1 mln tourists expected to visit Şanlıurfa

Fulya Soybaş- ŞANLIURFA

Around 1 million tourists are expected to visit the southern province of Şanlıurfa, where Göbeklitepe and Karahantepe, two of the oldest traces of civilization, are located, by the end of the year.

Karahantepe, estimated to have been built about 200 years after Göbeklitepe, is one of the points where the 3-million-year hunter-gatherer period ended and the process in which the emergence of villages began.

Mainly animal figures were found in the Göbeklitepe excavations, while three-dimensional human depictions were revealed in Karahantepe.

The Culture and Tourism Ministry launched a new project called ‘Stone Hills’ in this region, where Göbeklitepe and Karahantepe in the Haliliye district are the main research areas.

Haliliye Mayor Mehmet Canpolat stated the fact that Karahantepe has been granted the status of an archaeological site by the General Directorate of Cultural Assets and Museums and that Göbeklitepe is currently on the UNESCO World Heritage List created a flow of tourists at a considerable level.

Pointing out that the city hosted about 750,000 tourists in the last 10 months, Canpolat noted that their goal is to bring 1 million tourists to Şanlıurfa by the end of the year.

Providing information regarding the preparation for increasing demand in the region, Canpolat stated that the only and biggest shortcoming in the region has been the low accommodation capacity.

“Accordingly, we converted a building belonging to our municipality into a 180-bed hotel. It will enter service next month,” the mayor said.

The forgotten professions of Şanlıurfa, such as wood carving, copper processing and rosary making, are also being tried to be kept alive in the provincial traditional crafts center (GESEM), Canpolat stated. In order not to let these professions get lost, new students are trained using the master-apprentice relationship, he added.

The 12,000-year-old Şanlıurfa has hosted 42 civilizations so far, and each civilization left valuable artifacts to the city, Canpolat also said.

“Of course, we are famous for our çiğköfte, red pepper, kebab and pistachio, but we are not just about that. Our potential is greater,” Canpolat stated.

“All we have to do is investment and promotion,” he added.