Nemrut Dagi

The journey to Kahta from Gaziantep was good,quite scenic. I had to wait at the Kahta bus stand for about 30 minutes for Kommagene hotel‘s staff to pick me up. The hotel seemed to be nice,the owner was good,but he wanted me to shift to the driver’s quarter for a lower price,and to join both the sunset and sunrise tours,both of which I declined, but I would like to ad that there was no real pressure from his side.Dinner was at Sultan sarayi restaurant,ad pide and ayran and Gavurdag salatsi and bread,all for 10TL. Went to bed early.

Day 13: Woke up early at 3 am,left for Nemrut at 3.30,there were 3 of us,me and a Turkish couple. Reached the base of the mountain, bought a scarf because it was really really cold and windy. Trekked up the mountain(not a lot,just 15 minutes or so). Honestly speaking, I wasn’t really impressed with the heads and statues at the first sight,BUT, with the 1st sun rays, it was a different picture altogether. And it got better and better,for the 1st 20 minutes,and most of the crowds moved away to the western terrace and I had the entire place to myself. The bodies and heads looked really magnificent. Just the kind of place I wanted to be in, all mysterious and “kingdomish”. I would definitely recommend visiting at sunrise because although the heads are bigger at the western,the bodies are better preserved at the Eastern terrace. And the sheets of ice too looked magnificent with the sunrays on them. I felt I was at the high point of my trip,can’t recommend Nemrut anymore, and I heartily thank the megalomaniac Commagene king who got built this place, I realized megalomaniacs do the world a lot good in the long run.

Later we went to the Roman fortress, Eski Kale I guess, this too was quite a place. A big fortress with imposing over an old pastoral village, and having a delicious homemade breakfast in one of the homes, what else could one want in life? The breakfast was really good, especially the whole unleavened wheat bread, pretty similar to what we have in India,just a little thicker. The cheese and fruit jams too were well done, and all freshly made. We then proceeded towards the Seljuk bridge, which was quite attractive, and the gorge behind it made it even better,and there were actual pastorals with their sheep and goats crossing the ancient bridge. What a sight..the Roman bridge too was good,especially the rock formations behind it, I loved the whole Commagene countryside, it really felt as if a kingdom did exist here, the river,the gorges,the mountains,castles and ancient unmodernised villages made the whole area very atmospheric. Reached back at about 10 am, and immediately left for Urfa.

Heads at Nemrut Dagi.

Snow still lingers around the peak.

The way upto Nemrut.

A brief summary of my Trip to Turkey.
Being Vegetarian in Turkey
4 Days in Istanbul.
Selcuk and Ephesus.
Priene-Miletus-Didyma
Afrodisias:The Best Graeco Roman Ruins
4 Days in Cappadocia.
Gaziantep
Nemrut
Sanliurfa