Day 32: Nemrut Dagi Krateri to Van

During the previous afternoon and evening, we had been aware of a very noisy rookery of birds nested on a coup of small islands in the Big Lake below. I don't know what kind of birds they were, except that they were super noisy. It almost sounded like laughter each time an individual bird broke into voice. Anyway,the noise died off after dark (mostly) but at first light the noisy buggers were at it again. Hence, we were again awake quite early, despite the rim of the caldera keeping the sun off the tent for quite a bit longer than when it actually became light.

Panoramic view of 'Bird Island'

Cautiously emerging from the tent, after a quick check around the car it was declared a 'bear free zone', and we set about restoring the camp. Nothing was missing, and no damage was done aside from the food box being overturned. With the Kelly Kettle boiled a few times, we took the time to enjoy some hot cups of coffee overlooking the lake as the rising sun changed the colours of the water and inner slopes of the caldera. After coffee, it was time for 'splash n dash' / 'rub-a-dub-dub' type wash, before washing up the dishes.

In the anonymity of the remote location we had chosen, we quickly stripped off and washed ourselves with a wet cloth each, before changing into some fresh clothes. I even managed to wash my hair, and Gerle whilst initially a little unsure of the idea of washing here soon got into it properly. No one came across us whilst we were washing, though we noticed a man was actually sitting surprisingly close to where we camped when we drove out from our camp location.

Panoramic view of the lake below our camping spot

Same view as the previous night, with sun from behind.

Breakfasted, washed and with the tent packed, we departed the campsite at about 8.30pm to make our way down the mountain and onward around the lake toward the city of Van. En route we planned to visit a small Armenian church on an island within the lake, the Van Castle and if time permitted some Armenian monasteries in the foothills behind the city of Van.

Leaving our campsite.

Initially after passing through Tatvan, the road to Van skirted the shore of Lake Van. A few kilometres further on, however, and the main road deviated inland. Seemingly every few kilometres for the entire 150 km drive from Tatvan to Van, there was roadworks. The amount of roadwork underway in Turkey that we had witnessed thus far was already astonishing, but this seemed to be the most intense area for new road development that we had seen. Turks build great roads. Another similarity with China.

Wanting to see more of the lake, which was in fact a beautiful blue colour almost like an ocean, I programmed the GPS to take us via secondary roads back toward the lake. This had us traverse up and over the separating mountain range, which with windy roads in combination with last night's wine almost got the better of Gerle. Stopping for a quick rest near a group of surprised beekeepers, we continued onward after Gerle had regained her composure.

Descending the other side of the range, we continued slowly through seemingly endless roadworks toward the town of Gevas, where we boarded a tour boat for the roughly 3 km trip into the lake to Akdamar Island. On the island was an Armenian church, the  Cathedral Church of the Holy Cross, whose initial construction period spanned 915-921 AD.

Looking out into Lake Van, it could be mistaken for a calm ocean.

The boat trip was brief, but the sunshine on the lake was beautiful with accompanying breeze from the movement of the boat. Aboard the boat was a father and his young daughter and son, of whom the daughter seemed to have a fascination with Gerle. For the 20 minute ride, a game of cat mouse ensued between the two, not wanting the other to notice that they were being watched.

Who is that strange girl wearing the colourful clothes? Where is she from?

Very shy, and tucked under dad's arm for safety.

Once we had arrived on the island, we took the time to wander through the Church which was quite stunning, evident of a carefully done and relatively recent refurbishment. The refurbishment itself was with quite a bit of controversy, part of the seemingly ongoing antagonism and mistreatment of Armenian heritage in Turkey. The refurbishment has turned the church into a museum only, and prayer services are not possible; there was a lengthy process to have the Catholic cross re-instated upon the church, which was eventually allowed in 2010. Being atheist, I don't really take sides in religious debates, but I think that something strange has happened here, perhaps a hangover related to the process of Turkification?

The Cathedral Church of the Holy Cross

Standing high above Lake Van on Akdamar Island

Inside The Cathedral Church of the Holy Cross

'Turkish Gerle' complete with scarf to supposedly cover the shoulders... the church was quite large inside.

Not bad condition for a 10th century construction!

Catholicism was a little surprising to find here 

After viewing the inside and outside of the church, we sat under the small trees of the island at a cafe to relax over some Turkish tea and snacks, amidst the other families visiting the island. It seemed quite popular, with probably around 100 or 150 people picnicking on the island. We were certainly the odd ones out, and for most of the time it seemed that at least 10 pairs of eyes were upon us at any one time. People were friendly though, with more than one family inviting us to join their picnic which we politely refused... picnicking would appear a little difficult when there is no way to communicate other than through mime.

Heading back to the mainland, the boat ride was faster and more comfortable than the original one, and we were again joined by the fascinated little girl and her family. The fun and games continued. Reaching the shore of the lake, we were across the road and into the car without stopping to browse the array of tourist merchandise and on our way to Van. 

