Adıyaman, Turkey Highlights
A curated tour of Adıyaman's Commagene Kingdom heritage — colossal mountaintop statues, Roman bridges, royal tombs, and rock-cut necropolises.
Trip Stops
- 1
One of the five great cities of the Commagene Kingdom, later known as Pirin, with over 200 rock-cut tombs carved into a hillside necropolis. A Roman-era fountain here still flows today, exactly where caravans and legions once stopped to drink.
📍 Adıyaman, Adıyaman, Turkey
- 2
Home to finds from Commagene sites across the province, including artifacts recovered during Southeastern Anatolia Project rescue excavations. It has been closed for structural repairs since the 2023 earthquakes, so confirm current opening status before visiting.
📍 Adıyaman, Adıyaman, Turkey
- 3
An artificial burial mound built around 30-20 BC for the women of the Commagene royal family, ringed by Doric columns topped with an eagle, bull, and lion. Its Turkish name means "black bird," after the eagle statue crowning the surviving column.
📍 Kahta, Adıyaman, Turkey
- 4
A remarkably intact Roman arch bridge built around 200 CE by four Commagene cities to honor Emperor Septimius Severus. Constructed from 92 stones weighing roughly 10 tons each, it carried vehicle traffic until the 1990s and can still be walked across today.
📍 Kahta, Adıyaman, Turkey
- 5
Summer capital of the Commagene kings, famous for a monumental relief of King Antiochus I shaking hands with Hercules and the longest Greek inscription found in Anatolia. A mysterious 158-meter tunnel cut into the rock here still has no confirmed purpose.
📍 Kahta, Adıyaman, Turkey
- 6
A Mamluk-era fortress perched on a steep rock outcrop directly across the river from Arsameia, built over an earlier Commagene stronghold. It's currently closed to visitors for long-term restoration, but its imposing walls are still visible from the Severan Bridge and from Arsameia's hilltop.
📍 Kahta, Adıyaman, Turkey
- 7
A UNESCO World Heritage summit where King Antiochus I raised colossal 8-9 meter statues of himself and Greco-Persian gods around his 1st-century BC tomb-sanctuary. Earthquakes and centuries of weather have toppled every head from its body — they now sit scattered on the ground below the statues they belong to.
📍 Kahta, Adıyaman, Turkey
- 8
A cluster of small lakes around the town of Gölbaşı, whose name literally means "by the lake." It's a quiet counterpoint to the ancient ruins nearby — a good spot for a picnic or a swim before or after a day among the tumuli.
📍 Gölbaşı, Adıyaman, Turkey
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