Imagine playing table tennis by the ‘Throne of the Gods.’ The series of impressive statues of Greek and Persian deity were built upon the orders of King Antiochus I (who ruled over the Ancient Kingdom of Commagene) in 62 BC and have long been seen as the bridge between Western and Eastern civilisations.

Fast forward over 2000 years and the stunning site at the Mount Nemrut National Park in southeastern Turkey saw the Olympic Sport of table tennis played for the very first time!

The matches, played by women’s and U-15 teams from the nearby city of Malatya, have also set a new record for table tennis activity at the highest altitude with Mount Nemrut standing at 2,150 meters tall.

“We’re really happy and proud to have such an original and unique event here in Turkey. We love table tennis, we try our best to promote it and we can proudly say that this marks just the beginning for our future ideas.”

Activity organiser, Mr. Orhan Altay