Mount Nemrut

WOW !! 🤩
Warning ⚠️ lots of pictures! 😂

After spending the last couple of weeks travelling the Southeastern region of Turkey along the Syria border, a few days ago we turned North high up into the mountains, and at long last most of the snow has melted, which means we have finally made it to the magical mountain known as ‘Mount Nemrut’ here’s a few pictures 🤩🤩

We even met up again with the Asia news channel TRT, as they are filming Turkeys latest Tourism Promotional Film, so Comet got a few minutes of fame, and what a place to be filming 🤩

Hope you enjoy the pictures, we have many more 😂 and if you’re interested in some serious history, here’s a little bit about this amazing place!

There are few places on Earth that beguile visitors with majesty and a mystic aura. Mount Nemrut in southern Turkey is one of those places. However, it is not its height of a towering 2,134 meters that makes Nemrut a UNESCO World Heritage-worthy site, but rather, it is the gigantic statues of gods commissioned by King Antiochus I of Commagene for his own tomb that makes it a world wonder.

Considered one of the most ambitious constructions of the Hellenistic period, the statues represent the dual cultural background of the Kingdom of Commagene as they were inspired by both Greek and Persian mythologies. Founded after the breakup of Alexander the Great’s empire, Commagene was, in fact, a junction of eastern and western civilizations that helped Nemrut and its statues be welcomed by UNESCO in 1987 for being a site of “Outstanding Universal Value.”

The Kingdom of Commagene

The giant statues on Mount Nemrut represent the gods worshiped by the people of Commagene and were specifically built to accompany King Antiochus’s tomb. However, the tomb of this great king has yet to be located despite years of excavations, covering the site with a blanket of mystery. In order to understand why such a remarkable place of worship – and art – was built more than 2,000 years ago, we need to go back and try to understand the kingdom better.

Founded by Mithridates I Callinicus, who claimed to be a descendent of the King of Armenia, the Kingdom of Commagene dominated Mesopotamia and the great Euphrates between 109 B.C. and A.D. 72. Founded by Macedonians in a land where Persian culture reigns, Commagene became a personification of the marriage of East and West, which can be seen in its culture. Although the people used Greek culture, the rulers of this kingdom did not hide their admiration for the Persian, Assyrian and Armenian cultures.

Archeologists believe that Mount Nemrut was a sacred site for the people of Commagene, which is why King Antiochus I wanted his tomb to be built on the top of the mountain and, to be honest, he was probably a megalomaniac since he thought he was equal to the gods. When the Romans conquered the kingdom, the statues and the place of worship on this majestic mountain were abandoned, and the statues, believed to be 50 meters long when they were first erected, were left to their fate.

The site on the top of Mount Nemrut was never a secret, but it was not investigated until German engineer Karl Sester started to excavate it in 1881. However, the spotlight didn’t turn to Nemrut until Friedrich Karl Dörner started systematic research in the area in 1939. After years of excavations, the Middle East Technical University (METU) in Ankara prepared a comprehensive plan to excavate and research the mountain as well as its surrounding area in 2006, which is still ongoing.