A 2137 m high peak situated in the Kurdish land. If you climb to the top, you may look down on the Euphrates and the surrounding mountains. Mistery hunters like Daniken consider it a realm of the paranormal while according to the official records, in 62 BC Antiochus I, king of Kommagene built a tomb-sanctuary on the top and decorated it with huge statues depicting lions, eagles, different gods and, obviously, himself. One thing is certain: it was a heroic work to carry them up there, and owing to its limited military importance and steep slopes, the statues are still more or less in place.
Nemrut dağ is the perfect place to enjoy the sunrise or sunset. When we saw it 15 years ago the area was considered unsafe (Turkish military sometimes collided with the Kurds in that region) and most of the visitors were Turkish citizen. The road leading up to the peak was unpaved and dusty, and we had to walk the last two or three kilometres in dark. It was August but the morning was very cold, we tried to hide behind a stone lion to avoid the wind. When finally the sun rose and lit the narrow, shiny string of water stretching at the feet of the mountains, everyone around us turned towards it and started to pray. It was a magical moment, we saw a prayer to the Sun god.
15 years later there were no Turks any more, only loud tourists who climbed the statues and took pictures of each other. My son woke up obediently at 3 a.m. and climbed the peak without a word, he did not mind neither the snake he saw on the way nor the cold wind. We found a few ladybugs hiding under the stones, waiting for the warm rays of the sun and he counted them. But he was happy to return to the warm room of the small hostel where we spent the night.
- to be continued -
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