Mount Nemrut @ Travel Turkey

On the heads of giants
Difficult to reach without your own transport, Mount Nemrut is best visited on an organised day trip from the nearby cities of Kahta and Adiyaman, or even from Goreme in Cappadocia. Such tours are easy to book locally and allow you to take in an ... April 3, 2011
http://www.smh.com.au/travel/on-the-heads-of-giants-20110331-1ch9...

Planning a Turkish holiday: southeastern Anatolia
An oblique rectangle with its corners turning on Malatya, Gaziantep, Van and Hakkari, it's a huge area where every day is bound to throw up surprises. Things won't always go as smoothly as you planned, and communication can sometimes be tricky in a ... April 3, 2011
http://www.sundayszaman.com/sunday/newsDetail_getNewsById.action?...

The mountain lies 40km north of Kahta, near Adıyaman. In 62 BC, King Antiochus I Theos of Commagene built on the mountain top a tomb-sanctuary flanked by huge statues (8-9 meters high) of himself, two lions, two eagles and various Greek, Armenian and Persian gods, such as Hercules, Zeus-Oromasdes (associated with the Persian god Ahura Mazda), Tyche, and Apollo-Mithras. These statues were once seated, with names of each god inscribed on them. The heads of the statues are now scattered throughout the site; the pattern of damage to the heads (notably to noses) suggests that they were deliberately damaged because of belief in iconoclasm. The site also preserves stone slabs with bas-relief figures that are thought to have formed a large frieze. These stones display the ancestors of Antiochus, who included both Macedonians and Persians.

The same statues and ancestors found throughout the site can also be found on the tumulus at the site, which is 49 meters tall and 152 meters in diameter. The statues have the likeness of Greek facial features, in conjunction with Persian clothing and hairstyling. The western terrace contains a large slab with a lion, showing the arrangement of stars and the planets Jupiter, Mercury and Mars on 7 July 62 BC, the possible time when construction began on this monument. The eastern portion is well preserved, being composed of several layers of rock, and there is evidence of a walled passageway linking the eastern and western terraces, from a path below at the foot of Mount Nemrut. Possible uses for this site might have included religious ceremonies, due to the astronomical and religious nature of the monument.

The arrangement of such statues is known by the term hierothesion. Similar arrangements have been found at Arsameia on Nymphaios at the hierothesion of the father of Antiochus, Mithridates I Callinicus.

This tomb was excavated in 1881 by Karl Sester, an engineer from Germany. Subsequent excavations have failed to reveal the tomb of Antiochus. However, this is still believed to be the site of his burial. In 1987, Mt. Nemrut was made a World heritage site by UNESCO. Tourists typically visit Nemrut during June through August. The nearby town of Adıyaman is a popular place for car and bus trips to the site, and one can also travel by helicopter.

Mount Nemrut Article on Wikipedia

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