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Adiyaman's
Archaeological Museum houses regional finds from the Lower Firat
which date from the Neolithic and Chalcolithic ages. Good quality
kilims woven in bright colors sell for reasonable prices in the
bazaar. Surrounding monuments include the ruins of an Abbasid
citadel (restored by the Seljuks) and a 14th century Ulu Mosque. The
discovery of oil in the region has brought prosperity to Adiyaman.
Adiyaman as well as Kahta (which has good accommodations and camping
facilities), make good bases from which to visit Nemrut Dagi
National Park.
You can hire transportation in either town. On the summit of Nemrut
Dagi (Mount Nemrut) at an altitude of 2,150 meters - the highest
mountain in North Mesepotamia - sits the gigantic funerary sanctuary
erected in the first century B.C. by King Antiochos I of Commagene. |
King Atiocos Mosoleum, Mt.
Nemrut
Sunset View, Mt. Nemrut
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The engineering involved in creating
the artificial tumulus-flanked by terraces on which rest the colossal
statues of Apollo, Zeus, Heracles, Tyche and Antiochus-continues to amaze
visitors.Time has inflicted heavy damage on the sculptures; their torsos
sit with their beautifully carved heads at their feet.
At ancient Eskikale (Arsameia of Nymphaios) a magnificent relief depicts
Heracles greeting the Commagene king, Mithiridates, in the ruins of what
scholars believe might have been the Commagene Palace. Opposite this site
separated by the Eski Kahta river are the remains of the Yenikale (New
Castle) built by the Mamelouks. Other nearby sights include the Roman
bridge at Cendere and another Commagene royal tumulus, Karakus. |
