The mysterious history of Mount Nemrut-Dag dates back to 62 BC. Then, at an altitude of 2,150 meters above the sea, the tomb of Antiochus I Epiphanes was built. And this tomb was surrounded by majestic statues eight meters high, presumably they were huge statues of the Gods - Zeus, Antiochus, Hercules, Apollo, as well as sculptures of giant eagles and lions. The sanctuary illustrated the change of kings in the dynasty and to this day is a unique monument of hoary antiquity. Today, this place is a national park. At the site of the tomb, the remains of ancient sculptures have been preserved; researchers believe that during the period of iconoclasm, the sculptures were deliberately destroyed. The park on Nemrut Dag is considered one of the main attractions of Anatolia.
Already at the foot of the mountain, you can feel a special atmosphere saturated with age-old wisdom. And a little higher are those same mysterious stone heads, for which tourists make a rather long journey. And, without guile, we can say that a vacation in Turkey will be a little incomplete without visiting this ancient mountain. What are these man-made remains silent about? They remember the small state of Kommagene, which was headed by strong and powerful rulers.
For example, the reigning Mithridates I attracted attention with the Olympic Games. But King Antiochus I surpassed others by creating his own religion. And he declared himself God, trying to combine the traditions of the Gods of the East and West, since he considered his mother a descendant of the family of Alexander the Great, and his father a descendant of the Persian king Darius. And then Nemrut became a religious center, where the newly appeared God decided to build a kind of ritual complex. By order of the king, his will was immortalized on the wall of the temple, so that the royal birthday was celebrated every month and every year. On this day, a holiday was to be arranged for the assembled guests. The death of the God-king prevented the completion of the work, and a sanctuary appeared at the very top of the mountain, that is, the tomb of Antiochus I. On three terraces,located on the top of Mount Nemrut-Dag are dilapidated statues and mysterious heads.
According to other researchers, heads fell from the shoulders of their stone masters during a strong earthquake and now settled down next to them. Even during his lifetime, Antiochus I called this place the home of the Gods with heavenly thrones located in it. The surviving fragments of the imposing royal sculptures amaze the imagination of visitors to this day. What thoughts and sensations come near the eight-meter head of ancient Zeus can be felt only by being close.
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