The seated statue
A 2.3-metre stone man found in 2023, among the most complete life-size human figures from the Neolithic.
Vincent Vega — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Campels — CC0 · Marco Restano — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Marco Restano — CC BY-SA 4.0
On a limestone ridge in the Tek Tek Mountains, some 55 km south-east of Şanlıurfa, a stone man has been sitting for more than 11,000 years: a 2.3-metre figure with ribs showing and hands on his belly, unearthed in 2023 and now among the most complete life-size human statues from the dawn of the Neolithic. Karahan Tepe is not another Göbekli Tepe; it is possibly older and at least as large. A surface survey alone counted more than 250 T-shaped pillars, most still under the soil, and only about 5 per cent of the site has been dug. What sets it apart from its famous neighbour is that its rooms are cut into the bedrock rather than built on top of it. The best known is a sunken chamber with a human head carved out of one wall, its neck trailing off like the body of a snake, and ten pillars left standing in place as the rock was quarried around them; the excavators read it as the stage for some rite of passage. Beside it lies a round hall more than 20 metres across, its wall ringed with pillars. In 2025 the first T-pillar ever found with a sculpted human face came out of this ground, and Archaeology magazine ranked it first among the year's ten great discoveries. The thing to know before you hire a car: the site is currently closed to visitors. It received visitors from 2021, then work began on a protective roof and a visitor centre; the Ministry of Culture portal lists it as closed in September 2026 with no reopening date given. Check its page on muze.gov.tr or ask at Şanlıurfa Museum before setting out. When open, admission was last listed at around 3 euros; Göbekli Tepe is ticketed separately. Access is by car only: from Şanlıurfa take the Harran road, then a country lane towards Yağmurlu village, about an hour in all, with no public transport. It is usually paired with Göbekli Tepe in one long day, roughly 45 minutes' drive apart. There is no shade and no café, and the ground is rocky and uneven, so pushchairs are out; in August the heat passes 40 degrees, so go at first light, and spring and autumn are the genuinely right seasons. If you find it shut, Şanlıurfa Archaeology Museum shows the key finds, the seated statue among them, and is honestly where you see the carvings close up.
A 2.3-metre stone man found in 2023, among the most complete life-size human figures from the Neolithic.
A human head emerging from the wall with a snake-like neck and ten pillars, in a room read as the stage for rites of passage.
The first T-pillar ever found with a sculpted face, the 2025 find that topped Archaeology magazine's discoveries of the year.
Kargalı, near Yağmurlu village, 63290 Haliliye, Şanlıurfa
Not while it is closed; start with Şanlıurfa Museum, where the star finds are. When it reopens, yes if you like your archaeology raw: pillars still in the ground and far fewer people, but none of the signage and walkways of Göbekli Tepe. A family wanting one site only should pick Göbekli Tepe.
You can, but not with a pushchair: the ground is rocky and sloping, you walk along the edges of the trenches, and there is no shade and no facilities. Early morning in spring or autumn suits them; an August afternoon does not.