Van

The city of Van first appeared 3,000 years ago. Interesting from antiquity is a huge fortress built on a steep cliff rising from the lake shore. Now Van is a modern small town. There is an archeological and ethnographic museum.

On the quiet uninhabited Akdamar Island, among wild olive trees, is the beautiful Church of the Holy Cross. The incredible high reliefs on the outside make this church a work of art. Here is told in pictures almost the whole story, from Adam and Eve to David and Goliath.