Spiritual Transcendence and Tourist Experiences at Neolithic Ritual Sites: Göbeklitepe and Karahantepe

Abstract

Nowadays, travelers tend to seek spiritual and sacred experiences on a personal level rather than through institutionalized religious structures. Göbeklitepe and Karahantepe, selected as the study sites for this research, are significant ritual sites dating back to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic period in Upper Mesopotamia. Recently, these sites have attracted increasing attention from spiritual tourists, and organized tours incorporating spiritual activities have become more common. Transcendence is regarded as one of the key components of spiritual experience. Accordingly, this study explores the components of transcendent experiences among spiritual tourists visiting these sites. In this study, a qualitative research design was employed, and purposive sampling was used to select participants. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with 21 tourists and analyzed via content analysis. The findings indicate that the experiences of spiritual tourists consist of dimensions such as timelessness, self-loss, flow, connection with something higher, connection with communitas-others and nature, spirit of place, positive emotions, limitlessness, awe, and transformation/self-development. Thus, this study theoretically contributes to the development of transcendence by proposing novel sub-dimensions specific to spiritual tourism experiences at Neolithic ritual sites. In addition, the study offers practical implications by focusing on site managers and spiritual tour operators at Göbeklitepe and Karahantepe.