I can’t remember where I first read or heard about Nemrut but it didn’t take long for it to pique an interest. When I found out a friend of mine was also looking at checking out the mountain and its imposing statues, the deal was as good as done.
We got fairly cheap flights to Şanlıurfa, which isn’t the closest airport, but sits outside a town that’s definitely worth a look if you have the time.
We were only going for the weekend and so we had a pretty tight schedule but we still managed to pack plenty in.
| April | ||
|---|---|---|
| Friday | 8th | Istanbul-Şanlıurfa |
| Saturday | 9th | Katha |
| Sunday | 10th | Şanlıurfa-Istanbul |
We met fairly early – around 0700 – at Taksim Square to give us plenty of time to battle Istanbul’s notoriously unpredictable traffic. We were headed to the city’s Sabiha Gökçen airport, which can take anything from one to three hours to get to.
Fortunately, luck was on our side early Friday morning and we managed to cross the city in a little under an hour, giving us plenty of time for breakfast.
Eventually 1100 rolled around and we boarded Turkish 7316 to Şanliurfa.
We arrived an hour an a half later and had no trouble picking up our rental car from Sixt and we were on the road in no time.
The trip to the city centre took about 40 minutes and while it was all pretty smooth sailing for the most part, it did come apart slightly when Google sent us into the unbelievably tight back streets of the old town.
We decided to abandon the car and proceed on feet before doing any damage to the car. Luckily we were only a couple of minutes from the hotel and one of the workers came with helped us out.
After checking into the hotel we headed out to enjoy the sunshine, pick up some lunch and explore Urfa.
Another friend arrived later in the night, around 2200 and so we had a quick spot of dinner before calling it a night.
Early the next day we got up to see a little more of the town before hitting the road around 1000. We were headed for Göbekli Tepe to check out the oldest temple in the world. We weren’t entirely impressed: firstly because it was a total nightmare to find – Google strikes again – and secondly because it was covered in so much scaffolding that it was sort of hard to appreciate.
It wasn’t until around midday that we were on the road again, making a b-line Kahta. We managed to find our hotel for the next night without too much trouble and so after checking in and grabbing a quick bite to eat, we were back on the road to see what we’d come so far to see – Mount Nemrut.
It was starting to get late in the day and we were hoping to catch sunset (even though the weather wasn’t amazing) and so after quick stops at Karakuş Tümülüsü and Cendere Köprüsü we decided it was time to tear up the mountain to Nemrut.
The drive probably took a good 45 minutes from the bridge and while we were a tad bit apprehensive about putting our faith in Google again, the Maps came to the party in the end.
We arrived around 1830 giving us just enough time to scale the mountain and catch the last light of the day.
We probably ended up staying at the peak for an hour or so before heading back down for a hot tea and the drive home.
We got back to the hotel around 2130 and decided just to chill out instead of going out for tea, because we wanted to get up well before dawn to head back up the mountain.
We were up at 0300 and at the top of the mountain by 0500 ready to brave the cold, wet and windy weather.
On the way back down we took a different route which allowed us to stop off and see the ruins of Yeni Kale and the ancient scrolls and tablets of Arsameia. 
We probably arrived back at the hotel around 0800 giving us just enough time to grab some breakfast before heading back to Urfa in time for our 1300 flight.