Day 235: Nemrut Crater and Ahlat

Nov 24 - I remembered last night that Thanksgiving is today. It is easy to forgot holidays when there is no local observance of it. Fortunately, our hotel has a good heater, unlike in Diyarbakir, as it is about five degrees C cooler here on average. We are in taxi tour today, just a driver and us. Take the road west along the southern shore of Lake Van. Good views of the lake in the morning sun, and the mountain range to the south. At Tatvan, take a small road up the southern slope of Mt. Nemrut.

The ubiquitous armored vehicle, lurking in the shadows.

The profile of Mt. Nemrut is not very dramatic. It is a caldera, or a collapsed volcano, with only a small peak on the western edge of the caldera rim (2,948 meters).

Mt. Nemrut is one of four volcanos in Turkiye. They formed in a complex compressive zone where the Arabian Plate clashes with the Eurasian Plate. This collision, occurring in the Eocene, is what closed the Tethys Sea (mentioned in several previous entries). Unlike the other three mountains, the central part of Nemrut collapsed, forming a wide crater about 8 km across. Also unlike the other three, it has erupted in historical times, the last activity being in 1650 CE. The caldera shape is clearly visible in the map shown for today’s route.

This volcano, which first formed about a million years ago, is responsible for the creation of Lake Van. Lava flows from early in its formation blocked a nearby river valley, more or less where the city of Tatvan is today.

A lot of snow up here on the rim, but only on the north-facing slopes.

A more panoramic view of the crater. The tiny white peak just left of center is the highest point.

It is really quiet up here, with no other traffic. Apparently in summer it is busy.

On the western side of the crater is Nemrut Lake. It is the second largest lake inside a caldera, the largest being Crater Lake in Oregon, USA.

The level of the lake fluctuates by at least five meters seasonally.

Most of the larger trees we saw in the crater were quaking aspen.

The water was very clear. A few very small fish could be seen. There used to be more but the lake was fished out years ago.

Lake Ili, much smaller and not clear. This one has numerous bubbles coming to the surface from hot geothermal sources. The water temperature, however, felt just as cold as Lake Nemrut.

Much of the interior of the caldera has alpine vegetation.

An outcropping of pure obsidian. This would have been a real treasure trove during the Paleolithic and Neolithic for tool manufacture.

Super Odette lifts a boulder (of pumice).

Descend the northern rim of the crater. The outer slopes are highly eroded here, undoubtedly because they are composed of recent ash and debris flows. Down through some farms, where, as fitting with the day, we see some turkeys running around. From here north to the town of Ahlat. This is a small place, but famous for the numerous tombs dating from prehistoric times. The town itself dates from perhaps 4000 BCE, being a Hurrian then Urartian settlement.

First visit some cave dwellings, that may originally have been housing, later tombs, and now storage areas for potatoes in the winter (similar to what I’ve seen in Peru).

These are in a thick bed of unwelded volcanic tuffs.

This involved room appears to have been a church. Not really visible here, but there are two peacocks engraved into the top of the arch.

A detail of the rooms and compartments, probably spanning a few thousand years of use.

A primitive cave house dweller.

An Ottoman era bridge.

Herding sheep has probably been going on here almost as long as the use of the cave rooms.

The Emir Bayindir Kumbeti, built in 1481 by Emir Bayindir for his wife, Selime Hatun. The top part of the structure is for prayer, and the basement area is where the tomb is placed. The structure is Islamic but has Armenian stylistic elements.

Nearby is a large cemetery (Ahlat Selçuklu Mezarliği). This area was used for tombs for millennia, though much of what we see is Seljuk in age. The Seljuks took over this region in the 11th century BCE.

Naturally, the size of the gravestone indicates the importance of the deceased. In this case, judges and members of their families, all from the 13th-15th century.

They have done a good job of keeping the visitors on paths,

Another cluster of important graves, from the same time period.

The more recent Seljuk gravestones tend to have more symbols and less complex geometric art.

Another nice example of an older style gravestone.

Just regular food today, though we were able to eat fish for once. We did, however, get a chocolate cake to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Türkiye III