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ON THE ROADS OF ANATOLIA - VAN
Yuksel Oktay
American Chronicle, CA
May 8 2007
The city of Van and a new beginning for the 1,100 Year Akdamar church
as a Monument Museum.
Some refer to the city of Van, which has a long history, many cultural
sites and natural wonders, as the "pearl of the east."
Yasar Kemal calls the waters of lake Van, known as Van Sea by the
locals, as the prettiest blue in the world. Three tousand years ago,
Van, known than as Tusba, was the capital of the Urartu Kingdom.
Historians believe that the Urartu was active in the region between
the 9th and 6th centuries when Asur Kingdom was also active near Van
when the famous Queen Semiramis built the famous canals near Van. The
Van castle not too far from the city is one of the most magnificient
Urartun castles, built by Sarduri I in B.C. 9th century. The Urartu
Kingdom is believed to be overrun after 300 years of existence by
the Meds from Iran (Note 1)
Akdamar Church - Now Akdamar Monument Museum,
One of the most important monuments, the 1,100 year old Akdamar Surp
Harc Church, is located on the Akdamar island in lake Van, about 1 km
from the shore. The church, built by Vaspurakan King Gagik Artsruni I
in A.D. 915-921, is surrounded by almond trees which begin blossoming
in mid April, but delayed this year due to cold weather. The walls
of the church are covered with figures representing religious themes
from the Bible and the Old Testament, as well as figures of animals
and scenes form the daily life.
Akdamar church was officially opened as The Akdamar Monument Museum
by dignitaries on March 28, a cold day later showered with snow. The
opening date was changed several times (it would have been better
to postpone to sometime in May when the almond trees on the island
are in full bloom) and in a gesture of recociliation, officials from
Armenia and several diaspora members were also invited and attended
the ceremonies. The church is not very large, there is nothing in the
building now and the cross on top has not been erected, since it is
now a Museum and not a place of worship (Photo 1.)
According to the legend, the name of the island is attributed to the
love of a shepherd towards Tamara, the daughter of the Bishop of the
church, who dies on a stormy night trying to swim to the island. A
modern day version of the legend took place when two members of the
restoration group, Emel Guzelgoz and Adnan Vural, fell in love and
decided to get married, which took place last week.
There are other churches in the area such as the Church of Surb
Hovannes (St. John) at Carpanak island in Lake Van.
Monuments from the Selcuks and the Ahlat Cemetery
Van and vicinity came under the Selcuk rule during the 10th century.
The Selcuk cemetery in Ahlat, home to 8,000 four meter high tombstones
datings back to the 12th and 13th , is considered the world's largest
cemetery. Currently, the Mayor of Ahlat Mevlut Gulmez has ordered
a study to add the Selcuk cemetery in Ahlat to the list of sites on
the World Heritage List (There are 9 historical sites on the UNESCO
World Heritage List, including Safranbolu, Istanbul, and Goreme.)
As I was driving to Ahlat, I stopped at a Selcuk cemetery near Cevas
which had a Monument characteristics of the Selcuk architecture. When I
started a conversation with a group visiting the monument, one of them
introduced himself as the Mayor of Cevas and told me about the history
of the region and invited me to a luncheon with a group from Ankara
and the local governor of Cevas. I followed the Mayor, Nazmi Sezer,
and the group to a restaurant near by, where we not only had a nice
lunch, but also a chance to discus the region and the modern monument
erected for the "Beast of Van", supposedly living in Van Lake. The
captain of the boat that took me to the Akdamar had told me that he
has not seen the beast during his 25 years of service in the area. The
last time I was in Van, a TV group from Japan had camped near Lake Van
to make a documentary on the legendary beast that no one has seen yet.
Hosap Castle
One of the landmarks in the region is the "Hosap" castle located in
the town of "Guzelsu - Hosap", 55 kms from Van. The castle, built
by Sari Suleyman, the leader of the Mahmudiyes in 1643, under the
protection of vthe Ottomans,is located high on a hill and there are
lion reliefs and inscriptions over the imposing gate leading to the
castle, which was closed to the public due to ongoing restoration
work. According to the "koruyucu" guard, Nazif Koc, many walls are
under poor conditions.The castle is surrounded by three fortification
walls, buttresses and watchtowers and has a mosque, a bath, a school,
fountain, cistern, dungeons and a pigeon-tower inside the formidable
walls. Many young boys were playing in front of the castle, unafarid
of the crumbling walls (Photo 2.)
Hosap Hydroelectric Power Plant
After passing a military check point coming from Hosap, I drove along
the river to visit the Hosap Hydro Electric Power plant, owned and
operated by the private sector. The operator greeted me and provided
a tour of the 3.5 MW plant which has been operating since 1986. The
Ministry of Energy has started a program trannsferribng small
hydro-electric power plants, such as Hosap HEPP, to the private sector.
,Muradiye Waterfall and The Devils bridge
The famous Muradiye Waterfall is located 85 kms north of Van, on the
way to Dogubeyazit, which is not very high but very picturesque. It
is easy to miss the falls since the river and the watefall is located
in a shallow valley.
Van Cat and Yuzuncu Yuz Yil University
Van is famous for its beautiful white cat which has eyes with two
different colors. Van cat is among the many historical marks of Van
that can be seen in brochures and posters. Van is also home to the
Yuzuncu Yuzyil University which became famous when its rector was
alleged in keeping artifacts at his home, which was proven to be false.
Notes.
