Popularity of Turkey's ancient temple worries archaeologists
Gobekli Tepe, the oldest known place of worship in the world, has been a site of controversy as the Turkish government monetizes the mysterious archaeological treasure.
Turkey is home to an incredibly diverse and bountiful selection of historic sites and artifacts from a vast array of time periods, empires and civilizations. Unsurprisingly, in the modern Turkish republic, where political strife and ideological battles have remained constant, the country's relationship with its history is complicated.
In recent years, a stream of television series and films centering on the glorious triumphs of the Ottoman Empire have found massive popularity, while President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling Justice and Development Party have continually paid lip service to the predecessors of modern Turkey in what many have branded neo-Ottomanism or Ottoman nostalgia.
