History of Van ; According to the chronological order in history the kingdom of Urartu, the Medes, the kings of Pontus, Arabs, Armenians, Seljuks, Ottomans, Russians and finally the Turkish Republic with the Kurdish population have dominated from the 9th century until today. According to the Assyrians "Urartu" is the region of lakes. It refers to the lakes of Urmia (Iran), Sevan (Armenia) and Lake Van (Turkey).
Castle Van (Van Kalesi) ; The city of Tuspa was founded in the 9th century by the I Sarduri, as the second the capital of the state of Urartu. From the castle built on high rocks you can take the best photos of Lake Van. On the Cavustepe hill you can see inscriptions written on the stone with the handwriting of Urartu. The foundations of the time of Urartu are exposed in the archaeological museum of Van.
The fortress of Hosap ; It is worth going up to the fortress to enjoy the scenery of the valley on the route to ancient Persia. The fortress that reminds us of the legends of 1001 night dates to the date of 1643 and is made by the local kingdom Mahmudi. It has a defensive architecture. Excavations in 2015 have found some 250-year-old jars that were filled with a cheese with grass very characteristic of Van.
Akdamar Island ; Boats for the island leave from the town of Gevas, south of Lake Van. The Armenian Church of the Holy Cross is a good example of 10th century Armenian architecture. On the exterior walls of the church there are well preserved reliefs, with biblical themes, depicting scenes of David and Goliath and the Virgin Mary.
Turkish Van Cat ; In the terminology it is called as "Turkish Van , is characteristic for its skin, color, eyes, ears and it likes to get into water. The breed comes from the Lake Van area (Turkey). He has one green eye and the other blue. Its shorter and thicker hair distinguishes it from the Ankara cat that is longer and finer as silk. There is an institute for the breeding of Van's cats at the University of Yuzuncuyil in Van.