Göbeklitepe to be promoted with fashion

ŞANLIURFA – Anadolu Agency

A fashion show showcasing clothes with designs of figures of animals drawn tens of thousands of years ago on the steles of Göbeklitepe, a UNESCO World Heritage site, will take place on April 17. 

The project official, Savaş Uğurlu, said the Culture and Tourism Ministry and the Şanlıurfa Governor’s Office, with the support of the Şanlıurfa Metropolitan Municipality, will organize a big event in the city on April 17. 

He said they wanted to contribute to the introduction of the historical place to the world and organize a huge fashion show inspired by the animal figures carved on the stones in Göbeklitepe. 

Designer Aydın Yılmaz created dresses by using 30 different animal figures, which will be presented by 30 models at the fashion show, he said. 

“We will bring together all the animal figures in the ancient site of Göbeklitepe with fashion. Our main model will be Özge Ulusoy. There are lions, snakes, lizards and many interesting figures. We will work devotedly and use the figures one by one. The clothes of the period will be adapted to present day. We wanted to promote it and hope that foreigners will also be interested in these clothes,” Uğurlu said. 

Uğurlu said the preparations have been going on for a period of almost nine months, adding that they also exchanged views with many archaeology and history experts. 

Ready for 1 million tourists 

The project comes as part of the “Year of Göbeklitepe,” declared by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Dec. 25, 2018. 

Şanlıurfa Museum director Celal Uludağ said all preparations had been done for tourists, adding, “All infrastructure organizations and visitor welcome centers are ready in the ancient site. The Year of Göbeklitepe will increase interest in the ancient city. We expect to welcome more than 1 million tourists. Connections with many tour agencies have already been done.” 

The ancient site, which had been on UNESCO’s World Heritage Tentative List since 2011, was included in the main list in July last year. 

At around 12,000 years old, Göbeklitepe is known as the world’s oldest temple. The ancient site was discovered in 1963 and since then, excavations have never stopped.

The ancient site is a series of mainly circular and oval-shaped structures set on top of a hill. There is archeological proof that these installations were not used for domestic use, but predominantly for ritual or religious purposes. Subsequently, it became apparent that Göbeklitepe consists of not only one, but many such Stone Age temples.