Ahlat
The shabby town of AHLAT, which lies a picturesque drive 42km northeast of Tatvan along the north shore of Lake Van, is known chiefly for its medieval Muslim cemetery, holding hundreds of beautifully carved gravestones, and for its monumental tombs, known as türbe in Turkish.
The cemetery and tombs are by far the most substantial remains of a settlement that can boast a very long history. The Urartians are known to have been here in the first millennium BC, and were followed in turn by the Armenians. Ahlat fell to the Arabs during the seventh century, was retaken by the Byzantines two hundred years later, and subsequently passed to the victorious Selçuks after the nearby Battle of Manzikert in 1071. The Mongols, who arrived in 1244, were succeeded by the İlhanids a century later; by the fifteenth century Ahlat had become the main base of the Akkoyunlu Turcomans. Even after the local Ottoman conquest of 1548, real power in this remote region remained in the hands of the Kurdish emirs of Bitlis. Ahlat continued to be a populous, polyglot city until World War I.
Old Ahlat is a sprawling site, centred on a small museum, with the most visited of the monumental tombs, the Ulu Kümbet, some 300m south. The Meydan cemetery, peppered with intricately carved tombstones, is immediately north of the museum, while the Bayındır tomb lies 600m north of the museum across the cemetery. The city ruins nestle in a valley around 400m west of the Bayındır tomb.
Around Van
While the main attraction near Van is the Armenian island church of Akdamar, nearby St Thomas and the splendidly isolated church on the island of Çarpanak are almost equally worthwhile. The ancient Urartian settlements at Çavuştepe to the south and Ayanis to the north also make excellent day-trips from Van. The rocky foothills to the east hold more church remains, at Yedi Kilise, while the landscape south of Van is the most physically impressive in Turkey, featuring rugged mountains dotted with isolated settlements such as Bahçesaray. The imposing castle at Hoşap lies en route for the wild mountain town of Hakkari.
Although it’s possible to visit some of these sights by public transport, to really make the most of one of Turkey’s most fascinating regions, it’s worth considering renting a car for a couple of days.
Akdamar island
The tiny island of Akdamar, just off Lake Van’s southern shore, is home to the exquisite tenth-century Armenian Surb Khach or Church of the Holy Cross. Recently restored to the tune of US$1.5 million by the Turkish government, it stands as a glimmer of hope of reconciliation between Turks and Armenians. A metal cross has been erected on the conical dome of the church, and there’s now an altar inside; services are held at irregular intervals.
The church was erected between 915 and 921 AD, at the behest of Gagik Artsruni, ruler of the Armenian kingdom of Vaspurakan. The small building is gracefully proportioned, but what makes it so special are the relief carvings that run in a series of five bands around the exterior. As well as animal scenes there are several depictions of Bible stories, including Jonah appearing to dive from a boat into the jaws of a most unlikely-looking whale (south facade), and David taking on Goliath, sling in hand (south facade). King Gagik himself is carved in bold relief on the west facade, presenting a model of Surb Khach to Jesus. A number of khatchkars – the Celtic-looking, obsessively detailed carved crosses that the Armenians used both as celebratory or commemorative offerings and as grave markers – are also set into the facade and scattered beneath the almond trees to the east of the church.
The frescoes inside, formerly in a shocking state, have been sensitively restored. It’s possible to make out New Testament scenes such as the Baptism of Christ, the raising of Lazarus and the Crucifixion. Outside, to the south, are the partially excavated remains of the monastery complex of which the church was once a part.
Clamber up the steep hillside behind the church for spectacular views down over the church to the lake and, beyond, to the magnificent peaks that ring the lakeshore and run all the way down to the Iraqi border. Be wary, though, of plodding tortoises, and gull-infested cliffs that drop sheer into the azure waters below.
A forgotten Kingdom – Urartu
Between the ninth and seventh centuries BC, the Urartian Kingdom, centred on Van (then known as Tushpa), encompassed most of the territory described in this chapter, plus parts of present-day Iran, Iraq and Syria.
Around a dozen Urartian citadels have been unearthed in modern Turkey and Armenia, always sited on naturally defensible rocky spurs or outcrops. More than a castle, they incorporated a palace, workshops, storage depots and temples.
Great engineers, the Urartians built numerous dams and irrigation channels, and their bronze-work was legendary – examples have been found in the Etruscan cities of Italy. They also planted many vineyards, and have been credited with the discovery of wine; curiously their biggest rivals, the Assyrians from the flatlands of Mesopotamia to the south, were beer drinkers. Eventually centuries of fighting with the Assyrians and later the Scythians took their toll, and the Urartian Empire went into decline at the start of the seventh century.
Bitlis
The historic town of BİTLİS (1545m altitude) is reached along an attractive winding gorge dotted with kervansarays and old bridges. Its lifeblood used to be its location on the main west–east transit road linking the Tigris and Euphrates basins with that of Lake Van, but Bitlis has recently been bypassed by a 4km-long tunnel. The plus side for visitors is that the once very noisy, polluted main drag is much more pleasant.
Bitlis is a fascinating and atmospheric town, ignored by most travellers in the headlong rush to Lake Van. Assuming you arrive early enough in the day, it’s easy to alight here and explore before you catch one of the very frequent dolmuşes on to Tatvan. The most important monuments lie west of the road, in narrow streets busy with people rather than vehicles.
With its dark stone houses and steep valley setting, Bitlis has the feel of an isolated nineteenth-century English mill town, though it once controlled the pass from Syria to the Van region and Persia and Armenia beyond. Before World War I it was a prosperous place, and about half the inhabitants were Armenian. Today this predominantly Kurdish town is impoverished, and its last major employer, a factory that processes the famous local tobacco, closed down in 2008.
Nemrut Dağı
Immediately north of Tatvan, the extinct volcano of Nemrut Dağı – no relation to the mountain with the statues – rises to 3050m. Six thousand years ago Nemrut is believed to have stood 4450m tall; as a result of a huge volcanic explosion, the whole upper section of the peak was deposited in the Van basin, thus blocking the natural outlet and creating the lake. The present-day volcanic cone, which is accessible after snowmelt from May or June through to November, contains two crater lakes, one of which is pleasantly warm.
From the rim, an asphalt road drops down and right towards the crater floor. To reach crescent-shaped Soğukgöl (cold lake), bear left on a dirt track. The lake occupies the western half of the crater, and on its east shore there are some swimmable hot springs. Better for a dip, however, is smaller Sıcakgöl (warm lake), connected to its partner by a narrow path leading east or a left branch off the asphalt road and heated to 60°C by ongoing volcanic activity. The 7km-diameter crater is lushly vegetated (beech, aspen and juniper), contrasting sharply with the bare landscape outside. In summer Kurds graze their flocks on the slopes.
A small ski resort on the mountain, 8km from Tatvan at an altitude of 2200m, holds a smart new hotel, the Nemrut Kardelen. A chairlift ride takes visitors to the summit for TL10, but only runs in summer for groups of ten or more. The lift goes right to the crater rim, and the views are spectacular.