Children meet cultural heritage in ancient Çatalhöyük

Free workshops will be organized for children in the Çatalhöyük Neolithic settlement between June 19 and July 26.

The Shell Çatalhöyük Archaeology Summer Workshop is organized by Shell Turkey, which has contributed to the excavations, carried out by Stanford University, at the UNESCO world heritage site since 1995. 

The workshop, which has been initiated to introduce the Neolithic settlement to children living around the Central Anatolian region, is open to children between the ages of 8 and 12 as well as other people of different age and professional groups. A team of four people including archaeologists and educators will give the workshop this year every day except Friday between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. 

Shell Turkey Communications Director Meltem Okyar Perdeci said the workshop project is important to introduce Turkish cultural heritage to future generations. 

"Under the leadership of Stanford University academic Professor Ian Hodder, nearly 150 archaeologists from around the world are working every year in Çatalhöyük. This archaeological work draws the attention of the world and also contributes to the education of Turkish archaeologists. So far some 700 people have participated in summer archaeology workshops. This great interest in our workshops makes us very happy," Perdeci said, adding that at the end of the workshop all participants receive a certificate.