How to Explore Mt Nemrut and Sanliurfa in Turkey

Southeastern Turkey has some of the country’s most incredible archeological wonders. By far the most well known and spectacular is Mt Nemrut. The severed stone heads perched on the top of a mountain peak is one of the most unique sights in Turkey. However, there are also other important historical highlights in the surrounding area, including what is thought to be the worlds’ first temple near Sanliurfa.

One of the main reasons people venture out to this part of the country is to see these incredible archeological sights. I was able to see a few of them while I was based in Kahta, including day trips to Mt Nemrut and Sanliurfa.

Here is my guide to Mount Nemrut and how to get around to southeastern Turkey’s other archeological sites.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links which means I get a commission if you buy a product through my link at no extra cost to you. By doing so, I can keep this blog going and continue to create helpful guides for you. Read more: Privacy Policy

Contents

About Mt Nemrut

At the summit of Mt Nemrut or Nemrut Dagi at over 2100m is the tomb of Antiochus I, who reigned over the Commagene kingdom of Northern Syria and the Euphrates after the breakup of King Alexander’s empire. It consists of a number of stone statues of Gods on both sides of the peak and is considered one of the most ambitious sites of the Hellenistic period. Although today, the stone heads have fallen onto the ground, the site is still well intact considering its age.

How to visit Mt Nemrut

Getting to the site itself is not necessarily easy for those travelling independently. If you are travelling with your own transport then it is no problem at all, but there is no public transport that reaches the mountain or site entrance itself, making an organised tour the most practical solution. There are basically four options to choose from for a visit to Nemrut:

From Cappadocia:

By far the most popular option for Turkish tourists and those short on time, is an organised tour from Goreme in Cappadocia. It usually requires an overnight drive so that you are at Nemrut in time for sunrise or a long drive during the day for a sunset visit, before a long overnight drive back. It’s at least an 8-hour drive one way, making it a tiring and often rushed trip. You can also make it a two or three-day tour from Cappadocia if you’d still prefer that than doing it independently.

From Kahta:

The most comfortable option is to get yourself to Kahta by bus where there is decent accommodation options. From there it’s simple to organise a half-day tour to Mt Nemrut, usually for either sunrise or sunset. It’s only an hour’s drive to the site and is usually done in conjunction with other archeological sites scattered nearby (more on this below).

From Karadut:

The cheapest option but also somewhat challenging is to arrive in Kahta and then take either a local (very infrequent) minibus/dolmus or hire a taxi to Karadut, a small village at the base of Mt Nemrut. There are a couple of basic guesthouses available there. From Karadut, you can either hike up the mountain which is 12 km one way or take a taxi to the entrance and back, which the guesthouses can arrange.

From Malatya:

The least popular option is to take a bus from any major city in Turkey to Malatya, a large city in Southeastern Turkey and then organise a tour or taxi from there to Nemrut. It would be around a two-hour drive one way.

About Kahta

I chose to base myself in Kahta and I would recommend independent travellers to either do the same or take the option of staying in Karadut (the small village at the base of the mountain).

Kahta is a pretty standard Turkish town and there is not much appeal to it other than it’s proximity to Nemrut. There are a couple of decent restaurants and hotels and basic amenities like supermarkets and ATMs all along the main street.

How to get to Kahta

Kahta is not necessarily that well connected directly to major cities because it’s a small town. However, it’s relatively easy to reach by changing to a dolmus connection from nearby towns like Siverek or Adiyaman.

From Adiyaman | There are buses that can drop you in Kahta from Adiyaman that will be continuing on to other destinations. The more convenient option would be to take a regular dolmus from Adiyaman to Kahta. It’s just a half an hour drive. Adiyaman is where you’ll find the nearest airport to Kahta if you’re coming from Istanbul or another major city.

From Diyarbakir | There is a direct bus to Kahta which leaves at 2.30pm and takes around 3.5 hours. It costs 45 TL (AUD$11). The other option from Diyarbakir is to take a dolmus/minibus to Siverek and then change to another dolmus to Kahta from there, it totals 30 TL (AU$6) for both legs.

Where to stay in Kahta

There’s a handful of decent accommodation options in Kahta. However, a popular choice amongst foreign tourists is Kommagene Hotel.

This hotel is located near the main intersection/roundabout in the middle of town. Some of the buses actually stop right outside the gate, otherwise it’s a 7 min walk from the bus station. The owner is a well-versed tour operator and businessman and he knows that everyone walking through his gate wants to go to Nemrut.

