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Kahta is a farming and oilfield
town set on the shore of a vast artificial lake.
Outside the town center, oil pumps
nod and lift, bringing badly-needed
local petroleum to the surface to feed
Turkey's growing need for fuel.
The only reason to come here is to
use it as a base for visits to Nemrut
Dağı.
Kahta (kee-YAHH-tah, pop. 75,000)
is no beauty-spot, but it does have
tour operators running minibuses
to the summit of Nemrut
Dağı, stopping along the way at Karakuş to
see the tumulus burial-place of the
royal ladies of the Roman-era
Kingdom of Commagene;
at Eski Kahta (Yenikale) to
see a Mameluke
fortress; and Arsameia,
the Roman-period city of King Antiochus.
From the parking lot, you must walk
to the temples.
Kahta has a comfortable hotel,
and there are others in nearbyAdıyaman. You
may roll into town, stay the night,
ascend Nemrut Dağı the next day,
stay another night in Kahta, then
head out of town.
Distances & Travel Times
Adana: 532
km (331 miles) SW, 7.5 hours
Adıyaman: 32
km (20 miles) W, 30 minutes
Ankara: 807
km (501 miles) W, 12 hours
Diyarbakır: 232
km (144 miles) SE, 3.5 hours
Erzurum: 646
km (401 miles) E, 9.5 hours
Gaziantep: 181
km (113 miles) S, 2.5 hours
Istanbul: 1252
km (778 miles) NW, 18 hours
Kahramanmaraş: 200
km (124 miles) SW, 3 hours
Kayseri: 487
km (303 miles) W, 7 hours
Malatya: 225
km (140 miles) N, 3.5 hours
Nemrut
Dağı (Summit, South): 52
km (32 miles) N, 1.5 hours
Şanlıurfa: 106
km (66 miles) S, 1.5 hours
Sivas: 446
km (277 miles) NW, 7 hours
Tatvan
(Lake Van): 385 km (239
miles) E, 6 hours
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