![Akdamar is the jewel in Lake Van’s tourism crown](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/travel/2021/03/16/GettyImages-1215228102_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bq_9wf_3J7sd4A4L08_4VHgx-MHz5cN1Z6hWj4s8bTBec.jpg?imwidth=680)
The beautiful Turkish wonder you've probably never heard of
Startlingly blue Lake Van is one of Turkey’s best-kept secrets
![Akdamar is the jewel in Lake Van’s tourism crown](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/travel/2021/03/16/GettyImages-1215228102_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bq_9wf_3J7sd4A4L08_4VHgx-MHz5cN1Z6hWj4s8bTBec.jpg?imwidth=680)
Fringed by tawny-hued peaks soaring to 13,000ft, startlingly blue Lake Van, an inland sea seven times larger than Lake Geneva, is one of Turkey’s best-kept secrets. Given that this intriguingly beautiful high-altitude (5,380ft above sea level) lake lies almost a thousand road miles east of the fleshpots of Turkey’s economic and cultural capital of Istanbul, it’s not surprising that relatively few Turks make it out here, let alone foreigners, who flock instead to the country’s Aegean and Mediterranean coasts.
Remote today, the lake once sat astride a major branch of the Silk Road and was for many centuries a populous, prosperous region. The Armenians who lived here until the vicissitudes of the First World War had a saying, “Van in this world, paradise in the next”, and the exquisite medieval churches dotting its shores bear witness to their industry and piety. Van was also a paradise for the precursors of the Armenians, the little-known Urartians. From around 900 BC until 600 BC the Kingdom of Urartu rivalled the mighty Assyrian Empire to the south, and they gave as good as they got against the notoriously war-like Assyrians from their formidable palace-cum-fortress capital on the eastern shores of the lake.
Located on the outskirts of the only city on the lake, Van (population one million), the Rock of Van makes an ideal introduction to the region. Around a mile long, this spectacular limestone spur rears up from a marshy floodplain, with a sheer cliff riddled with the rock-cut tombs of Urartian kings on the south side, and a gentler north flank rising up to the Ottoman period mud-brick walls of a summit fort. The views west from the top, especially at sunset, when the low sun hangs like a golden globe above the indigo immensity of the unruffled lake, the orange sky washed with pink and purple, are sublime. Those east, to the looming presence of volcanic Mt Erek (10,416ft), are only marginally less dramatic.
The presence of the Urartians is everywhere on the Rock. Visiting the tomb of King Argishti, comprising several chambers hollowed out the sheer cliff, is not for vertigo sufferers, but worth it for the superb cuneiform inscription carved above the steps leading down to its opening. More writing adorns the western end of the Rock, and at its eastern fringe a couple of large, arched niches once held statues of Urartian gods. To find out more about a people famed for their metalworking and engineering skills, there’s the state-of-the-art Urartu Museum, one of the largest in Turkey and containing almost 100,000 artefacts. The museum’s sleek glass façade has been artfully designed to reflect the magnificent Rock of Van opposite.
At the foot of the southern cliff of the Rock are the poignant remnants of Old Van, destroyed during fighting between the Ottoman Turks, Armenians and Russians in the First World War. Two attractive Ottoman mosques have been restored, though little else remains bar the crumbling fired-brick minarets of a couple of Selçuk mosques, the shell of an Armenian church and a caravanserai (travellers’ inn). Look up to the Rock to see the enormous fifth-century BC tri-lingual inscription of the Persian king Xerxes carved high into the cliff, and behind the church a number of khatchkars, distinctive Armenian crosses, have been scratched into the outcrop by pilgrims.
![The remains of a lofty fortress](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/travel/2021/03/16/GettyImages-1268906663_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqK8oq_TXSPAJ0t21oESloXXGTJFJS74MYhNY6w3GNbO8.jpg?imwidth=350)
Old Van was not always desolate. In the late 19th century the indomitable British traveller Isabella Bird visited the then thriving town and wrote: “Owing to the increasing enterprise of the Armenians, every European necessary of life can be obtained, as well as many luxuries. Peak and Frean’s biscuits, Moirs and Crosse and Blackwell’s tinned meats and jams, English patent medicines, Coate’s sewing cotton, Belfast linens, Berlin wool, Jaeger’s vests... and beneath the tablet of Xerxes there is a bazaar devoted to Armenian tailors, and to the clatter of American sewing machines stitching Yorkshire cloth!”.
Despite its lack of historic buildings utilitarian, grid-plan ‘new’ Van has its own vibrancy, not least on ‘Breakfast Alley’, a quiet passage running parallel to the main street where numerous little outlets specialise in the famous ‘Van breakfast’: tender lamb slices fried up with egg in a tiny, wok-like pan, otlu peynir – a pungent, herb-studded local goat cheese, murtaga (a Kurdish speciality made from butter, eggs and flour), tender flat breads, clotted cream and comb honey and many more dishes, all washed down with endless refills of black tea drunk from tulip-shaped glasses. It’s a Sunday morning institution for the predominantly Kurdish locals and visitors alike.
