Meteor-watchers took in the sights from Turkey's Mount Nemrut while surrounded by statues of giant heads on the tomb of Antiochus.
Hundreds of people gathered to watch the Perseid meteor shower on Saturday, seated among ancient statues atop Mount Nemrut in south-eastern Turkey.
The stargazers spent the night at the UNESCO World Heritage Site for the annual meteor show, which stretches along the orbit of the comet Swift–Tuttle.Perched at an altitude of 2,150 metres, the statues are part of a temple and tomb complex that King Antiochus I — of the ancient Commagene kingdom — built as a monument to himself.The statues on top of Mount Nemrut are part of a temple and tomb complex that King Antiochus I built as a monument to himself.
The ancient site — which includes giant, seated statues of Antiochus surrounded by ancient gods, including Zeus and Apollo — was discovered in 1881 by a German engineer.The son of the founder of the Commagene kingdom, Antiochus reigned between 64 and 38 BC, until he was deposed by the Romans. The kingdom spanned an area from the eastern edge of the Taurus mountains to the Euphrates River.People climb up to the ancient site for its jaw-dropping sunrise and sunsets.
The meteor shower coincided with a full moon this year that dimmed the meteors, but provided its own beauty for the watchers.
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