Konya – Çatalhöyük

Çatalhöyük is 10 kilometres east of Konya's Çumra Township. The tumulus is a hill with two flat areas with different altitudes. Because of these two elevations, it is called 'çatal,' meaning fork. Çatalhöyük was first discovered by J. Mellaart in 1958. There were a number of excavations here between 1961 and 1963, as well as in 1965. The studies made on the western slope of the hill revealed 13 layers. The earliest settlement in the first layer dates back to 5500 B.C. This date was determined through the examination of style of architecture, was also proved using the Carbon-14 dating method. The first settlement was a centre that sheds light on the history of humanity with the remains of the first sacred structures (with the most important structure here perhaps being the first ever house).