On the Roads of Anatolia - Van
Yüksel Oktay
May 08, 2007
The city of Van and a new beginning for the 1,100 Year Akdamar church as a Monument Museum.
Some refer to the city of Van, which has a long history, many cultural sites and natural wonders, as the ‘’pearl of the east.’’ Yasar Kemal calls the waters of lake Van, known as Van Sea by the locals, as the prettiest blue in the world. Three tousand years ago, Van, known than as Tusba, was the capital of the Urartu Kingdom. Historians believe that the Urartu was active in the region between the 9th and 6th centuries when Asur Kingdom was also active near Van when the famous Queen Semiramis built the famous canals near Van. The Van castle not too far from the city is one of the most magnificient Urartun castles, built by Sarduri I in B.C. 9th century. The Urartu Kingdom is believed to be overrun after 300 years of existence by the Meds from Iran (Note 1)
Akdamar Church – Now Akdamar Monument Museum,
One of the most important monuments, the 1,100 year old Akdamar Surp Harc Church, is located on the Akdamar island in lake Van, about 1 km from the shore. The church, built by Vaspurakan King Gagik Artsruni I in A.D. 915-921, is surrounded by almond trees which begin blossoming in mid April, but delayed this year due to cold weather. The walls of the church are covered with figures representing religious themes from the Bible and the Old Testament, as well as figures of animals and scenes form the daily life.
Akdamar church was officially opened as The Akdamar Monument Museum by dignitaries on March 28, a cold day later showered with snow. The opening date was changed several times (it would have been better to postpone to sometime in May when the almond trees on the island are in full bloom) and in a gesture of recociliation, officials from Armenia and several diaspora members were also invited and attended the ceremonies. The church is not very large, there is nothing in the building now and the cross on top has not been erected, since it is now a Museum and not a place of worship (Photo 1.)
According to the legend, the name of the island is attributed to the love of a shepherd towards Tamara, the daughter of the Bishop of the church, who dies on a stormy night trying to swim to the island. A modern day version of the legend took place when two members of the restoration group, Emel Guzelgoz and Adnan Vural, fell in love and decided to get married, which took place last week.
There are other churches in the area such as the Church of Surb Hovannes (St. John) at Carpanak island in Lake Van.
Monuments from the Selcuks and the Ahlat Cemetery
Van and vicinity came under the Selcuk rule during the 10th century. The Selcuk cemetery in Ahlat, home to 8,000 four meter high tombstones datings back to the 12th and 13th , is considered the world’s largest cemetery. Currently, the Mayor of Ahlat Mevlut Gulmez has ordered a study to add the Selcuk cemetery in Ahlat to the list of sites on the World Heritage List (There are 9 historical sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List, including Safranbolu, Istanbul, and Goreme.)
As I was driving to Ahlat, I stopped at a Selcuk cemetery near Cevas which had a Monument characteristics of the Selcuk architecture. When I started a conversation with a group visiting the monument, one of them introduced himself as the Mayor of Cevas and told me about the history of the region and invited me to a luncheon with a group from Ankara and the local governor of Cevas. I followed the Mayor, Nazmi Sezer, and the group to a restaurant near by, where we not only had a nice lunch, but also a chance to discus the region and the modern monument erected for the ‘’Beast of Van’’, supposedly living in Van Lake. The captain of the boat that took me to the Akdamar had told me that he has not seen the beast during his 25 years of service in the area. The last time I was in Van, a TV group from Japan had camped near Lake Van to make a documentary on the legendary beast that no one has seen yet.
Hosap Castle
One of the landmarks in the region is the ‘’Hosap’’ castle located in the town of ‘’Guzelsu – Hosap’’, 55 kms from Van. The castle, built by Sari Suleyman, the leader of the Mahmudiyes in 1643, under the protection of vthe Ottomans,is located high on a hill and there are lion reliefs and inscriptions over the imposing gate leading to the castle, which was closed to the public due to ongoing restoration work. According to the ‘’koruyucu’’ guard, Nazif Koc, many walls are under poor conditions.The castle is surrounded by three fortification walls, buttresses and watchtowers and has a mosque, a bath, a school, fountain, cistern, dungeons and a pigeon-tower inside the formidable walls. Many young boys were playing in front of the castle, unafarid of the crumbling walls (Photo 2.)
Hosap Hydroelectric Power Plant
After passing a military check point coming from Hosap, I drove along the river to visit the Hosap Hydro Electric Power plant, owned and operated by the private sector. The operator greeted me and provided a tour of the 3.5 MW plant which has been operating since 1986. The Ministry of Energy has started a program trannsferribng small hydro-electric power plants, such as Hosap HEPP, to the private sector.
Muradiye Waterfall and The Devils bridge
The famous Muradiye Waterfall is located 85 kms north of Van, on the way to Dogubeyazit, which is not very high but very picturesque. It is easy to miss the falls since the river and the watefall is located in a shallow valley.
Van Cat and Yuzuncu Yuz Yil University
Van is famous for its beautiful white cat which has eyes with two different colors. Van cat is among the many historical marks of Van that can be seen in brochures and posters. Van is also home to the Yuzuncu Yuzyil University which became famous when its rector was alleged in keeping artifacts at his home, which was proven to be false.
Notes.
