Göbekli Tepe

I am hiding on a round hilltop, way up high under the warm, sunny sky. I am made of big, strong stone circles. The stones are shaped like the letter 'T' and they stand tall like sleepy giants watching over the world. I am older than any city you have ever seen. I have a special name. Can you guess who I am? I am Göbekli Tepe. I have been waiting a long, long time to tell you my story.

A very, very long time ago, way back in the year 9600 BCE, some wonderful people built me. They were called hunters and gatherers. That means they found their yummy food in the world around them instead of growing it on farms. They worked together, like a big team of friends, to carve pictures on my stones. They carved sneaky foxes, birds that fly high, and slithery snakes. I loved my pictures. They gathered inside my stone circles. I think they sang happy songs, shared exciting stories, and looked at the sparkly stars together. I was a very special meeting place for everyone to share happy times.

After many, many years, around the year 8000 BCE, the people did something very kind. They carefully covered me with soft earth. It was like they were tucking me into bed for a long, long nap. I slept for thousands of years under my cozy dirt blanket. Then, not so long ago in the year 1994, a kind man named Klaus Schmidt and his team helped to gently wake me up. Now, friends from all over the world come to visit me in a country called Turkey. I am so happy to show everyone how clever people were, even long ago. I am here to remind you that when friends work together, they can build amazing and wonderful things.