The Necropolis of Perrhe

The last day of our tour began with blue skies and sunshine. Since we had only a short distance to cover, we opted for breakfast at 8:00a, with a 9:00a departure.

Breakfast was on time, enjoyed in the courtyard … the air fresh and crisp. Our departure, on the other hand, was delayed a bit … again due to a dead battery … this time because the valet left the parking lights on. Really the headlight button settings need to be rethought. This time, the hotel staff took charge, however, and resolved the issue while we had tea in the lobby with the hotel’s general manager.

Our first stop was the only one planned for today: Perrhe — a city of antiquity with a necropolis that is the most notable part of the ruins, stretching up the slopes of Karadağ. This Necropolis was used between the 1st century BC to the 7th century AD. It contains a variety of tombs, the most common being the rock-cut chamber tombs, as well as niches hewn out of the rock faces.

Records show that Perrhe was an important settlement of the Kingdom of Commagene and maintained its prominence during the Roman through the Byzantine periods that followed. Like many other cities in the region, it was invaded by the Arabs but managed to survive. Once the Castle of Adıyaman was built, Perrhe lost its prominence.

As hot as it was, we opted not to hike up to the area where there is a structure with mosaics. Instead, we wandered along the designated trail within the necropolis, going off the path for a closer look inside some of the chamber tombs when we realized that it was OK to do so. We climbed up to the rock quarry as well, and went as far as the grape press before returning to the van to continue the drive towards Gaziantep.Read more