Turkey Guide
Lake Van and the southeast
The southeast of Turkey is the least developed and most ethnically distinct part of the country. It is a high, rugged, sparsely populated area with a natural beauty on which people seem to have made little impression (other than deforestation) over the ages. At the heart of it all lies Lake Van, a vast inland sea trapped by laval deposits from the dormant or extinct volcanoes that soar over the undulating steppeland of central Anatolia. The volcanoes culminate in the peak of 5137-metre Ağrı Dağ – better known as Mount Ararat – while extensions to the Toros range loop around the south and east of Lake Van. The climate is as severe as the terrain, with torrid summers (from June onwards) giving way to freezing winters starting in early November.
Main roads have been improved significantly, often due to military requirements during the PKK troubles, but towns are often far apart. Restaurant food is plain and most hotels basic, but the region contains sights and monuments which are some of the most diverse and impressive in Turkey.
Highlights
1 Nemrut Dağı This unique mountain habitat shelters migrating birds in May and September, and in between offers the possibility of a dip in the crater lakes.
2 Akdamar Kilisesi Tenth-century Armenian church with stone-cut friezes, on a tiny island in Lake Van.
3 Hoşap Kalesi Picturesque medieval Kurdish castle topping a mound above the main road to Hakkari.
4 Muradiye waterfalls The gushing falls near Van boast a twenty-metre drop and a wonderful early-summer display of wildflowers.
5 İshak Paşa Sarayı An architectural folly of golden limestone, set in a valley of sculpted rocks controlling the silk road to Iran.
6 Mount Ararat The highest mountain in Turkey, like a huge Christmas pudding, topped with snow and a puff of rising smoke.