Mount Nemrut

Mount Nemrut, also known as Nemrut Dağ or Nemrut Daği in Turkish, is a 2,150-meter peak, one of Turkey’s most spectacular ancient sites. It lies 40 km north of Kahta, near Adıyaman, and is part of the Taurus Mountain range in southeastern Turkey, Often referred to as the ‘throne of the gods’, this world heritage site holds many secrets.

At the top of Mount Nemrut are scattered giant statue heads and a mysterious tomb-sanctuary. The monumental and eerie funerary mound are believed to be of King Antiochus I of the Kingdom of Commagene. Around the ancient burial mound are two main terraces lined with big seated statues, 8 to 9 meters high of Antiochus himself, Hercules, Zeus and a few other Greek and Persian deities, along with two lions and two eagles.

Laying scattered throughout the site are statues that are headless, due to frequent earthquakes or because of iconoclasm. Over time, the monumental site was lost, only to be rediscovered in 1881, by Karl Sester, a German archaeologist. However, it took some 70 years before archaeological activities began. While most of the heads, temples, bas-reliefs and inscriptions have been discovered, many statues have yet to be found and restored.