(1) One of the books on the Urartu Kingdom is ‘’Urartu Kralligi Tarihi ve Sanati’’ by Prof. Dr. Altan Cilingiroglu
Some refer to the city of Van, which has a long history, many cultural sites and natural wonders, as the ‘’pearl of the east.’’ Yasar Kemal calls the waters of lake Van, known as Van Sea by the locals, as the prettiest blue in the world. Three tousand years ago, Van, known than as Tusba, was the capital of the Urartu Kingdom. Historians believe that the Urartu was active in the region between the 9th and 6th centuries when Asur Kingdom was also active near Van when the famous Queen Semiramis built the famous canals near Van. The Van castle not too far from the city is one of the most magnificient Urartun castles, built by Sarduri I in B.C. 9th century. The Urartu Kingdom is believed to be overrun after 300 years of existence by the Meds from Iran (Note 1)
Akdamar Church – Now Akdamar Monument Museum,
One of the most important monuments, the 1,100 year old Akdamar Surp Harc Church, is located on the Akdamar island in lake Van, about 1 km from the shore. The church, built by Vaspurakan King Gagik Artsruni I in A.D. 915-921, is surrounded by almond trees which begin blossoming in mid April, but delayed this year due to cold weather. The walls of the church are covered with figures representing religious themes from the Bible and the Old Testament, as well as figures of animals and scenes form the daily life.
Akdamar church was officially opened as The Akdamar Monument Museum by dignitaries on March 28, a cold day later showered with snow. The opening date was changed several times (it would have been better to postpone to sometime in May when the almond trees on the island are in full bloom) and in a gesture of recociliation, officials from Armenia and several diaspora members were also invited and attended the ceremonies. The church is not very large, there is nothing in the building now and the cross on top has not been erected, since it is now a Museum and not a place of worship (Photo 1.)
According to the legend, the name of the island is attributed to the love of a shepherd towards Tamara, the daughter of the Bishop of the church, who dies on a stormy night trying to swim to the island. A modern day version of the legend took place when two members of the restoration group, Emel Guzelgoz and Adnan Vural, fell in love and decided to get married, which took place last week.
There are other churches in the area such as the Church of Surb Hovannes (St. John) at Carpanak island in Lake Van.
Monuments from the Selcuks and the Ahlat Cemetery
Van and vicinity came under the Selcuk rule during the 10th century. The Selcuk cemetery in Ahlat, home to 8,000 four meter high tombstones datings back to the 12th and 13th , is considered the world’s largest cemetery. Currently, the Mayor of Ahlat Mevlut Gulmez has ordered a study to add the Selcuk cemetery in Ahlat to the list of sites on the World Heritage List (There are 9 historical sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List, including Safranbolu, Istanbul, and Goreme.)
As I was driving to Ahlat, I stopped at a Selcuk cemetery near Cevas which had a Monument characteristics of the Selcuk architecture. When I started a conversation with a group visiting the monument, one of them introduced himself as the Mayor of Cevas and told me about the history of the region and invited me to a luncheon with a group from Ankara and the local governor of Cevas. I followed the Mayor, Nazmi Sezer, and the group to a restaurant near by, where we not only had a nice lunch, but also a chance to discus the region and the modern monument erected for the ‘’Beast of Van’’, supposedly living in Van Lake. The captain of the boat that took me to the Akdamar had told me that he has not seen the beast during his 25 years of service in the area. The last time I was in Van, a TV group from Japan had camped near Lake Van to make a documentary on the legendary beast that no one has seen yet.
Hosap Castle
One of the landmarks in the region is the ‘’Hosap’’ castle located in the town of ‘’Guzelsu – Hosap’’, 55 kms from Van. The castle, built by Sari Suleyman, the leader of the Mahmudiyes in 1643, under the protection of vthe Ottomans,is located high on a hill and there are lion reliefs and inscriptions over the imposing gate leading to the castle, which was closed to the public due to ongoing restoration work. According to the ‘’koruyucu’’ guard, Nazif Koc, many walls are under poor conditions.The castle is surrounded by three fortification walls, buttresses and watchtowers and has a mosque, a bath, a school, fountain, cistern, dungeons and a pigeon-tower inside the formidable walls. Many young boys were playing in front of the castle, unafarid of the crumbling walls (Photo 2.)
Hosap Hydroelectric Power Plant
After passing a military check point coming from Hosap, I drove along the river to visit the Hosap Hydro Electric Power plant, owned and operated by the private sector. The operator greeted me and provided a tour of the 3.5 MW plant which has been operating since 1986. The Ministry of Energy has started a program trannsferribng small hydro-electric power plants, such as Hosap HEPP, to the private sector.
Muradiye Waterfall and The Devils bridge
The famous Muradiye Waterfall is located 85 kms north of Van, on the way to Dogubeyazit, which is not very high but very picturesque. It is easy to miss the falls since the river and the watefall is located in a shallow valley.
Van Cat and Yuzuncu Yuz Yil University
Van is famous for its beautiful white cat which has eyes with two different colors. Van cat is among the many historical marks of Van that can be seen in brochures and posters. Van is also home to the Yuzuncu Yuzyil University which became famous when its rector was alleged in keeping artifacts at his home, which was proven to be false.
Notes.
(1) One of the books on the Urartu Kingdom is ‘’Urartu Kralligi Tarihi ve Sanati’’ by Prof. Dr. Altan Cilingiroglu
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