A replica of an obelisk from Göbeklitepe, located 15 kilometers (9.32 miles) from Turkey’s southeastern city of Şanlıurfa, will be exhibited at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Qatar will host the FIFA 2022 World Cup this November, marking many firsts. While the event will be organized in the Middle East and in a Muslim state for the first time, no other tournament has ever been held in the Northern Hemisphere in winter, as well.
Qatar is also the smallest state to have held football's biggest event with fans from the 32 competing nations set to watch games at eight stadiums clustered around the only major city – Doha.
In a written statement from Şanlıurfa Tourism Development Inc., it is stated that the company carried out activities to increase the awareness of Şanlıurfa, especially in the national and international arena. As part of the works of the company, the famous site of the city, Göbeklitepe, will be introduced at FIFA 2022 World Cup with a replica of the P18 stela from the site. “The promotion of Göbeklitepe at the World Cup, where football fans from all over the world come together, will be one of the most important contributions to Şanlıurfa tourism,” the statement reads.
The outstanding 12,000-year-old Göbeklitepe, which is dubbed the "zero point of history,” is the oldest temple site in human history and one of the most important discoveries of Neolithic research. The archaeological wonder stands out with its impressive megalithic architecture, featuring enormous, round stone structures, monumental stone pillars up to 5.5 meters high and T-shaped obelisks with figures of wild animals 3 to 6 meters (nearly 10 to 20 feet) in length and 40 to 60 tons in weight belonging to the Neolithic period.
Considered a true embodiment of humanity's cultural legacy, the site was included on the UNESCO World Heritage List at the 42nd World Heritage Committee meeting held on July 1, 2018.
