My views of Van, Eastern Anatolia

Turkish Van Cat (with odd-eyed eyes: blue and amber)

Above and below: beautiful Lake Van on a sunny autumn day. It is the largest lake in Turkey (altitude above see level: 1640 m) 

Above and below: Van Citadel (Van Kalesi), Urartian fortress built in the 9th century B.C.

Above and below: Van Citadel seen from the site of the old Armenian  town of Van

Turkish Van cats at the Van Cat Research Center of Van University.

Ruins of the Urartian fortress of Çavuştepe (Sardurihinilli) (8th century B.C.)

Above and below: bucolic landscape of Anatolia (view from Çavuştepe fortress)

AKDAMAR ISLAND ON LAKE VAN

Above and below: Armenian Cathedral of the Holy Cross on Akdamar Island (10th century A.D.)

View of Lake Van from the hill of the Armenian Cathedral

Above and below: beautful stone reliefs on the outer walls of the Armenian Cathedral on Akdamar Island

I visited Van in September 2013.