Mt Nemrut
is located about where the dot is below on the map of Turkey. It is about 7,000 feet tall and has large statues on top of the mountain, although most of the statue heads have fallen off and are on the mountain top itself.
Below is what Mt Nemrut looks like from the local area. It is the pointy mountain peak in the middle of the picture. Our guide stated that the word nemrut is generally defined as a word to describe a person's character as cold, hard, impersonal. A shepherd named the mountain as Mt Nemrut because it was cold and hard, etc.
Our tour guide and one of the other people on the trip ready for the hike up the mountain. Can you tell that it was chilly and very windy and we were all trying to be prepared?
This is a picture as we climbed the hill of the surrounding mountains and river nearby. We were waiting for the sunrise.
As we were waiting for the sunrise, we got to see the statues and the heads lined up below the statues themselves. The king at the time these were built thought of himself as someone who had brought together 2 different cultures/countries and thought of himself as worthy of being among the gods. Thus he built a statue of himself on the mountain top and then built statues of some of the gods with him. It is believed that the king may be buried below the stones behind the statues.
Statue heads lined up below.
Waiting for the sunset all wrapped up in a scarf and my coat. My fingers wished they had gloves on.
Another picture of the statues and heads. We only saw this side because the wind was so rough that we could barely move against it.
Due to the wind, only a minimal amount of pictures were taken. You can see my hair being blown out of the jacket cause of the wind.
My favorite statue - Aslan (Turkish word for lion)
The sun is coming up...
Yay! We get to head back down the mountain out if the wind and into the warmth soon!!
The beautiful sun rising out of the mountains. It was a blessing from God to see the beauty He created all around us.
The journey back down the mountain to where the van was waiting to take us back to the warm hotel.
The one decent picture of me in front of the statues. Had to hold my hand near my head to keep the hair out of my face. It was such a fabulous adventure!
