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Adiyaman
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
Northern Mesopotamia - sits the gigantic funerary
sanctuary erected in the first century B.C. by King
Antiochos I of Commagene. 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.
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