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Van is a city with
a short name, a long history,
and numerous interesting things to
see, especially if you like history
and natural beauty. Or cats.
Located on the eastern shore of Lake
Van, the city of Van (VAHN,
pop. 400,000, alt. 1727 meters/5666
feet) has been here for a very long
time.
The Rock of Van, the ancient
fortress and funeral monument around
which a later citadel was built,
bears cuneiform inscriptions dating
from the Kingdom of Urartu (c.
1300-700 BC—here's a Timeline).
Beside the citadel, the ruins of the
old town of Van, built atop the ruins
of ancient Urartian town of Tushpa, lie
beneath a carpet of grass.
Besides the local museum, the
Rock of Van and the citadel, you should
visit the Church of the Holy Cross on Akdamar
Island, the Urartian ruins at Çavuştepe,
25 km (16 miles) SE of Van, and the
dramatic Kurdish fortress
at Hoşap, 33 km (21 miles) farther
to the SE. In your travels, you may
even see a Van
cat. You'll know it by its white
fur, eyes of different colors, and
love of swimming (of
all things).
The old town of Van was burned
by Ottoman forces
in 1915 as they retreated before a
Russian army which had invaded Ottoman
territory in support of Armenian revolutionaries.
The Russians held the town until 1917,
when the Russian Empire itself suffered
revolution and collapse.
The modern city of Van grew
up 5 km (3 miles) inland from the lakeshore
and the Rock of Van during the 20th
century, with wide boulevards and town
planning. Because it has the best hotels,
restaurants, transportation and other
services, Van is the best base for
explorations of the region.
Van is an important stop on my Recommended
Itinerary of Eastern Turkey.
It's a long way from western
Turkey by bus or car,
and an even longer trip by train,
so if you're coming directly you'll
want to fly. Turkish
Airlines has daily flights from Istanbul
and from Ankara.
Distances & Travel Times
Ağrı: 230 km (143 miles) N,
4 hours
Ahlat: 194 km (121 miles) NW,
3.25 hours
Ankara: 1248
km (776 miles) W, 22 hours
Bitlis: 170 km (106 miles)
W, 3 hours
Diyarbakır: 379
km (236 miles) W, 7 hours
Doğubayazıt: 307
km (191 miles) N (via Agri & Patnos),
5 hours (read Some
People Never Learn)
Edremit: 15 km (9 miles) W,
20 minutes
Erciş: 98 km (61 miles) N,
2 hours
Erzurum: 410
km (255 miles) SE, 6.5 hours
Gaziantep: 692
km (430 miles) W, 10 hours
Gevaş: 44 km (27 miles) NE,
50 minutes
Hakkâri: 203 km (126
miles) S, 4 hours
Istanbul: 1644
km (1022 miles) W, 28 to 34 hours
Malatya: 579
km (360 miles) W, 10 hours
Malazgirt (Manzikert): 87
km (54 miles) NW, 2 hours
Tatvan: 150
km (93 miles) W, 2.5 hours
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