Part 1 Van Turkey ("The Pearl of the East")

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• published: 28 Jul 2013
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VAN Van is a city in eastern Turkey's Van Province, located on the eastern shore of Lake Van. It is the cultural center of the area's Kurdish majority. The city's population is mostly Kurdish. In 2010 the official population figure for Van was 367,419, but many estimates put it much higher with a 1996 estimate stating 500,000 and former Mayor Burhan Yengun is quoted as saying it may be as high as 600,000. The Van Central district stretches over 2,289 square kilometres (884 square miles) Archaeological excavations and surveys carried out in Van province indicate that the history of human settlement in this region goes back at least as far as 5000 BC. The Tilkitepe Mound, which is on the shores of Lake Van and a few kilometres to the south of Van Castle, is the only source of information about the oldest culture of Van. The modern city is located on the plain extending from the Lake Van, at a distance of 5 kilometers from the lake shore. Van has often been called "The Pearl of the East" because of the beauty of its surrounding landscape. An old Armenian proverb in the same sense is "Van in this world, paradise in the next."This phrase has been slightly modified in Turkish as dünyada Van, ahirette iman or "Van for this world, faith for the next." The city is home to Van Yüzüncü Yıl Üniversitesi (Van 100th Year University) and recently came to the headlines for two highly publicized investigations initiated by the Prosecutor of Van, one of which was focused on accusations against the university's rector, Prof. Hasan Ceylan, who was kept in custody for a time. He was finally acquitted but lost his rectorate. He is a grandson of Agop Vartovyan, an Ottoman Armenian who is accepted as the founder of modern Turkish theatre. Prof. Hasan Ceylan is also the department chairman of Environmental Engineering in the Van 100th Year University.In culinary terms, as some cities in Turkey became renowned for their kebap culture or other types of traditional local dishes, Van has distinguished itself with its breakfast culture. Famous breakfast table in Van. TransportAt present, Van is connected with Tatvan, which is 96 km away on the opposite shore of Lake Van, by a train ferry that helps to avoid the necessity to build a 250 km railway through difficult mountainous terrain. The railway will be constructed when traffic increases sufficiently.Van is connected with the rest of Turkey through the Ferit Melen Airport. 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.