AP PHOTOS: Sundown on Turkey’s huge stone heads

Guests snap pictures of huge stone heads that stare down on them from the summit of Mount Nemrut, in Turkey’s southeastern Adiyaman province, their faces illuminated by sundown lighting.

Perched at an altitude of two,150 meters (over 7,000 toes), the statues are a part of a temple and tomb advanced that King Antiochus I, of the traditional Commagene kingdom, constructed as a monument to himself. A 50 meter (164-foot) -high, man-made mound — the presumed tomb of Antiochus — units the background.

Son of the founding father of the Commagene kingdom, Antiochus reigned between 64 and 38 BC, till he was deposed by the Romans. The dominion spanned an space from the japanese fringe of the Taurus mountains to the Euphrates River.

The traditional web site — which incorporates large 10-meter (33-foot) -high, seated statues of Antiochus himself surrounded by historical Gods, together with Zeus and Apollo — was found in 1881 by a German engineer. Excavations started there within the 1950s.

Right this moment, the positioning is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Website and the monuments are among the many best-known photographs of Turkey, that includes on postcards and Turkish tourism posters and advertisements.

Guests climb to the positioning at daybreak or at nightfall to see the statues underneath the spectacular lighting. It’s additionally a favourite spot for stargazers to look at the evening sky.

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Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey contributed.