Van | Tushpa | Akdamar | Ahtamara

History

Under the name Tushpa, Van was the capital of the kingdom urartéen in the ninth century BC. J.-C. At 5 kilometres from the town of today are the ruins of the fortress built by the Van Urartiens. It is also found cuneiform inscriptions urartiennes. The city then passed under the domination of the Medes in the seventh century BC. J.-C., then the Persians in the sixth century BC. J.-C..

The region was conquered by Alexander the Great in -331, and fit after his death part of the Seleucid empire. At the beginning of the second century, Van was part of the kingdom of Armenia, where she became an important centre, in particular during the reign of Tigran II.

The region saw then the Parthians and then the Romans, and the Sasanians to the fourth century AD

The Byzantine Empire briefly controlled the region of 628 to 640, when it was taken by the Arabs who created the province of Armenia (Ermeniye). In the wake of Sadjides the ninth century, the Byzantines took over the region in the tenth century.

The Seljuk Turks conquered the region in 1054, then it was headed by Ahlatshahs and Ayyubids (1207). Van was taken by the Mongols around 1240, then the fourteenth century by Kara Koyunlu and finally Timourids.

At the beginning of the fifteenth century, the region of Van was bitterly disputed between the Ottomans and Séfévides who occupied Van in 1502. The Ottomans took the city in 1515 and, after having lost in 1520 to benefit Séfévides, the attachèrent definitively in 1548. Van was then erected in sanjak dependent Erzurum, then a province in 1570.

During the First World War, the majority of Armenians 192 000 Van were decimated by Ottoman troops during the Armenian genocide. The new governor of Van, Jevdet Bey, vouait a particular hatred against Armenians and quickly ordered the mobilization of 4 000 Armenian soldiers to leave a city without defence possible. Thereafter, on the pretext of searching for weapons, the Turkish gendarmes fall into the surrounding villages and massacring the Armenian populations . According to Ambassador Henry Morgenthau, Jevdet, with the approach of the Russian armed, ordered on April 20, 1915, execution of an Armenian who wanted to enter the city and two men come to help . This was the beginning of the revolt against the Turks and for Russians, only able to stop a desperate situation quickly respond to the decrease of ammunition and food.

The Russians finally took Van to the end of May 1915 but in August 1915, a victory over the Russian army allowed the Ottoman army back to where Van capture of the city after a violent battle caused death 100 000 inhabitants. In September 1915, the Russians forced the Turks to withdraw again. But with the Russian Revolution of 1917, troops left the city and leave the door open to the Ottoman army who takes control of the city until the end of the First World War. By the Treaty of Sevres, the city was then briefly incorporated into the first Republic of Armenia in 1920, but was quickly taken over by the Turkish armed Ataturk in the same year.

The ancient city at the foot of the citadel (Van Kalesi), having been completely destroyed and emptied of its population, the city was rebuilt a few kilometres away from the years 1920. She was the victim of a violent earthquake in the 1950 .

Geography

Van is situated on a plateau at 1 720 metres above sea level to 5 km of Lake Van, the largest of any country with its 3 600 sq. km.

This region of extreme south-east Turkey is mountainous and relatively dry.

The climate is continental with a mountain winters cold and snowy.

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Van is quite a distance from Western Turkey and traveling by bus or car is not recommended. Nor is a train journey advisable as it takes a longer time, so your best option would be to fly. Turkish Airlines has a flight every day from Istanbul and two from Ankara.

Turkey is famous for its carpets, kilims, gold and silver jewelry, and the choice is even more vibrant, exciting and assorted when you visit the markets. So, go on an exploring spree, armed with the art of bargaining and you may come across an invaluable antique or artifact.

Tea drinking is like a ritual in Van and drunk with an easy pace. Try it out once and you could get the taste of the eluding peace that the locals say they experience.

If you are a health freak then Van is the right place for you, as all kinds of fresh fruits are available.

Ice cream is known as “Dondurma” in Turkey and make sure you get a chance to verify the different tastes.

Another Van delicacy is the “Kurt Kofte”, which is a ball made of bulgur wheat and herbs. Milk products and specially cheese is famous here - try the spiced, soft, dry cheese.

Turkish salami, which is called “Sucuk” with village breads and liver kebabs, could make a wonderful meal. Just remember never to hurry - it will spoil everything.

Lodging in Van is never a problem, as it caters to all kinds of budget. Some of the hotels are:

• The Hotel Buyuk Asur is situated in Cumhuriyet Caddesi. Apart from its standard conveniences, this hotel can offer a comfortable stay while you are at Van.
• The Akdamar Hotel is a slightly more expensive hotel and the food is excellent. The hotel’s own bars and cafes take care of all your dining needs.
• The Hotel Buyuk Urartu located in Cumhuriyet Caddesi has all the basic services and even has a conference room facilitating for conventions, meetings or gatherings.
• The Grand Urartu Hotel is a luxurious accommodation option and its indoor restaurants have the capacity for 1000 people at once.

There are many places of interest at Van and might give you the feeling of being transported in time. Do take a guide along and remember that there are places, which charge you an entrance fee.

• The Rock of Van is a tapered protrusion 1500m in length, over 100m in height, and 300m broad at the bottom.
• The Hosap Castle built by a Kurdish chieftain, in 1643 has been recently excavated and much of it remains under the ground.
• The Sarduri is an Urartian palace built by King Sardur II between 764 and 735 BC. Its temple has cuneiform inscriptions, and the palace has many modern marvels like storage containers, royal bathroom and water cisterns. There is also a container of grains, which is 2000yrs. old.
• Akdamar Island is famous for its 10th century church of the Holy Cross.

