkiye, the archaeological site was first identified during surface surveys in 1963. Since then, interest from both domestic and international visitors has kept growing, and officials say the site now welcomes around 1 million people every year.
Sanliurfa Provincial Director of Culture and Tourism Aydin Aslan said the new investments at Gobeklitepe are being carried out under a broader program known as the “Heritage for the Future.” He noted that projects have moved in step with rising visitor numbers, and that the main goal is to make the site easier to understand and more comfortable to explore.
Aslan explained that the existing parking and visitor areas had become insufficient, so the authorities have set up a new welcome center about 2.5 kilometers (1.9 miles) away from the excavation area. By doing so, they aim to ease the direct load on the core of the site while keeping visitors slightly further away and offering them a short journey through the natural landscape before they reach the monumental remains.
The new investments are supported by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Ministry of Industry and Technology and the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, which have come together to back the expanded facilities around the World Heritage site.
Aslan said that the new hub will not only include a parking area but also a full visitor center and a cafe where guests will be able to rest before or after their tour of Gobeklitepe. Authorities have also widened the walking paths and worked to make them more accessible, with a particular focus on visitors with disabilities, so that more people can move around the site safely and comfortably.
He added that they are trying to create a route that allows visitors to spend more time in the area, to understand its surroundings and to move around without putting too much pressure on the core archaeological remains. “With these new investments, we will increase the number of visitors and strengthen the site’s capacity,” Aslan said.
Mehmet Kamil Turkmen, head of the Sanliurfa Tourism Committee, welcomed the growing interest in Gobeklitepe and said he fully supports the expansion of facilities and the drive to build up capacity.
He underlined that the ongoing work in and around the site is expected to feed into the wider tourism economy of the city, as visitors are encouraged to stay longer and make fuller use of local services. Turkmen described the decision to extend the facilities at Gobeklitepe as “a very accurate and timely decision” and said the sector backs it.
According to Turkmen, the new visitor center, rest areas and upgraded paths will not only help the site handle more people but will also have a direct impact on how long guests choose to remain in the city. “These investments will directly affect both the number of tourists coming to Sanliurfa and the length of their stay in the city,” he said.
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