Mysterious monolith reappears in southeastern Turkey

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey

A mysterious metal monolith that appeared earlier this year in Turkey’s Sanliurfa province and was later revealed to be part of the unveiling of the country's National Space Program has popped up this time in Diyarbakir province.

The metal slab has words carved in it in Gokturk script, the Old Turkic script, which mean “Look at the sky, see the moon.”

The monolith, which was placed near Zerzevan Castle for the promotion of an event set to be held in September in Diyarbakir, was met with astonishment by the local people.

The 2021 International Diyarbakir Zerzevan Sky Observation Event will be held on Sept. 2-4 at the 3,000-year-old Zerzevan Castle, which is on the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage sites.

The monolith, which is considered a symbolic reflection of Turkey's vision for space, will remain in the region during the event.

The sky observation event, which has been held by TUBITAK National Observatory (TUG) in southern Antalya province for 22 years, will be held in Diyarbakir this year.

It will be attended by professional and amateur astronomers and will bring together more than a thousand astronomy enthusiasts from Turkey and around the world.

Many seminars, competitions and workshops related to astronomy will be held during the event as part of Turkey’s National Space Program aimed at increasing the interest of young people in space.

Monolith first found in Gobeklitepe

The three-meter (9.8-foot) tall metal pillar was found on Feb. 5 in the middle of an empty field in Gobeklitepe, home to the world’s oldest temple site, in Sanliurfa province.

Many curious people visited the site to view the metal pillar and wondered about its meaning.

It attracted international media coverage before disappearing on the morning of Feb. 9 as part of planned publicity for Turkey's new space program.

On Feb. 9, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan revealed that the mysterious monolith was part of the unveiling of Turkey's National Space Program.

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz