Where did civilization truly first begin?

I learned in high school and in college world history classes that the first human civilization began in Mesopotamia. At the time, I was more interested in the middle ages, the renaissance and how these periods shaped the following centuries. But as I studied these periods, I kept having to go back further and further in history to unravel questions I had about the middle ages and the renaissance. In turn, I became fascinated with prehistory.

So fast forward to today, I am left with the question where did civilization first begin and has anyone compare these early civilizations with one another in a very comprehensible study? Egypt, in my opinion, started a great civilization around 7000 - 5000 BC (with the upper and lower kingdoms not yet unified). Mesopotamia's civilization lived in small settlements along the river systems there but only got going around 6000 BC (more or less). Then there are the people built Gobekli Tepe and Karahan Tepe. Who were these people. What was going on in Asia at the same time? Does anybody connect these people to one another? I believe Egypt got alot of its raw materials for building from the Levant. Any interaction with the Sumerians?

As you can tell, I'm not very educated in these fields but I want to learn more. Can anybody point me in the right direction? Thanks for you help.