Giant stone heads at Mt. Nemrut
We were incredibly bummed to not be able to pull off a trip to Easter Island while we were in South America, so when we heard that there we a different type of giant stone heads that date back to around 62 BC in Turkey, we were determined to see them. It’s in the middle of nowhere on the eastern side of Turkey, and to see the sunrise on the heads you need to drag yourself from sleep at around 2:45 in the morning (give or take, depending on the season) in order to get to the mountain and climb up to the top. While it’s no Easter Island, it’s definitely lovely and we’re glad to have made the journey.
As an aside, if you do end up going, try to remember that you aren’t the only one who got up before dawn to see this site. The jackasses below insisted on taking all their group photos RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE HEADS as the sun was rising, thus preventing everyone else from getting a clean shot of the ruins with the pink morning light. A number of us asked them to please move for a few moments so we could all get a picture, but they refused. The obliviousness/obnoxiousness/self-righteousness of certain types of tourists really wore on our nerves throughout this little side trip, and reminded us why we generally avoid group tours.
Don’t be a jerk, remember other people want to take photos of that big famous monument as well. Snap your picture and move out of the way.
The Parallel Life 
Love the top photo though! What were those people thinking????? Their photos are going to look terrible anyways. Idiots.
I know! I wanted to tell them that if they want the heads in the background they need to move further away from them and get someone to stand on the stairs that were opposite them…but at that point I didn’t really want to help them. Despite the absurdity, we got some good pictures. Still not Easter Island, but we’ll get there too eventually.
Yes, Ashley, you did get a wonderful shot after all. When I read the part about rude photographers, I thought somehow Bryan and Kristin had met up with you again and Bryan was writing that part..haha You guys be safe and enjoy every moment. Don’t let ignorance get you down!
It’s funny because ever since Bryan wrote that post, all I encounter are people doing all the irritating things he was talking about!
Unfortunately there are RUDE, CRUDE and SOCIALLY UNACCEPTABLE PEOPLE everywhere. It’s just that there seem to more of them now days.
So true. We try to remind ourselves that there are probably more kind and helpful people out there as well, but the rude ones stand out more…
How right you are….you go girl….
I try 🙂