Van

Van

Van is situated in the south of Turkey, and on Lake Van, from which the city has taken its name. Under the name of Tushpa, it used to be capital of the kingdom known in history as the Urartian.

Starting from the 3000’s BCit served as the home for the Hurrians. Seljukian and Ottoman architecture can be seen in old city, which is surrounded by a clay wall. Of these buildings, the most important one is the Ulu Mosque left from the 12th-14th centuries. Lake Van is Turkey’s biggest lake, with a surface area of 3,713 sq.km. The Lake now only has water flowing into it, with no outlet for it to flow out. Around the Lake are some interesting historic sites; the most important of these are the Akdamar Island and Church, and Ahlat and the Ahlat Open Air Museum. Van is also the home of the White Cats. These cats are white with long hair and have one blue and one yellow eye. This is the only member of the cat species that likes to swim and play in water.