Turkey: Mount Nemrut, history in the clouds

JournalBackpack Rating: **** 4.5/5

“Walking into a North London Turkish cafe at 2.30am in the morning for a late night snack was not an unusual thing for me to do 3 years ago.  These random acts can lead you to places you would never imagine….”

Whilst ordering a traditional turkish soup, I looked above the counter, distracted by a selection of beautiful photographs from Turkey.  One picture in particular caught my attention.  A picture of huge head statues, scattered across the top of a mountain with beautiful scenic views surrounding it.  Being slightly obsessed by the Moai statues of Rapa Nui, my first thought that entered my mind was “Where is this place?I need to go there….soon!’  I rushed home afterwards and entered some descriptions into google and after a few attempts I had found it, Mount Nemrut.   I stayed up most of the night reading several blogs and articles on it, making myself familiar with its history whilst fantasising about visiting it one day.

A touch of history…

The site of Nemrut Mountain was built over 2000 years ago by Antiochus I who was very  proud about his heritage, royalty and power. He was overthrown in 38 BC by the Romans after 26 years of sovereignty ruling the ancient kingdom of Commagene. He believed that he was the descendant of Apollo so he made a statue of himself along with those of Apollo (son of the leader of gods), Zeus (leader of the gods),  Hercules (god of power and might) and many more. This huge monument was the centre of the Commagene Kingdom for the worshippers of its religious cult to visit and show their dedication to the King.  King Antiochus had three terraces constructed on the mountain. The sequences of the statues erected on these sacred terraces are the same. Persian and Greek gods facing to east and west also symbolises the aim of uniting these two cultures during Antiochus’ ruling.

King Antiochus’ tomb has not yet been discovered but there is sufficient evidence to prove that it is located in the grounds of Mount Nemrut.  Similar to other cultures, tombs were built high up on mountains to be close to the sky.  Some suspect that the tomb of Antiochus is underneath the artificial mountain peak of rock which is 50 meters high piled between the two ledges of the gods. Due to earthquakes, the colossal heads of gods are now scattered in the summit of Mount Nemrut.

Many archaeological gems have been found on the top of Mount Nemrut.

My Nemrut Experience….

A year after learning about Mount Nemrut, I was lucky enough to be travelling around Turkey for 4 weeks and had made my way to the lovely town of Kahta, East Turkey.  The next morning a group of us made our way up to Nemrut Dagi mountain, stopping en route to explore other historical sites.

The day was very special to me and I felt that I was far more excited than the other people I was travelling with, probably because of how much anticipation I had built up since I first discovered its existence!

The journey from the summit to the top of mount Nemrut was mainly by mini bus.  It was one of the most terrifying  bus rides I have ever experienced.  To give you an idea of the skill of our driver, the width of the bus was about 2.5 metres and the width of the road was about 3 metres.  Okay, slightly exaggerating, but I’m sure my estimate is not far off and to add to my fear, it was raining.  The road to the mountain was very steep and contained sharp zig-zags all the way up.  Our bus was able to cope with the wet and very narrow road surface where the slightest misjudgement would have proved fatal.  I was tempted to ask what the accident rate was on the mountain route, but I did not want to create more fear for the rest of the passengers.  I admire the skill of the driver who seemed relaxed enough to drive whilst holding a full conversation.

Thankfully after 45 minutes of heart-racing driving, we made it there in one piece.  The final part of our journey was  a steep climb of 30 minutes to reach the top of the mountain and for those less abled, you can hire a horse to take you there.  Whilst climbing to the summit of Mount Nemrut, there is a unique feeling that you are in the most remote place in the world, surrounded by a mass of clouds and natural beauty.

As I stepped onto the final platform, I was immediately confronted with the display of the head statues.  I was happy that none of the statues had been restored and apart from a thin rope, I was not restricted to walk around freely.  Statues were placed on the east and west side of the mountains and we stayed there until the evening, witnessing one of the best sunsets in Turkey.

 

Hidden within the beautiful regions of Eastern Turkey, I found myself really absorbed in the energy of Mount Nemrut,  rumoured to be the 8th wonder of the world, I recommend this trip to anyone wishing to discover Turkey’s ancient history and to explore outside of the popular beach and city tourist spots that Turkey is more famous for.

*TIPS*

To reach the summit of Nemrut mountain to see the 2000 year old statues and the amazing sunrise or sunset, it might be better to arrange a transport tour with a local guide or with the hostel/hotel you are staying in.  The nearest airports are Urfa and Adiyaman (Urfa is your best bet as there are many more great things to see here too).  There are local buses and minibuses available to nearer villages but for you to get the most out of the day and work around transport restrictions, a minibus tour is your best option.