Kortik Tepe, Turkiye

Many of you will have heard of the famous neolithic settlement of Gobekli Tepe, in Turkiye’s far east, near the town of Urfa abutting the Syrian border. Discovered in the 1960s, it confused archaeologists for some time, as it demonstrated a high level of stone carving skill from as far back as 9,400 BC; skills that were not previously believed to exist until several thousand years later. Eventually, the site changed our understanding of pre-history, and nowadays it is becoming more widely known and added to travel itineraries.

But far fewer know about the more recently discovered Kortik Tepe. Situated in Southeastern Anatolia, this early, pre-pottery neolithic site is thought to date back to between 10,400 and 11,700 BC. One of the earliest known human settlements on earth, it dates to the point where humans first made the transition from nomadism to sedentary life. More than 30,000 artifacts have been unearthed here in two decades of excavations - findings that have shed new light on man’s earliest forays into agriculture.

Eastern Turkiye is full of extraordinary historical sites such as this. Visit Kortik Tepe on a tailor-made Silk Road Adventure to Eastern Turkiye.