10 July, Nemrut Daği
Guneş Motel 120TL (dinner and breakfast included)
Nemrut Daği’s peak rises to 2150m, the top 50m of which is man-made.
Lonely Planet: “The
summit was created when a megalomaniac pre-Roman local king cut two ledges in
the rock, filled them with colossal statues of himself and the gods (his
relatives – or so he thought), then ordered an artificial mountain peak of
crushed rock 50m high to be piled between them.” My 1984 visit here was more
enigmatic, evocative, atmospheric; rough dirt roads and no tourist development
on the mountain slopes.* Now the statues are fenced off and a pension or two
near the summit make it easier to visit at both sunset and sunrise. But as
Nemrut lies in what was upper Mesopotamia, looking out over the Tigris and
Euphrates rivers, the setting and history still make for a romantic visit.
Yesterday’s bus driver dropped us at the carpark on the opposite side of the
summit from the Guneş Motel. So we climbed to the terraces
containing the statues then walked the 2.5km down to the motel for some
isolated R&R.
*1984 diary: “It is
76km from Kâhta to Nemrut (Nimrod) – the highest mountain in this area of the Taurus
range at 2159m. And all on a steep dirt road that is incredibly bumpy. What a
fantastic ride. We wound our way up through the mountains passing ruins and
flat-roofed villages on the way. The last stretch has to be done on foot. And
suddenly you are there. There is the tomb of King Antiochus I who reigned over
an independent Hellenistic empire – the Kingdom of Kommagene – from 69-43BC. On
top of Nemrut an artificial mountain of rubble – stones +- the size of my fist
– has been built to hide the entrance to the tomb. 50m high, 150m in diameter.
Just below the tumulus there are three terraces, the east and west containing a
series of giant statues of gods and kings. Both terraces originally enclosed
the same statuary and inscriptions. Each statue was 8 to 9 m high and built of
8 superimposed rectangular blocks. These were apparently brought from 20km
away. The four male and one female statue are flanked by an eagle and a lion on
either side. These were the symbols of the Kingdom. The middle statue is that
of the father of the gods – Zeus. On his left is the throne of Antiochus and
Hercules. On his right Tyche (all-nourishing) and Apollo. The statues are no
longer standing. On the east terrace the bodies are almost completely intact,
but the heads have toppled to the ground. On the west side the entire statue/s
has toppled over. Scattering bits of body and giant heads onto the ground.”
Nemrut Daği
Nemrut Daği
Nemrut Daği
Nemrut Daği
Nemrut Daği