![Akdamar from afar](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/travel/2021/03/16/GettyImages-1206349136_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqdODRziddS8JXpVz-XfUVR2LvJF5WfpqnBZShRL_tOZw.jpg?imwidth=350)
The jewel in Lake Van’s tourism crown has long been the church-capped islet of Akdamar, off the shore south of the lake a 45-minute drive from Van city. The exquisite Church of the Holy Cross, topped by polygonal drum and pyramidal dome, was built in the late 10th century at the behest of the ruler of the Armenian kingdom of Vaspurakan. What makes it so special are the exterior, relief-carved biblical scenes, which include Jonah and the Whale and Samson clubbing the Philistine. The views from the islet, reached by ferryboats from the mainland, are as superb as Isabella Bird suggested in 1890: “All along I am quite impressed with the resemblance which the southern shores of Lake Van bear to some of the most beautiful parts of the Italian Riviera”.
![Inside the church on Akdamar](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/travel/2021/03/16/GettyImages-506144329_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bq5l7iLq03LhRT182NxKDYxc3xLaj9DgnsR8iRLjJDqp0.jpg?imwidth=350)
An even more remote island church lies to the north of Van city: the Monastery of St John on Çarpanak, a pretty islet that is also home to a nesting colony of Armenian gulls. Other Armenian churches, including those of St Thomas and St George of Goms, can be visited on the beautiful southern shores of the lake. Although very picturesque, the abandoned churches in the Van region are often badly ruined and used by local Kurdish villagers as hay barns. The church on Akdamar was badly damaged too, but was restored by the Turkish state in 2007 at considerable expense and no little controversy, and occasional services are held which attract Armenians from Istanbul, the Republic of Armenia and the large diaspora.
![Exploring the ruins of the Monastery of St John on Çarpanak](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/travel/2021/03/16/GettyImages-1140048094_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqdODRziddS8JXpVz-XfUVR2LvJF5WfpqnBZShRL_tOZw.jpg?imwidth=350)
The trip around the north shore of the lake is equally fascinating. Ahlat is a spectacular and extensive burial ground, nestling between the azure waters of the lake and a pair of towering volcanoes, Suphan and Nemrut. The graves here are a mix of cylindrical mausoleums with conical roofs and a forest of elegantly-crafted rectangular tombstones, some over six feet high, inscribed with flowing calligraphic epitaphs in Arabic and Persian, the legacy of the early Turkish, Mongol and Kurdish dynasties who ruled here in the Middle Ages. The latter of the volcanoes, Nemrut (10,000ft), has a crater with a four-mile diameter, one of the largest in the world, and the car ride up the slopes of the volcano and down to the twin lakes (one hot, one cold) in the immense crater floor is spectacular. On the trip up look out for chunks of the shiny black volcanic glass known as obsidian, especially prized in Neolithic times as it could be worked into razor sharp tools. Obsidian from the Van region was traded as far afield as the Persian Gulf by our ancient forebears.
![Tombstones at Ahlat](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/travel/2021/03/16/GettyImages-1284875265_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqK8oq_TXSPAJ0t21oESloXXGTJFJS74MYhNY6w3GNbO8.jpg?imwidth=350)
An eruption of Nemrut some 750,000 years ago is thought to have resulted in the blockage of the natural outlet, thus creating the lake visitors marvel at today. It’s so high in soda local Kurdish villagers wash their carpets and clothes in it, and fish can only survive in the few places where freshwater streams run into the lake. Until recently the only species was thought to be the pearl mullet, which can be seen in large numbers in June leaping, salmon-like, up the feeder streams to spawn. Then, in 2018, divers from the Turkish military spotted, much to their surprise, a previously unknown species living on algae deep beneath the surface. Lake Van certainly has an air of the undiscovered about it, though local sightings of the Van Golu Canavari (Lake Van Monster) are every bit as plausible as those at Loch Ness. One creature that does break the lake’s silky smooth waters is the fluffy white Van cat, notable not only for its propensity for swimming but for having one blue and one amber eye. Quite rare now, there’s a breeding station at Van University on the edge of the city.
![A Van cat](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/travel/2021/03/16/GettyImages-471440915_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bq6sl0PMcqPKYfYzP4XwNXrsLUf3zQTlTQTipr3wM7sA0.jpg?imwidth=350)
With an introduction to the Urartians under your belt following an exploration of the Rock of Van and close-by Urartu Museum, it’s well worth heading south to Çavuştepe. The remains of this palace-fortress top a rocky spur running down from higher peaks to a broad, fertile valley commanding the south-eastern approaches to Lake Van. Here you can really see just how advanced the Urartian civilisation was, with a temple to the chief god, Haldi, etched with a long cuneiform inscription in praise both of the god and the self-aggrandising ruler Sarduri II. Further along, store-rooms contain the remnants of large clay jars, once filled with wine, wheat and other produce, and cavernous cisterns have been carved into the limestone. There’s even a stone-carved squat toilet, set at a discreet distance from the main part of the palace.
