VAN
Van , the ancient Urartian capital of Tuşpa , tempts visitors to its location on the eastern shore of the lake.This remote but important city is st in a verdant oasis at the foot of a rocky peak.An imposing 9th-century B.C. citadel overlooks the new and the old parts of town.Step carved in the rock lead to the Urartian fortress ; halfway up , inscriptions in cuneiform pay homage to Xerxes.Within the fortress are several Urartian royal rock tombs.In the old city , the Ulu Mosque, Hüsrev Paşa Mosque, Kaya Çelebi Mosque and the Ikiz Kümbets reflect Seljuk and Ottoman architectural styles.The exotic Van cat , a protected animal , has thick white fur and one blue and one green eye.By the way, Edremit, a holiday resort center 14 km to the southwest, has good beaches, swimming and camping.In the same direction is Gevaş, where you can visit a seljuk cemetery with many decorated headstones and the lovely Halime Hatun Mausoleum.
Lake Van, the largest lake in Turkıye and at an altitude of 1720 meters, is ringed by beatiful mountains to the south.Some of the island in Lake Van have monasteries and churces built on them; no doubt the remote location offered seclusion to the resident religious communities.