Kommagene Hotel charge around 120 TL (AUD$30) per night, the rooms are large and comfortable with private bathrooms and breakfast included. Check availability here.

Tours to Mt Nemrut from Kahta

The tours are not that cheap, but I found that Kommagene Hotel was reliable, convenient and the driver I had was very good. Still, it’s worth negotiating and/or trying to share a tour with other people. It seemed to be the main place for backpackers and budget travellers in town, although there were very few of us around in general.

The half day tour to Nemrut was 30 euros each, negotiable depending on total people.

Sunset tour to Mt Nemrut

The whole tour is around 5-6 hours if you include the other sites in the area such as Severan Bridge and Arsemia Ancient City.

Severan Bridge is one of the oldest Roman bridges in the region and was built by the Commagene Kingdom. Arsemia was the ancient city and palace of the Commagene kings, but today there is only a couple of inscribed pillars, a well-intact stone relief of Hercules and the King and old tunnels running into the hill. Both are free to visit.

After visiting these two places we drove to the ticket office for Nemrut. I had to purchase an entrance ticket (20TL or AUD$5) and a bus transfer ticket (5TL or AUD$1.25), or you can choose to walk if you’re early enough. There were shuttles running frequently up towards the end of the road and back which saves a lot of time. From there you still have to walk the steps up to the summit.

There are paths running in either direction but it doesn’t matter as both link up to the two sites. There is a west and east terrace, with the east being the most well preserved. It took me about 15 minutes to walk to the east terrace first and then just 5 minutes to walk from there around to the west.

The views are incredible of the surrounding landscape and the sunset was very beautiful. However, it was a lot more crowded than I expected with a lot of Turkish tour groups, but it was still a great experience. Bring a warm jacket though because it’s very cold and windy up there, regardless of the time of year.

About Sanliurfa

Sanliurfa or Urfa is a pilgrimage town and the home of the cave in which it is believed Prophet Abraham was born.

The cave is in the Dergah Complex which consists of an Ottoman-style stone mosque. Men and women can both enter and visit the cave, albeit using different entrances and women must be fully covered with a headscarf. It is believed that Abraham lived in the cave until he was 15, hiding from the wrath of the then King who had heard a prophet would be born to destroy his kingdom.

There is also an old bazaar and a pretty park which is a nice place to stroll through while pilgrims pass on their way to pray at Abraham’s cave. There are plenty of nice restaurants and hotel options if you want to stay the night.

How to visit Sanliurfa

You can either visit Sanliurfa on a day trip from Kahta or head to the town and spend the night in a hotel instead.

You can reach Sanliurfa by bus from either Adiyaman, Siverek or Gaziantep. If you’re in Kahta after visiting Mt Nemrut, then you can take a dolmus or minibus to either Adiyaman or Siverek, then change to another bus to Sanliurfa. It should take just half a day, then you can enjoy the town and find a hotel near the bazaar.

Day trip to Sanliurfa from Kahta

I visited on an organised day trip from Kahta, which was already running from Kommagene Hotel. This way I combined both a visit to Sanliurfa and Gobekli Tepe in a day.

We left at 10am and drove the two hours to Urfa, stopping at a viewpoint of Ataturk Dam on the way for tea. Then we visited Gobekli Tepe and then spent time in Urfa before heading back to Kahta.

Gobekli Tepe

Gobekli Tepe is 12km out of Sanliurfa town. It’s known as the world’s first temple or ritual site and when first excavated in 1994 it turned the dominant theory of human settlement on its head. Originally it was believed that religion and belief systems came after the evolution of agriculture and settled communities, however, this site now proves otherwise, and that perhaps hunter-gatherers had developed some sense of religion prior to the transition to agricultural societies. You can read more about this on National Geographic here.

The stone pillars which are still being excavated today are estimated to be around 12, 000 years old, which is mind blowing. It’s listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and yet, it was extremely quiet as many people either don’t know about it or don’t bother to make the trip out to see it. Taking the site on face value it may not be as impressive as other archeological sites in Turkey, however, its sheer age and importance for human history makes it worth a stop. It will be a few years before the site is fully excavated and work is still being carried out.

The entrance ticket is 30 TL (AUD$8). If you’re visiting from Sanliurfa, then you can organise a taxi to take you out there.

Exploring more of Eastern Turkey?

Check out some of my other posts for Eastern Turkey:

How to Explore Mt Nemrut and Sanliurfa in Turkey

About Mt Nemrut