World Neolithic Congress Through the Lens of Oasis

1st World Neolithic Congress, through the lens of Oasis Tourism.

 

It was mid-April 2024, the eve of Ramadan, and work in the office had slowed considerably; everyone was ready for a long vacation. I was also planning to go to my house in the historical Adatepe village in the Kazdağları mountains the next day. I was thinking that perhaps I would extend my stay and start implementing my retirement plans. At that moment, I saw that Necmi Karul was calling on my cell phone. I was rather worried if all is o.k. with him. Thinking that Necmi Bey doesn't call me so easily, he must have something important to say.  I answered the phone. When Professor Karul  told me that he and Eylem Özdoğan wanted to stop by the office if I was there, I started to get really worried. As far as I could follow from afar, they were overseeing the work at Göbeklitepe, but mainly excavating the Neolithic settlements around Şanlıurfa, which were introduced as "Stone Mounds." 

I didn't think he'd missed me enough to visit me in my office amidst all his work, but I was genuinely worried and immediately invited him in. Five minutes after the phone call ended, Professors Necmi and Eylem were in my office. Ten years prior, we had collaborated very harmoniously at the 20th annual meeting of the European Archaeological Association in Istanbul. That congress was co-chaired and managed by our dear professors, Prof. Mehmet Özdoğan and Prof. Turgut Saner, and we, as Oasis Tourism, handled all the logistics and the congress organization secretariat. Of course, thanks to the knowledge and impressive conversations I had with Professor Özdoğan before, during, and after that congress, I began to get to know the world of archaeology more closely and became particularly captivated by the profound magic of the Neolithic period. 

Despite the unease created among international participants by the Gezi Park protests, the EAA Congress was successfully held, setting a record with a total of 2250 registered participants, the vast majority of whom came from nearly 70 countries across 5 continents. Perhaps due to this successful experience, Professors Karul and Özdoğan indicated that they wanted us to handle the organization of this major congress. However, the preparations and launch of the congress had already been completed, the website was ready, sessions were scheduled, and even the collection of abstracts had begun, with only six months until the start of the congress.

 

When the professors left the office, we were left with nothing but hot potatoes in our pockets. But the mysterious story of the Stone Mounds had also captivated us. Despite all the difficulties, we decided to get to work. First, we made some updates to the website and, most importantly, created a module for online credit card payments. This allowed participants from all corners of the world to easily pay for their registration, accommodation, tours, and transfers.

 

After the acceptance messages for abstracts started being sent out, registrations suddenly started pouring in as of June. Of course, I started losing sleep because, while a large turnout was a positive development for the success of the congress, the fact that it was to be held in Şanlıurfa, a city with limited logistical resources, and in the Harran University campus, 25 km from the city center, in the middle of nowhere, and that all these services had to be provided seamlessly with an extremely low budget, seriously was worrying me. Although I tried not to show my increasing stress to Professor Necmi Karul during the pre-congress period, he understood my situation from my tone of voice on the phone and, with his usual calm demeanor, said, "Don't worry, plan for at least a thousand people. Don't worry about the finances. We'll find a way to get through," which lifted my spirits and allowed me to concentrate on the work again. Truly, without Professor Necmi's reassuring attitude and his always constructive and calm approach to problems, it would have been very difficult for us to successfully organize this congress.

 

Meanwhile, as I received the registrations, I was extremely pleased to see familiar faces from the EAA congress 10 years ago, and to know that old friends would be attending. They also expressed their happiness that such a large organization would be held under the guarantee of Oasis after 10 years, and they looked forward to meeting in Şanlıurfa as soon as possible. Such messages increased our motivation.

 

Just before the congress began, under the coordination of the Şanlıurfa Governorship, the division of tasks was completed through the joint efforts of Harran University, local municipalities, development agencies, and civil society organizations, and the congress preparations were successfully completed with rehearsals. Now everyone was focused on the opening day, waiting with excitement.

 

Although we had made reservations for nearly 300 rooms in a total of 8 different hotels, including 5, 4, 3-star and boutique hotels, starting in April, anticipating high participation, last-minute requests resulted in reservations for nearly 350 rooms. Of course, many participants also made their own accommodation reservations online. To meet arrivals at the airport, we set up an office in the arrival terminal, with a team to greet each flight and a shuttle service. This ensured that everyone, regardless of whether they had a reservation with us or not, could reach the city without having to wait at the airport.

 

In addition to the main topic of the congress, the Stone Mounds, we designed a total of 14 day trips and two overnight tours to archaeological and cultural heritage sites in and around Şanlıurfa, Mardin, Diyarbakır, Gaziantep, and Adıyaman, including excavation sites not yet open to visitors, which might be of interest to the participants. We took a total of 450 people on these tours (28 day trips and 4 overnight trips). 

As part of the congress program, we planned to transport a total of 1000 people to 6 archaeological sites in one day using 40 buses, each with a tour guide and an archaeologist from the excavation team. Of course, thanks to a pre-prepared application, participants could also watch the tours on their mobile phones with video and English audio narration. I can honestly say that planning this trip was like going through a Matrix-like ordeal. We wanted everyone to meet the excavation directors and learn about the site, and we were trying to plan the tour in a way that would allow such a large group of visitors to comfortably listen to the directors. 

Of course, we also had to consider needs like packed lunches, restroom breaks, and tea/coffee breaks during the tour. Furthermore, since we didn't know where most of the participants were staying, we had to arrange shuttle buses from certain hotels and key meeting points in the city every morning. Considering the condition of the roads and traffic congestion in Şanlıurfa, getting approximately 25 buses to leave the city in the morning and arrive in the evening to drop off participants at specific stops required a separate level of expertise.

 

A total of 794 people from 55 countries registered for the congress. In addition, over 1000 participants, including exhibitors at the congress fair, over 100 volunteer students and assistants, official invitees, and congress sponsors, were provided with daily lunches in the university's faculty restaurants, featuring local menus and served as a buffet. Tea, coffee, and cookies were also offered twice a day, in the morning and afternoon, at stations set up during breaks.

 

They say the beginning is half the battle, and I'll never forget the hustle and bustle of the first day. The distribution of name badges, congress bags, and gifts, the welcoming of the entire official delegation, including the Minister of Culture and Tourism, local political party representatives, local and national press representatives, broadcast crews, and civil society organizations, the opening speeches, followed by a magnificent music concert and opening cocktail – I still marvel at how all this went so smoothly. And of course, there was the real tomorrow. How was it going to be that dozens of people were picked up from hotels and meeting points in the morning and transported to the university as planned on paper? Another sleepless night awaited me. But somehow, in an impossibly harmonious order, our plan worked really well, and everyone arrived at the university and attended the opening session. I thought, 'Now this is it, it seems this is going to work.' And when everyone returned from lunch with full stomachs, there was nothing left to worry about.

 

I would like to express my sincerest thanks to all those who supported us in successfully organizing such a large congress, the first of its kind, which received extensive coverage in both domestic and international press, and who offered solutions whenever we faced difficulties; especially Prof. Dr. Necmi Karul and Prof. Dr. Eylem Özdoğan; our dear professor Prof. Dr. Mehmet Özdoğan, who did not withhold his moral support; Seda Ongun, who carried out all the academic secretarial duties with great dedication; and all the official and unofficial institutions and organizations that provided us with material and moral support in this challenging organization. Of course, my deepest gratitude goes to my team, Filiz, Berna, Mahmut, Saim, and our chief guide Damla, who worked tirelessly 24/7 for months to make the 1st World Neolithic Congress, one of the most important events in Oasis's 38-year history, a success.