Lake Van, an alkaline lake located near Van district on the Eastern part of Turkey, is the largest lake in the country. Its basin is of tectonic origin, surrounded by several mountainous systems: The Eastern Tavr from the south, Kurdish mountains from the East and the Aladaglar ridge on the North-east. On the West and North-west are several extinct vlcanoes including the Syunhan and the Nermut strato-volcanoes.
There is a legend that tries to explain the origin of lake Van. It is said that during the floods in Noah's time, his Ark settled on the slopes of Ararat. When the water level went down on other parts of the earth, water remained on the closed up ridges of the high areas. And that's how the lakes around Ararat were fomed. These lakes are the Turkish Van, the Armenian Sevan and Urmia.On the heights from Tatvan, you find the beautiful lake Van on the crater of the extinct Nermut volcano. From the hotels there you get an amazing view. The roads are usually covered with snow which makes it a once in a life time chance to be there. Below is a view of the lake from its Southern bank.
And the road leads through such beautiful scenery.
Such steep slopes cannot be missed in such a place. These slopes make the road wind and twine in between them.
And here is the mountainous system of the Eastern Tavr.
On Lake Van you will find several small islands which include Ahtamar and Artek. Ahtamar is gloriuos for its nearly ruined residences of the Armenian czars from the tenth century. To get there one needs to take a ship. There are some that can be hired.
Cats from the Van region are cute having a white fur that's breathtaking and they have eyes of different colors!
Here is one of the ports at lake Van.
Ships for hire at dock.
As you set off from the port an awesome feeling catches up with you. You feel protected since you are sorrounded by big snow-capped mountains and ridges.
As you approach the Ahmatar island you will notice an old church - the Church of the Holy Cross. It is the only remaining building of one of the ruined Armenian palaces. This island is said to have had a great deal of Armenian palaces. Most of them have become ruins. The church is one of the most precious architectural monuments of Armenian architecture. It was constructed by Trdat Mendet during the rise of the Vaspuracan kingdom and was not the only jewel of the island. There used to be a big city with a king's palace and several churches sorrounded by a wall. It is said that the kingdom had rich storey buildings with pillars and galleries. The church was erected under the orders of the Vaspuracan King Gagik Archruni near his palace between 915 and 921 A.D.
Even though the place is ancient, modern culture is also represented as seen by these grafitti messages.
On the North-western side of the church is a good site for photoshooting.
Within the ruined kingdom one can find gravestones with khachkars. These are stone structures with inscribed images. Usually these were put in monasteries or in churches.
And here is the church. It has a glorious beauty of sculptures and reliefs. They are like icons on its walls. This wall here was was decorated with scenes from the New Testament of the Bible. Its amazing how they have lived through the times.
The isolated church on the outside has relatively stood the wear and tear of time. The Turkish government in recent times decided to do some restoration work on it. Restoration was done with quality but most of the frescos could not be saved.
But the remaining saved frescos give a feeling of inspiration. This is just amazing.
A fantastic view from the lake.
On the south-eastern part of the lake, the water abruptly changes color and looks like an ocean. With the mountains behind, its hard not to stop and take a look at this amazing view. It makes one get tempted to take a swim.
Van City. The largest city on the shores of the lake. Since there are no strong winds in this region, smog always hangs above the buildings.
A little farther from the city you will find its fortress. Its walls are part if the collection known as "Turkey- A country of many copies". The walls are so beautiful that most people take the hard task of climbing them.
For those who climb the walls, a reward awaits them. The smoothly constructed inner details of the wall remind one of a bath-tab. On top of that is an amazing view of the city below on the valley.
