About Göbekli Tepe Tours & Travel

Independent travel guidance for the world's oldest known temple — written by people who've actually been there.

Why this site exists

I'm Kenan Aydin. I've been writing about travel for twelve years, and Göbekli Tepe is the place I keep coming back to. My first visit was in 2020, two years after UNESCO inscribed the site, and standing in front of Enclosure D's central pillars convinced me that nothing I'd read in advance had prepared me for the scale of it. I've returned six times since, and on every visit there has been a new excavation area, a new interpretation, or a new piece of carving uncovered. I built this site because I couldn't find an English-language travel guide written by someone who actually keeps going back.

My background is archaeometry — the science of dating and analysing archaeological material — which I studied for my MS at Middle East Technical University (METU) in Ankara. That's not the same as being an archaeologist, but it gives me the tools to read the published literature on Göbekli Tepe critically rather than parroting summaries. Every blog post on this site is checked against primary sources, and every tour is one I would book myself. There are no commission-driven recommendations and no paid placements — operators and hotels are listed because they earned the spot.

Who runs the site

Kenan Aydin

Founder & Travel Writer

Travel writer for twelve years. MS in Archaeometry from Middle East Technical University (METU), Ankara. First visited Göbekli Tepe in 2020 and has returned six times since.

How we work

  • We visit the site. Every blog post and tour page is written or reviewed by someone who has been to Göbekli Tepe within the last twelve months.
  • No paid placements. Tour operators and hotels are listed on merit. We accept no payment for inclusion or ranking.
  • We cite our sources. Archaeological claims are checked against the German Archaeological Institute, UNESCO, and the Taş Tepeler Project where relevant.
  • We update after every season. Excavation progress, opening hours, and ticket prices change — pages note when they were last verified.

Sources we trust

Our archaeology reporting draws primarily on the German Archaeological Institute (DAI), the UNESCO World Heritage listing for Göbekli Tepe, and the Taş Tepeler Project for ongoing regional excavation news.

Contact

Email: info@gobeklitepe.co.uk
Postal address: 3 Home Court, Maple Road, Surbiton, United Kingdom

For booking enquiries, see our contact page. To browse what's available, see our tours or blog.