When it comes to historical landmarks, Turkey is hard to beat. Ephesus, Haghia Sophia, Cappadoccia, Pergamum, Topkapi I would gladly trade all of them for Nemrut Dag. You can see Roman ruins all over the Mediterranean, you can see as impressive mosques and churches elsewhere, and the world is full of palaces greater than Topkapi, but there is only one Nemrut Dag.
Hidden deep in the mountains of southeastern Turkey, Nemrut Dag (Mt. Nemrut) is one of the most uniquely spectacular sights I have seen in all my travels and if you have heard anything about it before hand, you surely have one picture burned into your mind, gigantic stone heads. These stone heads, carved by Kommagenian worshippers thousands of years ago and placed almost 3,000 meters atop the sacred Mt. Nemrut, are certainly a spectacular sight and one of the symbols of Turkey, but they are just one part of Mt. Nemrut National Park.
The National Park spans a gigantic area of southeastern Turkey, covering mountains and valleys full of historic treasures dating from 10,000 BC to the Crusades and with your own transport, they are yours to explore at will.
If you are coming from Urfa or Malatya, you will approach Mt. Nemrut through a green valley that is the heart of Turkey’s natural gas industry. The landscape on the approach, dotted with oil pumps and boom towns, unfortunately gives you no impression of the unrivaled natural beauty you are about confront in Mt. Nemrut, but thankfully the area is protected so that the gas craze cannot encroach any farther. Leaving the boom towns behind, you are presented with two roads to Mt. Nemrut, one is the direct road up the mountain to the site of the Kommagenian heads, this is the route that the tour groups love to take and the one that, if you have your own trasport, would be crazy to take, because the left fork takes you on a winding road through valleys of flowing green grass and rivers hiding ancient castles, bridges, and cities, all tragically (but luckily for you) left behind by the few tour groups that venture out this far.
The first sight along the way is a smaller version of Mt. Nemrut itself, an oldKommagenian burial mound that features a few towering stone columns topped by busts of eagles as well as a few stone lion heads strewn about the grass. The heads themselves are impressive, but the view is the most spectacular, especially in early spring when the plains are full of long grass speckled with the occasional red poppy.
Moving on from the burial mound you will eventually arrive at the bridge of Septimius Severus (Cendere Köprüsü), named after the Roman emperor who built it. The multi-arched stone structure stretches over a small Euphrates tributary as it comes pouring out of the mountains, carving a deep ravine along the way. The bridge has been aptly restored and you can walk over it, but a modern bridge has been built nearby for motorized traffic.
Moving on from the bridge you will soon be greeted by long set of castle walls, snaking their way along a rock precipice. This is Eski Kahta (Old Kahta). Originally the site of a Kommagenian palace, the structure that stands today is a Mameluke castle that dates back to the Crusades. Upon arrival you may find the castle locked, but don’t despair, the gatekeeper lives in the town at the foot of the castle. Most likely he will come wondering up in his suit and tie a few moments after you show up, but if not, just find some one in town and ask, they’ll hunt him down for you. Luckily the gatekeeper also doubles as a guide, but like many places in Eastern Turkey, without Turkish, I don’t know how much you will learn. Either way, he will show you the hidden parts of the castle that you might have missed other wise, sights like the hidden tunnel leading the river that was used to gather water during sieges. Climbing around the crumbling walls it’s hard not to wonder just how they managed to build such a structure along these craggy cliffs. Without a doubt the castle gets an ‘A’ for strategic location. When we finished up inside the castle we thanked the gatekeeper and handed him a tip, which he politely refused saying he was happy just to have someone come.
Moving on from Eski Kahta, the road will begin its long slow wind up to the top of Mt. Nemrut, passing along the way, the ruins of an ancient Urartian city. The Urartians came after the Komagenians and are responsible for much of the development of the area around Mt. Nemrut. Among the remains of this ancient city are numerous exquisitely carved statues, the remains of a fortress, and the highlight, a large stone engraved with Urartian writing that marks the entrance to an ancient tunnel. The real glory of the ancient city, though, lies in the views which look out over the castle of Eski Kahta and the river valley below. From the citadel of the city you should also be able to see Mt. Nemrut, likely with its top shrouded in cloud.
From the Urartian city, the road winds its way high up into the mountains, first on pavement, then gravel, dirt, and then finally cobblestone. The views are nothing short of spectacular as you slowly push your way up to the top. Eventually you will come upon a small building with a ticket office and a deck. This is as far as you go by car. The last 500 feet are on foot along a rocky path that circles around the tip of Mt. Nemrut. The top of the mountain contains two sets of Hittite statues. One is on the West, side, the other on the East. On our visit (early may), the west side was baked in sun making it t-shirt weather, but the east side, neglected by the sun, was covered in snow, making passage difficult.
The high altitude may leave you a little winded, but you will be amply rewarded by the 5 nearly 10-meter-tall statues awaiting you and their eerily severed heads strewn about below. This ancient sanctuary was originally designed to merge the divine worlds of the Persian and Roman religions, a reflection of the unique Kommagenian culture. Here you will find Gods such as Apollo and Zeus, as well as the King himself. The sheer size of the statues calls to mind serious questions about just how they managed to build them at 2,200 meters, no doubt an impressive feat.
From the East Terrace you can continue around to the West terrace where you will find another set of statues, 15 of them to be exact, and plenty of heads. In this sanctuary you will find such great kinds as Darius, Xerxes and Ptolemy as well as numerous other carvings scattered about. On the West terrace, just as on the East, the views over the Taurus Moutnain range are nothing short of breathtaking.
Hopefully, if you ever make it to Mt. Nemrut, you will find yourself alone at the top surrounded by the limestone ghosts of kings past, because the sheer majesty of the place lies in its seclusion. This was once a holy sanctuary and the thought of it flooded with tours like Ephesus is sad, but probably inevitable. As things settle down in Southeastern Turkey and hungry tourists push east looking to escape the crowds of Western Turkey, Mt. Nemrut is bound to fall pray the the crowds. But until then, it’ll remain a place of quiet mystification that is truly awesome (in the original sense of the word).
Unfortunately our visit was cut short as hail storm took us by surprise, forcing us to flee in our car. A reminder that even in May, the road to Nemrut may be blocked due to icy weather.