Believed to be the oldest temple in the world, Gobekli Tepe is more than 11,000 years old. The site was first discovered in 1963 and scientists were initially not interested in Gobekli Tepe because they thought it was just an abandoned medieval cemetery. However, German archaeologist Klaus Schmidt rediscovered the site in 1994. Schmidt continued to lead the excavation team until his death in 2014, and he believed that Gobekli Tepe was a temple in Neolithic period. In 2018, Gobekli Tepe was recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