Van is famous for its natural breed of cats. Their pure white coat has auburn head smudges and tail has auburn rings too. An extraordinary trait of this longhair cat is that while one of its eyes is blue the other is green; this cat also loves to swim. Van cats are however decreasing in number in Van itself and since export is forbidden, they are almost rarely seen anywhere else.

The modern city is located on the plain extending from the Lake Van, at a distance of 5 kilometers from the lake shore.

It 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 headlines in Turkey for two highly publicized investigations initiated by the Prosecutor of Van, one of which was focused on accusations against the university rector, Prof. Yücel Aşkın, who was kept in custody for a time. He finally acquired but lost his rectorate. He is a grandson of Agop Vartovyan, who was one of the Ottoman Armenians and was accepted the founder of modern Turkish theatre, and is a department chairman of Environmental Engineering in Van 100th Year University.

In culinary terms, as some cities in Turkey became renowned for their like kebap culture or else, Van has distinguished itself with its breakfast culture.

The Turkish Van and Van Kedisi (Van Cat) are breeds of cat native to this town and named after it. The Turkish Van cat is noted for having different coloured eyes and enjoying swimming and rain.

On March 22nd, 2008 riots broke out in Van as the Newruz celebrations turned violent. The riots consisted mostly of young adults throwing rocks at police. damage included many broken windows.

Urartu

Under the ancient name of Tushpa, Van was the capital of the Urartian kingdom in the 9th century BC. Its ancient inhabitants called themselves Nairi. The early settlements are believed to have centered on the steep-sided bluff now known as Van Castle (Van Kalesi), close to the edge of Lake Van and a few kilometers west of the modern city. Here have been found Urartian cuneiform inscriptions dating to the 8th and 7th centuries BC.

From the Medes to the Sassanids

The region came under the control of the Medes in the early 7th century BC and later by Persians in the mid 6th century BC. In 331 BC, Van was conquered by Alexander the Great and after his death became part of the Seleucid Empire. By the early 2nd century BC it was part of the Kingdom of Armenia. It became an important center during the reign of the Armenian king, Tigranes II, who founded the city of Tigranakert in the 1st century BC . The Persian Sassanids finally gained control of the area in the 4th century AD.

The Byzantine Empire and Vaspurakan

The Byzantine Empire briefly held the region from 628 to 640, after which it was invaded by the Muslim Arabs, who consolidated their conquests as the province of Ermeniye. Decline in Arab power eventually allowed local Armenian rulers to re-emerge, with the Artsruni dynasty soon becoming the most powerful. Initially dependent on the rulers of the Kingdom of Ani, they declared their independence in 908, founding the kingdom of Vaspurakan. The kingdom had no specific capital: the court would move as the king transferred his residence from place to place, such as Van city, Vostan, Aghtamar, etc. In 1021 the last king of Vaspurakan, John-Senekerim Artsruni, ceded his entire kingdom to the Byzantine empire, who established the Vaspurakan theme on the former Artsruni territories.

The Seljuk Empire

Incursions by the Seljuk Turks into Vaspurakan started in the 1050s. After their victory in 1071 at the battle of Manzikert the entire region fell under their control. After them, local Muslim rulers emerged, such as the Ahlatshahs and the Ayyubids (1207). For a 20 year period Van was captured by the Anatolian Seljuk Sultanate, until the 1240s when it was conquered by the Mongols. In the 14th century Van was captured by the Kara Koyunlu Turks and later the Timurids.

The Ottoman Empire

The first half of the 15th century saw the Van region become a land of conflict as it was disputed by two Powers, namely the Ottoman Empire and the Persian Safavid Empire. The Safavids captured Van in 1502. The Ottomans took the city in 1515 and held it for a short period. The Safavids took it again in 1520 and Ottomans gained final and definite control of the city in 1548. They first made Van into a sanjak dependent on the Erzurum eyalet, and later into a separate Van eyalet in about 1570.

World War I

The city’s Armenian population was devastated during World War I by Ottoman troops as a part of the Armenian Genocide. According to some Turkish accounts, with Russian forces approaching Lake Van the regional administrator ordered the execution of five Armenian leaders and a revolt resulted in Van on April 20, 1915 against the Turks and in favor of the Russians. However, most historians agree that the Armenian residents, hoping to avoid the slaughter inflicted on the rural population of Van, defended themselves in the Armenian quarters of the city against the Turks. The anti-Turkish and pro-Russian sentiments were in the hopes of being rescued from Turkish massacres. The Russians finally relieved the Armenian defenders of Van in late May of 1915.

Main article: Battle of Van

In August, a victory over the Russian army allowed the Ottoman army to retake Van. In September of 1915 the Russians forced the Turks out of Van for the second time. Russian forces began to leave the area after the Russian Revolution of 1917 and by April 1918 it was recaptured by the Ottoman army. However, the end of World War I forced the Ottoman army to surrender its claim to Van.

Turkish War of Independence and Republic

At the Treaty of Sèvres, the Entente Powers decided to cede the city to the Democratic Republic of Armenia. Turkish revolutionaries, led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk rejected the terms of the treaty and instead waged the Turkish War of Independence. By 1920, Van fell under Turkish control again and its remaining Armenian inhabitants were expelled. With the Treaty of Lausanne and Treaty of Kars, Treaty of Sèvres was annulled, and Van remained officially under Turkish sovereignty.

By the end of the war, the town of Van was empty and in ruins. The new city was rebuilt after the war a few kilometers east of the ancient citadel, which is now known as Van Castle (Van Kalesi). The city lies at about 1,750 metres (5,570 ft) above sea level. In the 1950s, the new city suffered from a devastating earthquake.