Pickup from your hotel in Kahta or Adıyaman and the climb to the summit in the dark. The drive takes about 45 minutes, then a 20-minute walk up the marked path to the east terrace.

The east terrace holds the colossal seated statues of Antiochus I and the gods he aligned himself with — Zeus, Apollo, Heracles and Tyche. Their heads fell from the bodies centuries ago and now sit upright in rows. Sunrise reaches them before anything else in the region.

The west terrace faces the opposite direction and holds a second set of statues, plus the relief panels of Antiochus shaking hands with each god. The 50-metre cone of loose stones between the terraces is the tomb itself, unexcavated since antiquity.

The summer capital of Commagene, on the river below. The site holds the largest known Greek inscription in Anatolia, carved into a rock face, and a tunnel stairway descending 158 metres into the hillside — purpose still debated.

Cendere is a Roman bridge built by the Legio XVI Flavia Firma around 200 CE and still standing, with two columns at each end. Karakuş Tumulus nearby is a royal burial mound ringed by columns, one topped with a relief of an eagle.

Return to your hotel for breakfast. The rest of the day is free — most guests sleep, then visit Adıyaman or continue toward Göbeklitepe the next morning.