Although the ruins themselves are scant, the importance of this site for our understanding of human history cannot be overstated. 

When excavations began here in the mid-1990s, archaeologists discovered what is believed to be the world's oldest religious temple site. 

The Neolithic pillars, carved with depictions of animals, have been dated to about 10,000 BC, turning archaeology's understanding of Neolithic culture (beforehand thought to have not included religion) on its head.