North Kurdistan · Bakur · Persian, Roman & Sasanian
Mount Nemrut
A king's tomb on a mountain summit: an artificial peak of stone flanked by colossal seated gods, their fallen heads facing sunrise and sunset.
UNESCO World Heritage Site
- Period
- 1st century BC
- Place
- Near Semsûr (Adıyaman)
- Region
- North Kurdistan · Bakur
- Age
- Persian, Roman & Sasanian
Antiochus I, king of Commagene, built his tomb-sanctuary at more than 2,100 metres: a cone of loose stone some fifty metres high, with terraces to the east and west lined with statues eight to nine metres tall of gods, lions and eagles — and the king himself among them.
The statues mix Greek and Persian features, as Commagene did. Earthquakes toppled the heads, which now stand on the ground in rows. Visitors climb to see the sun rise over them. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987.
Chosen and introduced by Aram Mizuri, architect in Erbil