TEKNOFEST Southeast links Göbeklitepe to Türkiye’s defense future

TEKNOFEST Southeast opened its second day Thursday at Şanlıurfa GAP Airport, bridging 12,000-year-old Göbeklitepe with Türkiye's cutting-edge defense industry through immersive exhibitions. The festival is organized by the Industry and Technology Ministry and the Turkish Technology Team Foundation, or T3 Foundation, with the involvement of STM and Anadolu serving as global communications partner.

Ancient Roots, Modern Wings

The Göbeklitepe Experience Area employs 360-degree screens and a replica standing stone to transport visitors across 12 millennia in three minutes, connecting Neolithic civilizations with Türkiye's contemporary defense industry. "We have a screen extending from the past into the future, with one of the TEKNOFEST aircraft at its center," coordinator Alper Aslan said. "We begin in the past and explain the development of defense technologies up to the present."

Visitor Elanur Yasar noted the presentation offered a fresh perspective on the UNESCO World Heritage site. "At Gobeklitepe itself, we experience history in its original setting. Here, we saw Gobeklitepe combined with technology and civilization," she said. Young Amine Abdulvahab, encountering the KIZILELMA unmanned fighter jet and KAAN combat aircraft at close range for the first time, said she hoped to work in aviation someday.

Diplomatic Praise

Japanese Ambassador to Türkiye Masami Tamura toured the festival Thursday, praising both the defense advances and the event's educational mission. "I find Türkiye's advances in defense technologies very impressive. I am also greatly surprised by such an excellent event," he told Anadolu, noting that Japan does not host comparable festivals at this scale. TEKNOFEST Southeast runs through Oct. 4 at Şanlıurfa GAP Airport, featuring Turkish Stars aerobatics, ATAK helicopters and workshops before closing with a concert by Semicenk.