Kahta Travel Guide

Kahta is a district in Adiyaman, in the South East Anatolia part of Turkey, which is famous for historical artefacts on Nemrut Mountain. The population of the city is around 100 000 (115 658). It is 33 km (20 mile) away from Adiyaman city centre, and it is 725 metres higher than the sea level. The other provinces neighbouring to Kahta are Malatya in North and Sanliurfa in South. The area is mostly mountainous in North and plain in South, which reflects the different characteristics of East Anatolia(North) and South East Anatolia(South). The border with Sanliurfa is determined by the Firat Rive… read morer, and the water source of Kahta are two branches of Firat river called Kahta (stream) and Kalburcu (stream).
The hight of the Nemrut Mountain is 2130 metres (1323 mile), and the area of Kahta is 1454 km2. Kahta is on 38-17 east meridians and 37-45 North Parallels.
There is not much information available regarding the origin of the name of this district, but it is thought that the name is either linked to another place with the same name in Central Asia, or, more likely, it is originated from Persian in which Kahta means hillside referring to Nemrut Mountain nearby.
Due to its location that is the fertile triangle, Kahta has been home to many other nations in history, and accordingly historical artifacts which are currently displayed in Adiyaman Museum have been found dating back to paleolithic, Neolithic, calcolthic periods, and bronze age. Kahta had been a residence to nations such as Hitites, Assyrians, and Persians, before the sovereignty of Alexander the Great. The famous historical artifacts on Nemrut Mountain was left by The Kingdom of Commagene which was founded in BC 69. After the invasion of Commagenes by Byzantines, dominion of Kahta was exchanged between Emevis, East Roman Empire, Sasanids, Hamdanis, Seljuqs, Memluks, Artuqids, and Dulkadir principality. It was ruled by Timur (Mongolians) after 1393, and taken over by Ottoman empire after 1516.
The majority of population in Kahta earns their income from agricultural activities. Grains, vegetables, cottons, pulses are few crops that are produced in the area. Until the legislation of a quota on the production of tobacco, tobacco production had been one of the income source for the locals. In addition to agricultural products, Kahta supplies 1/5th of raw petrol in Turkey.