After a long journey through vast expanse of gravel desert flat lands and having crossed jagged, graphite-gray mountains the traveller finally reaches a wide valley surrounded by stony hills on all sides and more mountains further a field this is finally Van Lake (Van Gölu). This region has always been an important strategic crossroads, in the viii c b.c. this area was controlled by the Urartu, the arch rival of the great Mesopotamian kingdom of Assyria and Tushpa (present-day Van) was their capital, until they were overrun and assimilated by Armenians in the vii c bc.
Van Lake |
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At Çavustepe, there is an Urartian site (viii c b.c.) the Sarduri-Hinili, the palace of King Sarduri II. At the top of a hill a large platform there are the remains of a temple wall some slabs of hard black basalt with some cuneiform Urartian writing.
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Çavustepe
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Since the Urartus times, Romans, Byzantines, Seljuks, Mongols, Ottomans, Armenians, Kurds all met on this land, but is the history of Armenians that has left the main landmarks of the region. Armenians were the first nation to convert to Christianity and they developed the Armenian architecture style a sort of Byzantine style that, brought in Europe by the crusaders, was the inspiration for the European Gothic style. Among the monuments built by the Armenians, the x c church of the Holy Cross of Akdamar Island (Aght'amar) on the Van lake is the most famous one. Armenian kingdoms ended with the invasion of the Seljuk Turks after the mid-eleventh century.
Van Lake |
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Armenian people continued to live here till the beginning of xix c, when the area has been the theatre of the Russo-Turkish conflict. During the WWI Van was taken by a group of Armenian partisans to defended it against the abuse of power of the Turks. This was the fact taken as pretext to start the Armenian genocide. After Turkish revolution, led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, hopes for an independent Armenian Republic definitely vanished and the remaining Armenian inhabitants were expelled. By the end of the war, the old town of Van was empty and in ruins and its remains can be seen at the foot of the hill called Van castle. Since then Kurds, the majority of population, are facing the same destiny of Armenians, a fierce people now forced to live into inhospitable mountain land by the modern Turkey democratic nation and still fighting to obtain recognition as a nation.
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Van Kalesi
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Originally built by the Urartus, Hosap castle was rebuilt in 1643 on a larger scale atop a rocky outcrop by a local Kurdish leader. It remained a Kurdish castle for many years until the Ottomans captured it. Inside the ruins of a granary, a water cistern, a mosque, a medresse and the dungeon.
Hosap castle |
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At the entrance of the modern Van a big monument is dedicated to the famous Van cat (Van Kedisi) famous for having different coloured eyes and enjoying swimming and rain. Today modern town is located 5 km from the shore of the Lake, the old town or better its remains with a handful of ruined mosques and mausoleums can be seen at the foot of the hill called Van castle (Van Kalesi). The citadel on top of the hill dates back to the ix c bc. Steps carved into rock lead to the fortress where an Urartian royal tomb and some Urartian cuneiform inscriptions (viii-vii c b.c.) can be seen.
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Old Van
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Lake Van (Van Gölü) measuring 119 km at its widest point is the largest lake in Turkey. Lake water is strongly alkaline and rich in sodium carbonate not suitable for drinking or irrigation, and only limited species of fresh water fish can live. For irrigation farmers usually use fresh water from streams feeding the lake. Surrounded by volcanic formations on the northern and western parts the lake's outlet was blocked at some time during the Pleistocene.
Van Lake |
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Nearby the south-western shore of the lake the now dormant Mt. Nemrut (Nemrut Dagi) (3050 m) is a strato type volcano, bare of vegetation at its top we have the rare chance to see the wondrous crater of this inactive volcano now filled with a lake. Süphan Dagi, another dormant stratovolcano dominates the northern side. There are four islets in the northern section of the lake the most famous being Akdamar Island with its beautiful Armenian church.
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Mt. Nemrut
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