The origin of living
9000 years ago people first settled down. In Çatalhöyük, they designed a four-walled home in which here and now, work, food and ancestor worship were inseparable. It was the cornerstone of why people identify with a certain place.
It is an impressive natural scenery that opens up in the middle of Turkey: Mighty mountain ranges surround the extensive plain of Konya there. There are numerous small farms on the high plateau, field after field. If you approach the foothills of the mountains at night, you will see the glittering lights of the city of Konya in the distance. This sight is unlikely to have changed much in the last 9000 years - the illuminated skyline of the city would remind a visitor from around 7100 BC. BC may be more well-known than expected. Because in the plain of Konya lies the cradle of urban life.
Millennia before the rise of the cities of Mesopotamia, the proto-city of Çatalhöyük (pronounced "chatalhöyük") flourished in Anatolia. With an area of 34 hectares and up to 8000 inhabitants, it took on the dimensions of a metropolis. People lived in this place for about 2000 years until they conquered it in the 6th millennium BC. gradually left. Unlike later large settlements, the inhabitants of Çatalhöyük had neither laid out central squares nor erected large monuments or palaces. The city looks more like several rural villages have grown together to form a "megasite" - that's what archaeologists call such settlements. Hundreds of mud-brick houses stood close together in Çatalhöyük, with no streets leading from building to building, but the buildings had flat roofs that served as footpaths. The houses could be entered via skylights. People planted small fields around the city. Otherwise they seem to have spent a lot of time in their rooms, at least that is what the excavation results suggest. They made clothing and tools there, painted the walls, repaired their buildings or prepared food. All of this happened right next to the sleeping area – or on the rooftops in the warmer months…
