Turkey: Mount Nemrut
Mount Nemrut is the prime attraction in the Eastern Turkey and for many is the only reason to travel this far east. The UNESCO-listed site, lies high in the mountains of the Eastern Anatolia, on top of the Mount Nemrut, where two sets of giant stone head statues stand on two platforms on the eastern and western sides of the mountain. The stunning 2000-year old statutes are funerary mounds for King Antiochus of Commagene (64-34 BC), who had built a prosperous kingdom in these middle-of-nowhere lands. The kingdom enjoyed full sovereignty, sandwiched between the bitter rivals of the massive Roman and Persian empires. The statues originally stood atop 2 meter high platforms, but then earthquakes knocked them down and scattered them around. Sunrise and sunset are best time to be here for the most impressive pics, although you inevitably going to lose the light on on the the platforms.