The departure point back to the mainland

Headed for the mainland

The first planned stop in Van was the The Fortress of Van (also known as Van Citadel), which was built by the ancient kingdom of Urartu during the 9th to 7th centuries BC. The fortress overlooks the ruins of the ancient city of Tushpa (the Urartian capital during the 9th century BC), the modern city of Van to the east and Lake Van itself to the west.

After paying our entrance fee, we walked around the base of it looking for a path to the top. There appeared to be many unofficial tracks leading up the side of the slope toward the fortress, but nothing that seemed to be the correct way. Eventually we started up one of the rough tracks, and upon reaching the top realised that there was no formal entrance.

An intrigued Gerle braving the vicious geese

At the top of the Fortress, there wasn't much for looking at except for the view below and the ruins themselves. Both of these were impressive, but we had thought that the restored church may have been open to look inside.  We took our time exploring the top of the structure, the eastern side looking over the modern city of Van and the western side looking over Lake Van. The Fortress itself was perched on a steep bluff beneath the southern limit, with the walls of the fortress sometimes amazingly clinging to the steep rock upon which they were bedded down upon. 

The whole structure appears to be slowly undergoing refurbishment, which I guess is a little strange for the city of Van which is also undergoing major repair and refurbishment since the recent earthquake in late 2011. We watched the workmen for a while carefully rebuilding sections of the Fortresses internal walls and paths in what I assume was a traditional style involving raw stone and mud bricks. If the whole of the structure is refurbished (which will take some time, as it is indeed massive) the Fortress will look splendid once brought back to its former glory. 

Strangely, there were a number of buildings that somehow appeared to be buried on top of the hill upon which the Fortress was located. It was unclear whether these building were originally built in a subterranean manner, or the ruins of other buildings had eroded on top of them. At times we had to be a little careful where we walked, with large voids supported only be ancient brickwork literally centimetres below our feet. 

Walking up to the Fortress of Van.

It's a long way, to the top, if you want to...

Overlooking the modern city of Van

After finishing looking around the Fortress, we decided to forego venturing further inland away from the lake to visit the Armenian monasteries as it was now fairly late in the day. Finding a camp site was now a priority. Heading away from Van, we had hoped to simply follow the lake shore until we found something suitable, however with so many people seemingly displaced by the 2011 earthquake, this was harder than we thought it would be. 

Many people were living in temporary accommodation in the lakeside villages, in tents, shipping containers and other temporary constructions. It seemed that nearly every small village that we came to for about 50 km outside the city limits of Van had taken almost a population equal to its original inhabitants of those displaced by the earthquake. 

Stopping to get some bottled water, we were looked at quite curiously but in a friendly manner. The spirit of the people still seemed strong, but the shopkeeper was quite happy for the unexpected business. Continuing on, we drove for about an hour winding through the lakeside countryside, cutting across a small peninsula jutting into the lake until we again followed the lake shoreline again looking for a camping spot. 

For a while there were no beaches, just a sharp drop-off to the water below, which wasn't what we were looking for. We wanted a good beach access so that we could have a swim and a wash before dinner. Further around the shoreline we came across such a beach, that was a little too popular. Unfortunately the trend of 'where there are people, there will be rubbish' continued. Why can't people take their rubbish home with them!?!?

Continuing, we found a 4WD only track leading down to the beach, and following this found we could actually drive onto the beach itself. This was good, as driving along the beach we were able to get away from where others had been and found a (relatively) clean section of beach to park and camp. The only rubbish here seemed to be that washed up by the small waves, which though a considerable amount was 'cleaner' having been thoroughly washed whilst out in the water. 

Camping on the lake

Before the sun went down completely, we both went for a swim and had a chance to wash off before dinner. The water wasn't warm, but not too cold either, but the wind upon leaving the water certainly did feel cold. 

The lake water was also a little strange; I had known that Lake Van was an endorheic lake (having no outlet) and that it was saline, but it had a very different feel and taste to it. Not particularly salty, the taste was almost metallic, and the feeling was slippery as if we were bathing in a very light oil. It wasn't too bad, but we did rinse off under some bottled water after emerging.  I have since found that the lake water is strongly alkaline (pH 9.7–9.8) and rich in sodium carbonate, which may explain the taste and feeling.

We hadn't planned to cook anything, and thus had a simple dinner of tomatoe, tuna and cucumber sandwiches as we watched the sun set over the lake, the shoreline surrounding it light up and a thunderstorm roll by in the distance. It wasn't hot (we were still at RL1650) and with the firm breeze the tent was well ventilated. Sleep was good, the rhythm of the small waves lapping at the shore a peaceful background noise. 

Sunset over Lake Van

An evening swim, just before dark.