Lake Van
Lake Van (Turkish: Van Gölü, Armenian: Վանա լիճ) is the largest lake in Turkey, in the far east of the country.
Akdamar Island is in this lake. Although Lake Van is at 1,640 m (5,380 ft) altitude with harsh winters, it does not freeze because it is very salty, except occasionally the shallow northern section.[1]
History
The lake was the center of the Urartian kingdom from about 1000 BC, and the capital of Urartu, Tushpa, was on the shore of Lake Van (on the site of the medieval castle of Van, west of Van city).[2]
Later the land around the lake was ruled by Armenians.[3] Along with Lake Sevan in today's Armenia and Lake Urmia in today's Iran,[4][5] Van was one of the three great lakes of the Armenian Kingdom, referred to as the seas of Armenia.[6][7][8]
Lake Van Media
Akdamar Island and the Holy Cross Cathedral, a 10th-century Armenian church and monastic complex. Mount Artos (Mt. Çadır) is seen in the background.
Section of north rim of the Sheikh Ora crater, showing old beach lines, drawn by Felix Oswald, 1906
Landsat photo of Lake Van
Lake Van viewed from the Space Shuttle Challenger during flight STS-41-G. Southwest is at top.
1910 ethnographical map of Lake Van; dark green represents Armenians.
An early 20th century picture of the 10th century Armenian monastery of Narekavank, which once stood near the southeastern shore of the lake
View of the lake from aboard the train ferry Van of the Turkish State Railways in 1987. In December 2015 the new generation of train ferries, the largest of their kind in Turkey, entered service in Lake Van.[9]
An image from the 2010 UIM-IOC Van Grand Prix in Lake Van
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Related pages
References
- ↑ The New Encyclopædia Britannica, Lake Van
- ↑ The Concise Encyclopædia of Archaeology – Page 488 by Leonard Cottrell – 1960
- ↑ The Penguin Atlas of Diasporas – Page 77 by Jean-Pierre Rageau, Gérard Chaliand
- ↑ The Armenians – Page 12 by A. E. (Anne Elizabeth) Redgate
- ↑ The Ancient Kingdom of Urartu – Page 1 by David Frankel
- ↑ Turkey – Page 28 by Pat Yale
- ↑ Traditio – Page 7 by Institute of Research and Study in Medieval Canon Law
- ↑ The Encyclopedia Americana – Page 330 by Grolier Incorporated
- ↑ Mina 2015.