Karakuş Tumulus

Karakuş - black bird - is a burial mound raised in the late first century BCE by Mithridates II of Commagene for the women of his family: his mother Isias, his sister Antiochis and her daughter Aka, according to the inscriptions. The mound of piled rubble stands about twenty metres high, and around it were three groups of columns, of which several remain standing - one carrying a large stone eagle, which gives the site its modern name, another a lion, and a third a relief showing a handshake between figures, the dexiosis motif that recurs across Commagene monuments including those on Nemrut itself. Stone was taken from here in the Roman period to build the Cendere bridge, which explains some of what is missing. It is on the same road as the bridge and Arsameia, part of the standard circuit to Nemrut Dağı, and it takes half an hour. The view from the mound runs over the Atatürk reservoir and the hills.

What you actually see

• The eagle column - the stone bird on its pillar.
• The burial mound - the rubble tumulus twenty metres high.
• The dexiosis relief - the handshake carving on a column.
• The reservoir view - the lake and hills from the top.

When to go

April to June and September to October. Late afternoon for light and the view; the site is bare and hot in summer.

Honest expectations

It is a short stop with no facilities and minimal interpretation. The tomb chambers have never been located. The climb up the mound is short but loose underfoot.

Nearby

Cendere bridge and Arsameia are on the same road; Nemrut Dağı is the destination beyond them.