Arslantepe, home to world’s oldest mudbrick palace, royal tomb, drainage line, is known as cradle of state, bureaucracy
The roughly 7,000-year-old ancient mound of Arslantepe in eastern Turkey is now attracting 10 times more visitors after it was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in July, an official said on Thursday.
Towering some 30 meters (over 90 feet), Arslantepe Mound is the known as the place where the foundations of the state and bureaucracy were laid and is home to the oldest-known mudbrick palace, royal tomb, and drainage line, said Cetin Sisman, the local director of culture and tourism in the eastern Malatya province.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Sisman said that unlike most such structures which are only viewable from the outside, tourists could enter the palace structure and complex in Arslantepe and experience the interior of these ancient buildings themselves.
Underlining that this played a role in the site’s surging popularity,…