Big Heads on Nemrut

Not many people have heard of Mt. Nemrut in eastern Turkey. I don't know how I originally found out about it (maybe on someone's travel blog???), but I was determined to go see the massive head statues atop the mountain.
Unfortunately, it's not the easiest place to get to, especially out of season. During the summer, agencies run 2 nights/3 days tours from Cappadocia itself. I was hoping to get on one of those, but September isn't summer anymore.
My research showed that Malatya, Kahta, and Adiyaman are the 3 main cities from where you can go to Nemrut. I heard that Malatya has great overnight tours run by the city to see the sunrise. Daily in summers only, of course. Knowing my luck, I'd get to Malatya and be stuck there without a tour.
So, I went around the travel agencies seeking recommendations. Everyone came up with a different answer. Not good for indecisive Waru.
In the end, I bought a bus ticket to Kahta (with a "surcharge") because the sign said Kahta (Nemrut), and I assumed it was the closest one.

From Goreme, there are no direct buses. I had to transfer at Kayseri for a long overnight bus. The Kayseri bus terminal is one of the best ones in Turkey I've seen so far – very modern, bright, and clean!!!
The bus agent invited me into his office, and since I had about 2 hours to kill, I accepted the invite. We chatted randomly while drinking tea. When he was handling customers, I glanced through my guidebook. Whereby Waru proceeded to have a PANIC ATTACK!!!! Right on that page was something like, "Warning – There have been reports of robbery at bus terminals. Agents can offer you drinks spiked with sleeping medication." Holy sh*t! Was my initial reaction, but as you can tell, nothing happened. The dude just turned out to be a nice, friendly, chatty agent.

I went to the only cheap accommodation in the town (the rest were starred hotels). And what a shi*hole this place was!!!
First of all, I was led to a tiny, dark room. Said NO. I preferred an ensuite room with breakfast included for the same price. The front desk agreed, so I checked in. The manager then shows up and says that for my rate, I get no breakfast. Waru has a fit, and doesn't back down. Breakfast agreed.
Now, for the tour to Nemrut. I was the only guest at the hostel when I arrived, so negotiations were rather difficult. I went around every single hotel in the city to see if they had any tours going that day. NO LUCK.

Let me just say that Kahta itself is a sh*thole of a town. Really. Completely lacks any character... As soon as I arrived, I knew I wanted to see Nemrut and get out ASAP. I was desperate to get on a tour that day so I could leave on the earliest bus the following day.
Maybe I would have to fork over the cash for a private tour...I'm sure it would be better than having to wait for a group to show up and stay in the worst hostel in the worst town for an indeterminate period of time....
But then a couple from Slovenia shows up early in the afternoon!!! And they wanted to go to Nemrut for the sunset. Yaaaaay. My saviors :)

We boarded the minivan - 3 passengers + 3 drivers (don't ask). On our way, we stopped by some smaller ruins, including an ancient bridge and a tomb with this really cool relief:Nemrut itself is a tomb, or funerary sanctuary, built years and years ago by some King Commagane (hey, that's where the name of that hostel came from!). He decorated both the east and west sides of the mountaintop with several enormous statues of heads, lions, and eagles. You need to hike up there from the visitor's center.
Something I wasn't expecting, but not too bad at all. Just freezing and windy. I'm glad I went for the sunset instead of the sunrise...imagine the cold then!
I have to admit that I was initially a bit disappointed once I got to the top. The statues on the western side were arranged very orderly, like something you'd see in a museum, and took away the ruin-ness. Plus, they placed barbed wires around the whole entire area, which prevented you from getting close to the statues. Darn it. It wasn't like that in the past...
But the eastern side was waaaay cooler, especially with the great lighting from the sun setting in the west. I have no clue what these heads mean, but they were an awesome sight. Glad I came.

Once the tour was over, I ran over to the bus station to see when I could leave the lovely town. Not until TOMORROW EVENING!!! Arghhhhhhh. Well, no choice. At least the hostel had a sitting area where I could waste away the hours reading my interesting book (Animals in Translation – I highly recommend it). And I could have breakfast until noon.

By the time I got back to the hostel, it was late in the evening. The hostel manager was SUPPOSED to buy me chicken kebab (long story), but OF COURSE the SNEAKY son on a bi*ch disappeared and never delivered on his promise. Damn him.

I'll end this entry on a positive note - The Slovenian couple made pasta for me!!! How sweet :)