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:
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.
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.
