Taş Tepeler Guide 2026: Şanlıurfa's Neolithic Sites
Last reviewed: 29 August 2026 by İlyas Bayrak, licensed Turkish guide. Quick Answer: Taş Tepeler ("Stone Hills") is a revolutionary archaeology project in Turkey covering a dozen 11,000-year-old Neolithic sites around Şanlıurfa . For travelers in 2026 , only Göbekli Tepe and Karahantepe are fully open to the public; the others are active digs. A comprehensive 2-day private tour of the accessible sites and the essential museum typically costs between $400 USD and $600 USD per day for a guide and vehicle. On the Neolithic route through Cakmaktepe and Sefertepe, new sites in the Tas Tepeler project, I find that there is not yet any official museum ticket-office infrastructure. Access requires a private archaeologist guide and local site permission. 2026 EXCAVATION UPDATE A Human Seated on a Leopard: Karahantepe's Unprecedented New Sculpture Quick answer: On 25 August 2026 , Türkiye's Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced an approximately 11,000-year-old , 70-centimetre composite sculpture from Karahantepe. It depicts a human figure seated on the back of a leopard and was found in situ on a bench inside a stone-paved circular structure about three metres across. Verified facts about the 2026 Karahantepe discovery Question Verified answer What does it show? A human figure seated on a leopard How old is it? Approximately 11,000 years — the Ministry's current estimate How large is it? 70 cm tall Where was it found? On a bench inside a 3 m circular, stone-paved structure When was it announced? 25 August 2026 Which project? 2026 Heritage for the Future excavation season Why does the image matter? Human-animal imagery is familiar across the Taş Tepeler landscape, but this arrangement is not. An earlier Karahantepe sculpture shows a human carrying a leopard; the new carving reverses that relationship by placing the person above the animal. Independent archaeologists have suggested themes such as power or mastery over a dangerous predator, but that is interpretation, not a
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