Hot air balloon rides start in Göbeklitepe

Photo: AA

Colorful hot air balloons floated over the skies of Göbeklitepe, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in southeastern Turkey, attracting local and foreign tourists to be above the world.

The company operating the hot air balloons over Göbeklitepe started the flights after completing the test and presentation stages, local authorities said yesterday (October 19).

The flights would start at dawn allowing tourists and adventurers to watch Göbeklitepe and the city of Urfa from the sky. The flights are planned to take place at intervals until December because of the Covid-19 measures.

A balloon pilot, Bilge Ezel, said they had made arrangements in line with preventive measures in place to avoid Covid-19. "We aim to take Göbeklitepe to the sky," Ezel added.

Göbeklitepe in the province of Urfa was discovered in 1963 by researchers from the universities of İstanbul and Chicago.

Described as "the zero point of history" with its 12,000-year-old history in Urfa, Göbeklitepe set a new record by hosting over 412,000 people in 2019. (VK)