Changes in Mount Nemrut area

The ruins zone around Mt. Nemrut in the southeastern city of Adıyaman is to become a new Turkish tourism brand with the help of the Kommagene-Nemrut Protection and Development Program. The aim is to rearrange the environment and to cover the splits on the high statues of gods located in the zone

GAZİANTEP - Anatolia News Agency

The ruins around Mount Nemrut in the southeastern Adıyaman province are set to become a site for tourism, with the help of a new development program undertaken by the tourism ministry and academics.

The Ören zone around Mount Nemrut is already on the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's World Culture Heritage list, and now, as part of the Kommagene Nemrut Protection and Development Program, Middle East Technical University, or METU, and the Culture and Tourism Ministry will conduct relevant research in the area until 2010, according to Neriman Şahin Güçhan, assistant professor in the METU Faculty of Architecture.

Noting that the aim of the initiative is to transform the environment and to cover the cracks on the high statues of gods located in the ruins, Güçhan said, “We prepared a project and it received approval. Application projects are on the bids now.”

MODERN SERVING HOUSE

Stating that a modern serving house will be built in the ruins area, Güçhan explained: “There is a social facility in the area to be destroyed and transformed into a festival area. A new and modern serving house will be built instead, including three big exhibition halls, a lounge, souvenir shops and an audiovisual hall. Documentaries about Mt. Nemrut will be presented in the hall. Upon arriving in the serving house, guests will leave their cars in the parking lot, as private cars are not allowed in the area. Instead, they will be transported by public mini buses.”

Güçhan said the use of smart tokens will be very useful in terms of monitoring the number of visitors and added that security and tour guides will be present to prevent the monuments from being damaged.

DAMAGE ON THE STATUES

“It is not true that the statues of the Mount Nemrut are any more damaged than any others in Turkey. When we compare the pictures from 100 years ago, we see there is no big difference between them,” said Güçhan.

Noting that the team plans to restore the statues as part of the program extension, Güçhan explained: “We will be in Adıyaman between July 23 and August 10. We will make our studies on how to protect the ruins' environment and how to repair the statues' damage. We will prepare a mixture and use it on the splits.”

The Mount Nemrut Scientific Committee Council Meeting will be held June 29-30 in Ören. Studies on mending the statues will be selected by the committee members.

8th Wonder of the World

Mt. Nemrut, also known as the “Eighth Wonder of the World” or “The Throne of the Gods,” lies 66 kilometers north of the town Kahta, near Adıyaman. In 62 B.C. King Antiochus I Theos of Commagene built on the mountaintop a tomb-sanctuary flanked by huge statues (eight to nine meters high) of himself, two lions, two eagles and various Greek, Armenian and Persian gods and heroes, such as Hercules, Zeus-Oromasdes (associated with the Persian god Ahura Mazda), Tyche and Apollo-Mithras. These statues were once seated, with the name of each god inscribed on them.

The site also preserves stone slabs with bas-relief figures that are thought to have formed a large frieze. These stones depict the ancestors of Antiochus, including Macedonians and Persians.

Inform,03.07.08