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Adiyaman and Nemrut
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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. |
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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. |
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This site prepared by Tayfun Kalyoncu on 28.02.1997 and last updated on 01.05.1999.
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