On April 18th, 2024, the Yunus Emre Institute in Washington D.C. hosted an online lecture in collaboration with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign about the famous Mount Nemrut head statues in the Eastern Taurus Mountains in Türkiye.

The lecture, presented by Associate Professor Öznur Yıldırım, explored the discovery and history of these enormous structures along with the cultural symbols they represent. She describes the archeologists who contributed to the rediscovery of the site such as Otto Puchstein in 1882 and Teresa Goell in 1947, with the latter being the first female archaeologist to lead an expedition in Eastern Türkiye. What these archaeologists discovered was that a King by the name of Antiochus erected the structures as monuments for himself and the immortality of the Gods. These structures and carvings had a blend of Eastern and Western cultures representing Greek, Hittite, and Persian Gods, leading to the discovery of a unique civilization known as the Commagene Kingdom.

Professor Yıldırım then went into detail about her own work cornering the sculpting of ocarinas with shapes inspired by the Mount Nemrut Structures. This is for her to fulfill King Antiochus’s will about the everlasting sound of music and themes of immortality.

After the lecture, the audience expressed their desire to visit the site and Türkiye after hearing the fascinating history of the sculptures and their beauty. Yıldırım’s lecture spread awareness of Türkiye’s deep cultural heritage as a bridge between the cultures of the East and the West.