There’s so much more to see around Van. Head 45 minutes southeast from Çavuştepe to the spectacularly situated late-medieval castle at Hoşap, or west from Tatvan to the village of Por, notable for its lovely mountain setting and ornately carved six-foot Armenian khatachkar grave stones. And that’s without mentioning the gorgeous landscapes, birdwatching and botanising opportunities, and insights into the transhumant culture which survives in the region.
I’ve been visiting Van regularly since the early 1980s, lured by its austere beauty and fascinating history and culture, but the region receives a fraction of the visitors it deserves despite having been linked to Istanbul by regular flights (around two hours) for many years now. It was ever thus, as Isabella Bird notes of a very different era: “Van and its surroundings are at once so interesting and picturesque it is remarkable that they are so seldom visited by travellers.”
![The vast crater of Mount Nemrut](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/travel/2021/03/16/GettyImages-521240952_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqpiVx42joSuAkZ0bE9ijUnCW0qTysEG4yZuBUdXGakjA.jpg?imwidth=350)
How to get there
UK tour operators offering holidays that include the Lake Van region include archaeology and history specialists Andante Travels (01722 713800; andantetravels.com), whose escorted 11-day “North East Turkey” trip includes several days around the lake for £3,795pp including flights (next departure June 4 2021). Steppes Travel’s (01285 601725; steppestravel.com) 12-day “Eastern Turkey” tour offers an exploration of Turkey’s fascinating southeast with a couple of days in Van for £2,650pp including specialist guide but excluding flights. Travel the Unknown (020 7183 6371; traveltheunknown.com) have the comprehensive local-guide led, 14-day “Eastern Turkey Explorer” for £2,995pp including flights, which includes a couple of nights in Van.
Five more of Turkey’s great lakes
Bafa
Overlooked despite its close proximity to the Aegean coast, this brackish yet quite beautiful lake, covering some 60 square miles, is backed by the serrated limestone ridge of dramatic Mt Latmos. The lower reaches of the range are scattered with Byzantine monasteries, prehistoric rock paintings and the dramatic Greek-Roman site of Heracleia ad Latmos, complete with city walls, a theatre and bath-house among other splendid remains. There’s accommodation in a number of guesthouses in the attractive village of Kapiri on the lake’s southern shores.
![Boats on Bafa](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/travel/2021/03/16/GettyImages-464183385_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqY5usMsdVAB9hQ8fu6Lwp0PvDhKMszNXV6Xbzm9OqkzQ.jpg?imwidth=350)
Beyşehir
The largest body of fresh water in Turkey’s ‘Lake District’ is presided over by majestic, 10,000ft Mt Dedegül, snow-capped well into spring. A haven for birdwatchers and walkers, its shores are home to the fabulous early 14th-century Eşrefoğlu Mosque, built almost entirely from wood. Harder to reach is the Selçuk Palace of Kubadabad, on a small island, and on the eastern side of the lake a 13th-century BC Hittite shrine built around a spring, noted for its relief-carved deities. Visitors stay in the pretty lakeside town of Beyşehir, which has a few acceptable hotels.
![Beyşehir](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/travel/2021/03/16/GettyImages-1020102118_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bq4BntcYUF37YrucQGGuHN2Z7-wh--ZjESeNOpPdPMAxg.jpg?imwidth=350)
Eğirdir
Ringed by peaks, standing astride the waymarked St Paul Trail and a base for the wonderful Greek-Roman highland sites of Sagalassos and Antioch in Pisidia, Lake Eğirdir is the pearl of southwest Turkey’s tourist-friendly ‘Lake District’. The numerous guesthouses dotting a small island linked to the town of Eğirdir by a causeway offer fishing trips on the lake, there are cars and bikes to be hired, and plenty of hiking opportunities – there’s even a decent ski resort at nearby Mt Davraz.
![Peaks ring Eğirdir](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/travel/2021/03/16/GettyImages-1225861869_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqjJeHvIwLm2xPr27m7LF8maFSVnA7ljiZGqfHiRYjp5k.jpg?imwidth=350)
Çıldır
This remote lake on Turkey’s borders with Armenia and Georgia is around 6,500ft above sea level, and remains frozen for six months each year. It is home to colonies of Dalmatian and white pelicans in summer, helping make it a big draw for birdwatchers. In winter locals cut holes in the thick ice to fish for carp, and ride horse-drawn sleds across it. The only decent accommodation nearby is at Kars, the jumping off point for the fabulous Unesco World Heritage Site of Ani.
Iznik
Set in bucolic hills on the south side of the Sea of Marmara, the focal point of this pretty, reed-fringed lake is the attractive old walled town of Iznik, ancient Nicaea, where the famous creed was hammered out in AD 325. The Iznik tiles that adorn the famous Blue Mosque in Istanbul and many other buildings across the Ottoman Empire are still being hand-produced in the town, and the 11th-century Church of the Holy Wisdom (now the Aya Sofya mosque) contains a few frescoes. Iznik can be visited in a long day trip from Istanbul, but merits a rather longer stay.