Türkiye’s majestic Mount Nemrut in southeastern Adıyaman province, which has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987, is hosting the Commagene Biennial, organized for the first time this year by the Kahta District Governorate. The biennial brings together works by 53 artists from 23 countries.

As part of the biennial, the artists exhibit their works at the grave mound on the mountain as well as the Cendere Bridge, Kahta Castle and five islands on the Euphrates River. Curated by Nihat Özdal, the event also features various workshops, talks and concerts in its line-up. For instance, Izmir State Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of conductor Hakan Şensoy, and folk singer Kahtalı Miçe gave a concert titled "East West Meeting" on the 1,800-year-old Cendere Bridge. While Kahtalı Miçe interpreted the most loved folk songs of Adıyaman at the gig, thousands of people sang the pieces together with him. Attending the concert, Adıyaman Governor Mahmut Çuhadar said that the concert was a synthesis of East and West.

Adıyaman province, the Kahta district and its surroundings hosted many civilizations for thousands of years. Powerful civilizations have left powerful traces that have survived to this day. Until the establishment of the Kingdom of Commagene in 2000 B.C., the Hittites, Mitannies, Arameans, Assyrians, Late Hittites, Persians and Alexander the Great of Macedonia and the Eastern Roman Empire dominated the region. In the A.D. period, Umayyads, Byzantines, Sassanids, Hamdanids, Seljuks, Mamluks, Artukids and Ottomans ruled.

Thanks to these civilizations and the traces they left and the enormous development of imaginary worlds over the last 3,000 years, from tales to digital universes, the biennial committee decided to organize the very first edition of the event with the theme "An Imaginary Civilization." With their works, the artists from different disciplines create an imaginary world with imaginary archaeology, history, language, economy, music, agriculture, architecture, fashion and laws. The Commagene Biennial will remain open to visitors until Oct. 20.

Mount Nemrut, with the tumulus containing the tomb of King Antiochus of the Commagene Kingdom and several giant statues, is described as an outstanding natural treasure. There are numerous large statues assumed to be royal tombs from the first century B.C. Accepted as the highest open-air museum in the world, Mount Nemrut is believed to have been a place for worship in ancient Anatolia.