Göbeklitepe prepares for key UNESCO visit

Officials have been spending last-minute efforts as the Göbeklitepe archeological site in Turkey's southeast, one of the leading historic values of the country, prepares to be nominated for UNESCO's  World Heritage list in 2018 ahead of a delegation visit in September. 

Aydın Aslan, a culture and tourism director in the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa, has told state-run Anadolu Agency that they were very pleased to finally hear the nomination of the Göbeklitepe archeological site, accepted as the world's oldest center of worship by Turkey's Culture and Tourism Ministry and many other international institutions and organizations, for this year's 42nd UNESCO heritage committee meeting.

The site was included in UNESCO's temporary list five years ago.
 
"The listing of UNESCO is Göbeklitepe's right," Aslan said. 

"Currently, we are working intensely on this project and our paperwork for the nominations is ready. We sent them to officials and they were found sufficient for the shortlisting. Finally, we hope to hear Göbeklitepe's UNESCO nomination this year," Aslan added.

Göbeklitepe, with ongoing excavations for the last 54 years, was first found by researchers from the Istanbul and Chicago universities during a field survey in 1963 and is situated near Şanlıurfa's Örencik neighborhood 18 kilometers away from the city center.

Aslan said every important protection work and all other practices on the site will be done under UNESCO's supervision if it finds its place on the UNESCO list.
 
The officials are currently busy with completing a roof framing work on a 4,000-square-meter area, costing a total of 6.6 million euros, in an attempt to give the site a stronger protection. 

Aslan said the site will...