My Footprint guidebook for Turkey had an odd map style, although it's probably safe to assume all Footprint books are the same. The drawings are sort of rounded and cartoony, reminiscent of maps you'd find in zoos. The point is, Harran and Nemrut Tours, an agency less than a 3-minute walk from my hotel, took me a few hours to find.

I had chosen Urfa as a base for getting up to Mt. Nemrut and by the end of the day was feeling desperate—without finding the place I was kind of stuck in Urfa for the evening with nothing to do.

When I finally spotted the tour agency on a small back alley, it was almost 10PM. It was still open, to my great surprise—they had a tour leaving that very evening at midnight! The longer daytime tour that included more smaller sites along the mountain was not running due to lack of interest. Someone else had intrigued me with the idea of going up to the mountain for sunset, camping overnight, and going up again for sunrise. This also wasn't an option. Because it was slow season, there had not been a tour the previous day and would not be one the next. Luck was on my side.

At the agency I met Natalie, the only other foreign tourist in town. Venezuela native Natalie had been living in Ankara for a year teaching Spanish, and was finally getting ready to go home. With her last few days she took a vacation alone to the southeast while her husband finished up his job in Ankara. It was such a relief to meet her, independence be damned.

The owner was talkative and friendly, suggesting I eat dinner at Altin Sis and get out of my scary hotel right away. When I returned for the tour, he loaned me a photo book of the various Nemrut sights. He offered us some sort of Turkish kunafe-style pastry and plenty of tea.

The tour cost 47.50YTL for a midnight departure in a large, very modern van (compared to the minibuses I'd been riding), with breakfast on the way back down. It wasn't quite as good as it could have been, though. The Turks on our tour were loud and obnoxious. The van was only comfortable for about an hour. The kind English-speaking owner did not accompany us; instead the alleged "guide" was the driver's son, an unfriendly, somewhat lazy young man who wanted to be anything BUT a tour guide. He tried his best to ignore me and Natalie, even though she could speak Turkish. And I had been under the impression we would see more of the sights from the book the owner showed me, some of which are detailed in HobWahid's entry on Mt. Nemrut.

At 4AM, we stopped to rest at the café just below the summit. After some tea and a bathroom break (dark outdoor squat toilets), we headed for the summit. Now we could see a chain of taillights heading up the mountain . . . we would not be alone for this experience.

From the carpark it's about 20 minutes to climb to the top. It's not very steep until the end, but all the rocks make it a bit slippery. The summit itself is artificial and surprisingly tiny, covered with Turkish tourists. We huddled in the morning chill—thankfully Natalie had brought a thick blanket—and watched the gorgeous sunrise over the mountains below.

The ruins are of two shrines to the gods, built by Kommagene King Antiochus I. In reality Antiochus' kingdom was very small, but his firm belief in his own power and status led him to build colossal statues of himself seated with the gods, his peers. Two sets of bodies are seated in a row, one set facing east and one facing west. On the Eastern Terrace the toppled heads have been carefully arranged in a row before their respective bodies, behind a chain that everyone ignores. The Western Terrace is the more extraordinary side that is featured in most photos, with more bodies, the heads scattered, some tipped over, unencumbered by fences.

Expecting a guided tour, Natalie and I had not prepared by reading more about Nemrut. The dawn scenery was still beautiful from the Eastern Terrace, but both of us were completely unaware of the Western Terrace's existence. I knew something looked off about the Eastern Terrace, but I couldn't figure out where the dramatically scattered heads I'd seen in photos would be. I do wish I'd known about the Western Terrace, but I like to believe I'll get another chance.

The walk back happened at everyone's own pace, and was much more relaxing than the rush up to catch the sunrise. I was able to take my time and enjoy the solitude and beauty of the mountains.

Breakfast at the café was traditional Turkish, with tomatoes and cucumbers, bread, cheese and honey. I don't usually like raw tomatoes, but these were so red and fresh, really delicious.

We stopped at a small mosque on the way down the mountain. Our so-called guide didn't explain a thing, the bus just stopped, and since no one suggested we even get out, most of the Turkish tourists stayed on. Finally I realized this was a long-term stop and got out.

The yard of the mosque was full of cloaked women. As soon as I approached one of their young sons approached me with tea. It was a Saturday, and for the women in the surrounding villages, this was their usual weekend family picnicking spot.

Eventually the sole English speaker came up to me beaming—"you are American? I love Americans!" Her accent was impeccable. She worked on a nearby American army base, and was hoping her daughter would be able to join the American army as well. I was curious why. The woman sadly told me that her daughter had no opportunities here. It was getting more and more expensive to live in Turkey, especially outside of Istanbul, where salaries were lower. I told her I knew Turkey was pushing to join the EU, to which she gave a resigned sigh and said she wasn't ready for that.

She hoped the American army would be a way for her daughter to leave the country, or at least gain skills to start a useful career. Coming from a place where the U.S. armed services are looked on with disdain and blame, it was touching.

There was one last short stop at a dam, completely uninteresting, although maybe if we'd had guidance it would have made more sense. On the way back the young "guide" popped in a video about Mt. Nemrut and its various sites, which was in English. Since no one else would understand it, he muted it and explained it all in Turkish.

It's possible to get up to Nemrut by hitching or even walking from the one pension located on the mountain, but if you want to guarantee sunrise or sunset arrival, use a tour company. Supposedly admission to the park itself is not included in the tour, but I didn't see anyone paying extra to enter. Do the trip in the summer because it gets very cold at the summit and may even be snow-covered in spring or autumn.

If you get a chance to go further east, Nemrut is a must-see. The ruins are fascinating, and the view over the Taurus mountains is incredible in the warm morning light. Even without seeing the more striking Western Terrace, I'm so happy I was able to visit this lovely place.

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