Kahta, Mt Nemrut, Turkey, Thursday May 1st

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The ghastly voice on our mobile phone screeched “It’s time to get up, it’s time to get up,” seemingly with relish, at 3.10 am. Shocked out of deep sleep, we donned many layers of clothes, coats, hats and scarves to combat the cold at the top of Mt Nemrut’s 2,150 metres. We made friends with our fellow tour members – Turhan, a ship’s captain from Istanbul, and Pauline and Bertran, French students studying in Turkey under the Erasmus program. Dark shapes looming in the dark and the occasional buildings and lights of villages were our only sights. After a cup of tea in the cafeteria near the top of the mountain, we set off together to climb the last 500 metres of rough steps and path to the summit.

The site at the top of Mt Nemrut was masterminded by Mithridates I, King of Kommagene, after he founded the kingdom on in 80 BC. It was a very prosperous community with good agricultural lands, but it lay between the Roman and Persian Empires and was often besieged by one after the other. The population was divided, with some speaking Persian and some speaking Greek. In a brilliant attempt to win the confidence of all his subjects, Mithridates claimed that he had personally made a treaty with the gods to protect the people of Kommagene. It was successful, with the populace believing that they were all the chosen ones, and the position of the king being guaranteed, since the ‘treaty’ was based on Mithridates and his heirs remaining on the throne.

Abdicating in favour of his son, Antiochos I, in 69 BC, he continued to assist in the building of a cult and ceremonies and sanctuaries to support it. Antiochos was no shrinking violet and declared himself to be a god and his mother to be a goddess. This consolidated the intimate relationship the family had with the gods. He had the top of Mt Nemrut removed on two sides to create flat terraces on the East and West. The Eastern terrace had a fire alter, colossal statues of five seated gods, and walls of low stone slabs. The slabs list the deified ancestors of Antiochos I, with Dareios I of Persia and Alexander the Great heading the Persian and Macedonian lists respectively. Few slabs now remain and sadly the heads have toppled and are placed in front of the bodies. All night ceremonies culminating in the sun striking the faces of the statues reaffirmed commitment to the treaty annually. The five gods are seated because they are at home. To amalgamate the Greek and Persian aspects, each god had two names, to line up the two religious backgrounds. They are Antiochos, the goddess Kommagene (the mother of Antiochos I), Zeus-Oromasdes (the Graeco-Persian sky-god and supreme deity, and also the largest-sized statue), Apollo-Mithras, and Herakles-Artagnes. On either side of the divinities stood a guardian eagle and lion.

Antiochos developed a new code of conduct and had the country's laws and commandments, as well as with the king's birthday and details of cult procedures, all written in Greek script on the pedestals of the statues. Similar statues and other items were placed on the West terrace, along with reliefs of Antiochos shaking hands with the gods. One of the reliefs could be made out and I thought it was a convincing bit of attention to detail in persuading people of the validity of the initial treaty.

I had read all the above information plus more before going and it enabled me to really appreciate the power and enormity of the undertaking that the Nemrut site represents. The Romans finally defeated Kommagene but it was the last kingdom in Asia Minor to succumb.

We waited in the freezing cold with an icy wind whipping around us, bringing on the nose drips. Slowly the sun rose, colouring the sky and lighting up the statues. Just as it would have been on a morning long ago for Antiochos, the crowd of Kommagenian dignitaries and citizens who had waited all night, there was a precise culminating moment. The power of nature had been harnessed to underline the power of gods and kings. Many of the original items are missing or eroded, but enough remains to be very impressive and well worth the early morning trip.

We had a second drink in the cafeteria to thaw us out and chatted further. Soon we were on our way again to see a Seljuk bridge spanning a fast flowing river. Behind it the light streamed through a ravine with the remains of a castle on top. The arch of the bridge was pointed. We all commented that this spot would be ideal on a hot summer’s day.