(1) One of the books on the Urartu Kingdom is "Urartu Kralligi Tarihi
ve Sanati" by Prof. Dr. Altan Cilingiroglu
http://www.americanchronicle.com/art icles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=26515
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Yuksel Oktay
American Chronicle, CA
May 8 2007
The city of Van and a new beginning for the 1,100 Year Akdamar church
as a Monument Museum.
Some refer to the city of Van, which has a long history, many cultural
sites and natural wonders, as the "pearl of the east."
Yasar Kemal calls the waters of lake Van, known as Van Sea by the
locals, as the prettiest blue in the world. Three tousand years ago,
Van, known than as Tusba, was the capital of the Urartu Kingdom.
Historians believe that the Urartu was active in the region between
the 9th and 6th centuries when Asur Kingdom was also active near Van
when the famous Queen Semiramis built the famous canals near Van. The
Van castle not too far from the city is one of the most magnificient
Urartun castles, built by Sarduri I in B.C. 9th century. The Urartu
Kingdom is believed to be overrun after 300 years of existence by
the Meds from Iran (Note 1)
Akdamar Church - Now Akdamar Monument Museum,
One of the most important monuments, the 1,100 year old Akdamar Surp
Harc Church, is located on the Akdamar island in lake Van, about 1 km
from the shore. The church, built by Vaspurakan King Gagik Artsruni I
in A.D. 915-921, is surrounded by almond trees which begin blossoming
in mid April, but delayed this year due to cold weather. The walls
of the church are covered with figures representing religious themes
from the Bible and the Old Testament, as well as figures of animals
and scenes form the daily life.
Akdamar church was officially opened as The Akdamar Monument Museum
by dignitaries on March 28, a cold day later showered with snow. The
opening date was changed several times (it would have been better
to postpone to sometime in May when the almond trees on the island
are in full bloom) and in a gesture of recociliation, officials from
Armenia and several diaspora members were also invited and attended
the ceremonies. The church is not very large, there is nothing in the
building now and the cross on top has not been erected, since it is
now a Museum and not a place of worship (Photo 1.)
According to the legend, the name of the island is attributed to the
love of a shepherd towards Tamara, the daughter of the Bishop of the
church, who dies on a stormy night trying to swim to the island. A
modern day version of the legend took place when two members of the
restoration group, Emel Guzelgoz and Adnan Vural, fell in love and
decided to get married, which took place last week.
There are other churches in the area such as the Church of Surb
Hovannes (St. John) at Carpanak island in Lake Van.
Monuments from the Selcuks and the Ahlat Cemetery
Van and vicinity came under the Selcuk rule during the 10th century.
The Selcuk cemetery in Ahlat, home to 8,000 four meter high tombstones
datings back to the 12th and 13th , is considered the world's largest
cemetery. Currently, the Mayor of Ahlat Mevlut Gulmez has ordered
a study to add the Selcuk cemetery in Ahlat to the list of sites on
the World Heritage List (There are 9 historical sites on the UNESCO
World Heritage List, including Safranbolu, Istanbul, and Goreme.)
As I was driving to Ahlat, I stopped at a Selcuk cemetery near Cevas
which had a Monument characteristics of the Selcuk architecture. When I
started a conversation with a group visiting the monument, one of them
introduced himself as the Mayor of Cevas and told me about the history
of the region and invited me to a luncheon with a group from Ankara
and the local governor of Cevas. I followed the Mayor, Nazmi Sezer,
and the group to a restaurant near by, where we not only had a nice
lunch, but also a chance to discus the region and the modern monument
erected for the "Beast of Van", supposedly living in Van Lake. The
captain of the boat that took me to the Akdamar had told me that he
has not seen the beast during his 25 years of service in the area. The
last time I was in Van, a TV group from Japan had camped near Lake Van
to make a documentary on the legendary beast that no one has seen yet.
Hosap Castle
One of the landmarks in the region is the "Hosap" castle located in
the town of "Guzelsu - Hosap", 55 kms from Van. The castle, built
by Sari Suleyman, the leader of the Mahmudiyes in 1643, under the
protection of vthe Ottomans,is located high on a hill and there are
lion reliefs and inscriptions over the imposing gate leading to the
castle, which was closed to the public due to ongoing restoration
work. According to the "koruyucu" guard, Nazif Koc, many walls are
under poor conditions.The castle is surrounded by three fortification
walls, buttresses and watchtowers and has a mosque, a bath, a school,
fountain, cistern, dungeons and a pigeon-tower inside the formidable
walls. Many young boys were playing in front of the castle, unafarid
of the crumbling walls (Photo 2.)
Hosap Hydroelectric Power Plant
After passing a military check point coming from Hosap, I drove along
the river to visit the Hosap Hydro Electric Power plant, owned and
operated by the private sector. The operator greeted me and provided
a tour of the 3.5 MW plant which has been operating since 1986. The
Ministry of Energy has started a program trannsferribng small
hydro-electric power plants, such as Hosap HEPP, to the private sector.
,Muradiye Waterfall and The Devils bridge
The famous Muradiye Waterfall is located 85 kms north of Van, on the
way to Dogubeyazit, which is not very high but very picturesque. It
is easy to miss the falls since the river and the watefall is located
in a shallow valley.
Van Cat and Yuzuncu Yuz Yil University
Van is famous for its beautiful white cat which has eyes with two
different colors. Van cat is among the many historical marks of Van
that can be seen in brochures and posters. Van is also home to the
Yuzuncu Yuzyil University which became famous when its rector was
alleged in keeping artifacts at his home, which was proven to be false.
Notes.
(1) One of the books on the Urartu Kingdom is "Urartu Kralligi Tarihi
ve Sanati" by Prof. Dr. Altan Cilingiroglu
http://www.americanchronicle.com/art icles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=26515
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress