Off With Their Heads!

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You may recall last spring/summer I was actively researching Mithraic mysteries and Cilician pirates. Well, the research led me to some interesting places in my new MS -- places I'd always wanted to go, but never knew how to utilize.

Nemrut is one of those places. Search the word hierothesion, and you won't find an easy definition. What you'll find is a link pointing over to UNESCO world heritage site, Nemrut.

To paraphrase what I learned:

Nemrut is believed to be the burial site of King Antiochus I Theos of Commagene, high on the mountain top overlooking his kingdom. Hierothesion refers to the way the statues of the gods are arranged at the site. (see restoration below)

Now here's where I go off track a bit.

The statues are enormous (8–9 m/26–30 ft). Depictions of Hercules/Vahagn, Zeus/Oromasdes, Apollo/Mithra, Tyche, plus paired eagles and lions, flank the king. To confuse me some more, the statues wear Persian style dress/hair, but were carved with Greek faces. (And why are all the guys identified in Greek/Persian, but Tyche, the goddess of fortune, is only Tyche? I'm voting to call her Tyche/Mah, but what do I know?) It seems the hierothesion falls at some sort of midpoint between the two belief systems, circa 62 BC.

http://fararheill.is/risastytturnar-i-nemrut



Something so big and so important draws attention. When religious ideas of the area shifted to monotheism, the statues were beheaded, lest they be used for idol worship. No one knows when or how it happened, but the heads are now located down the hill from their respective torsos.
Maybe that isn't such a travesty after all. The statues are interesting, but I think the detached heads are what make the site unique.

The image on the right of a restored Nemrut is from an Icelandic source that I couldn't really translate well. (Feel free to follow the link and try for yourself.)

For a long time, not many people made it out to Nemrut. It's out past Malatya, near Adiyaman in eastern Turkey. Read: very far from the beach.

Tourists are coming much more consistently these days. Now Malatya and Adiyaman are fighting for road access rights, airports, and hotels. I think before they worry about the tourists, they should worry about the statues. More people means more deterioration of the site.

Controversy over Mt Nemrut spreads

And PS - No spoilers in the comments, LTM! ;)


Apricots

Image via Wikipedia

Sweet southern peaches are in season -yum! It reminds me of the time I was up in the village of (I don't know. It was somewhere around Arslankoy.) and a farmer gave me a giant peach. Like... James had nothing on me with his "giant". Anyhoo - a word about the more famous cousin - errr - neighbor of my peachy friend.

Prunus armeniaca is the latin name for apricot because it's thought the fruit originated in Armenia. Today, Turkey is the largest exporter of apricots with Malatya as the main production center. You can safely guess that most of the apricots on the shelf at the grocery store are from Turkey. (Fresh ones are probably from California.)

And while fresh, locally grown, apricots have no equal, most of us don't live in the sweet spot where they're cultivated. Apparently, the apricots are fussy about soil and have a very short season. As a result, the most common apricot you'll see is a dried one.

Some interesting uses of apricot:

Egyptian amar al-dīn: Dried apricot paste reminds me of a huge fruit roll-up that you dissolve in water for a very tasty drink. People usually float some almonds on top. Gosh! I could go for one of those right now.

Italian: Amaretto liquor is flavoured with extract of apricot kernels. I always thought it was almonds, but the two are interchangeable and often mixed.

Medicinally: Apricot is an antioxidant (carotenoids), a laxative (high fiber), and the kernels can be made into poison (hydrocyanic acid). In the old days, people thought apricots were an aphrodisiac. (??)

Idioms: In Turkish: Bundan iyisi Şam'da kayısı means the only thing better than this is an apricot in Damascus, or it doesn't get better than this. In Arabic: Bukra fil mishmish means tomorrow when it's apricot season, or it's never going to happen. In China: Expert of the apricot grove refers to a physician.

Did you know Jacques Pepin loves apricots? Must be why I like to watch him cook.

Related articles

• 100 Best Health Foods #5: Apricots (sonappy.wordpress.com)