Rooted cosmopolitanism in Southeast Türkiye? contemporary responses to Nemrut Dağı and ancient Commagene

Abstract

This chapter explores the concept of rooted cosmopolitanism through a critical examination of contemporary non-scholarly responses to Nemrut Dağı, a tomb sanctuary belonging to the late-Hellenistic kingdom of Commagene located in the province of Adıyaman in southeast Turkey. What can we say about the contemporary reception of this famous Turkish UNESCO heritage site by its many local, regional, national, and global stakeholders? How is its cosmopolitan character understood, nationally and internationally? In this chapter, we analyse a variety of modern-day responses to Nemrut, consisting of 1. Turkish and international newspaper articles regarding the site, 2. social media posts as well as 3. interviews with local and regional stakeholders. Our central research question addresses the contemporary socio-cultural and political roles of Nemrut Dağı, asking how the site relates to modern forms of identity formation on a local, regional, national, and global scale. Is Rooted Cosmopolitanism a useful concept to (better) understand the interaction of these analytical scales in relation to each other?