Not far away we came to a broad river flat with only a thin ribbon of the original river running through the middle. We speculated that that was the result of the damming of the river for the Atatürk dam. The Roman Cendere Bridge had been built on a grand scale for a mighty river to flow under it. The two pillars at each end represented the family of Emperor Septimus Severus. When one of the sons died later, his brother, who had succeeded the father as emperor, had his sibling’s pillar removed. We crossed the bridge, lazing for a while and lapping up the warmth of the morning sun and the serenity of the scene.

Next stop was at the Karakus tumulus, built by Methridites II, who was the son of Antiochos I. It had columns and the remains of an eagle on one side and, walking along the path to the other side, where there were more pillars but only a few remains of the statues on top of them. Perhaps we were a little underwhelmed, having seen Mt Nemrut first, but really we more interested in the magnificent views of rolling hills, rivers and farmlands, and in the crop at the side which we couldn’t identify, than in the monuments. It was only in recalling the sad story of the death of Methridites II’s sister, Laodike, at the hands of her own son and the intense mourning for her by her brother, that the solemnity of the site reached me. Also buried there are Methridites II’s mother, his second sister and his niece. It was possible to see the tumulus from the summer palace, Eski Kale, from the capital of Kommagene (Arsameia), which gave Methridites II some comfort.

Eski Kale, on the summit of a mountain, had many spectacular features. A large relief carving of Mithras (Apollo) wearing a hat with sunrays emerging from it, can only be appreciated if you are brave enough to step down onto a platform near the edge of a very steep drop. Keith was able to appreciate it. At two spots, wide steps led into cave chambers, which are thought to be a temple for the worship of Mithras. Outside the second cave entrance there is a clear relief of Antiochos I shaking hands with the god Herakles. Herakles is naked, as befits a god/hero, and interestingly, Antiochos is depicted as taller, even without his headdress and shoes. Keith went down the steps into the cave as far as was safe, stopping when he met a one metre drop and rubble. Also, he didn’t have the torch, only the camera light. I read that the cave extends for 158 metres.

The summit is covered with the remains of the palace and other buildings, but only with low parts of walls, steps and foundations now visible. A cistern hole beside column bases seemed like a dark and dangerous trap. The site is overgrown with grass and wildflowers, but even so it was possible to imagine the splendour of a palace with a view of the kingdom’s lands, extending as far as the eye could see.

We returned to our hotel and established that our room did not include breakfast. Keith went off to buy some breakfast supplies, which we pooled with Pauline, Bertran and Monica, their Polish friend who had not felt well enough to come to Mt Nemrut. The hotel manager brought us out some omelette, honey, cheese and tomatoes to add to the feast. Turhan also turned up to join us. Over the breakfast, which lasted for ages, we exchanged ideas, addresses and suggestions. I had finished my book, Orhan Pamuk’s ‘Istanbul, Memories and the City’, and gave it to Pauline, who is studying English and American literature. I am sure that she will enjoy it. We were pretty tired, so we departed for a sleep.

The rest of the afternoon was spent catching up on the action packed stay in Gaziantep for the blog, and organising photos. We set off for dinner but realised that we did not have the dictionary to discuss the menu. We were now in areas where there may not be English speakers, so we returned for it. Just as well because, although we had lots of assistance in choosing a vegetarian option in the pide shop, when we checked with the dictionary, the suggested dish had sausages in it. Eventually we had a delicious salad, cheese pides and an entrée we hadn’t ordered of a spicy sauce and puffy bread. The whole lot came to 9 lira, about $A7.50.

The biggest treat of the night was the ice-cream from Karamanmaraş. This ice-cream is made with the special ingredient of flour from the root of a wild orchid. It is frozen but holds its shape and doesn’t melt. A lick could push up a swirl that would just sit there. It was snowy white and not like gelati or ice-cream in texture or sticky sweetness, but somehow cleaner and purer than both. It is the famous product of Karamanmaraş, and should be world famous. The ice-creams were topped with chocolate and coconut. I could write an ode to this ice-cream, it was so scrumptious.

Several Turkish people have assured us that this animal is a 'mouse'. It is the size of a half grown guinea pig and we are still trying to identify it. We saw it on the slopes of Mt Nemrut. If you recognise it, please let us know.