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Despite there are still ambiguities on the
roots and origins of the name "Van" given to the
city, it would be helpful to cite some major
theories on the issue;
Evliya Chelebi suggests, in his famous work
titled "Travel Notes" that a temple named "Vank"
situated within the Castle of Van which was
constructed and occupied by the forces of
Alexander the Great has given its name to the
city. Another rumor says that the city should be
the one referred to as "Sahmerimekerol" by the
Assyrian Queen Mary, the beloved wife of Mesnure
Shah somewhere around 1900 BC, as the city had
to have routes far back before Chris. According
to the story, by time a Governor named "Van" is
appointed to the City, who performs great
services for beautifying and rendering the city
more enchanting wherefore the city becomes
thenceforth to be known as "Van". Another and
the most reasonable and scientific opinion ever
put forth for the sake of clarifying the origins
of the word "Van" is that it originates from the
Urartian word "Biane" or "Viane". According to
historical sources, Urartians used to call
themselves "Biannians" and many populations as
well as cities which were typically referred to
as "Biateans" or "Biate" are known to center
their settlements within this geographical
region, over centuries. |
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Historical and Tourism Sites
| Castles | Mosques| Churches and Isles| Islamic
Academies| Grave Monuments| Bridges
| Van Houses|
| VAN
Castle (Tushpa City, the Capital of
Urartian Kingdom) |
Located within the provincial boundaries
of the greater city of Van, it is just 5
km distant from the city center. It was
built on a massive rock segment extending
in the east-west direction through the Van
plateau. This rock segment itself has a
natural mass with a varying surface width
of 20 to 120 m, a length of 1800 m and a
height of 100 m. Surrounded by sharp and
steep grades from the south, the structure
features a sloped topography, when
approached from the north. Mainly
consisted of three major sections, the
castle has a northern exit path slightly
ramping up in the west-east direction.
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ÇAVUŞTEPE Castle (Sardurihinili – The
City of Sardur) |
This place is located in the Cavustepe
Village of Gurpinar District of Van City.
The castle is positioned just to the south
of today's Van-Hakkari Motorway section,
with a distance of 25 km to Van City and
10 km to the downtown of Gurpinar
District. Having a rigid foundation on the
western side of the Mount Bol chain, the
location is organized into two parts known
as lower and upper castles. The Castle has
been built by Sardur II, a historical
Urartian King with Sardur meaning "The
Great King", between 764 – 734 BC. The
city is also referred to as "Sardurihinili"
meaning "The City of the Great King" with
reference to its early founder. This
location has been
Mounted on a hilly region on the
northwestern side of Village Ayanis, which
is 35 km far from the City of Van, the
Castle has a 150 m wide 400 m long area of
occupation and a height of 250 m with
reference to Lake of Van. Since 1989,
efforts were initiated under direct
leadership of Prof. Dr. A. Cilingiroglu, a
Lecturer and Academician of the Department
of Proto-Asian Archeology, Faculty of
Literature of the Aegean University to
further excavate and unleash the
historical heritage lying beneath the
ground level. So far, results yielded a
number of architectural ruins and small
findings...
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TOPRAKKALE (Rusahinili – The City of
Rusa) |
This settlement locates in a rocky hill
bound to the Zimzim Mountain Chain located
at the northeast of the city of Van. It
enjoys full control over the entire land
of Van seated on an altitude of 200 m from
the reference surface elevated by huge
rocks on a 400 m long and 60 to 70 m wide
region. The castle was built up by the
Great Urartian King Rusa II between 685
and 645 BC. This is the second central
city of governance of the Urartian
Kingdom, following Tuşba.
 There
are numerous castles of varying size
surrounding the city of Van Of these, a
majority belongs to the Urartian Era, with
others inherited from civilizations that
lived somewhere between medieval and
post-medieval ages. Of these mainly
accountable include The Upper Zivitian
Castle, "Beyuzumu" Castle, "Catak" Castle,
"Hamurkesen" (or Zernek) Castle, "Hiset
Castle, The "Pizan" Castle (a.k.a.
Orenkale), "Kalecik" and "Hill Zernaki"
Strongholds, "Muradiye" Castle, "Albak
Fortress (Baskale), "Delicay" Castle, "Yoncatepe"
Castle and "Mukus" Castle.
|
Van Ulu Cami (Grand Mosque) |
Located
just between the Tebriz Kapi and
Iskele Kapi of the old City of Van,
this now significantly shattered
structure was identified thanks to the
findings obtained through excavation
efforts coordinated by Prof. Dr. Oktay
Aslanapa during 1970 and 1971 and to
the Photos and Drawings of W. Bachman
made in 1913. Although Aslanapa
classifies the mosque as among the
early 14th century buildings, a review
of historical process and
consideration of the structural
features that this building is known
to possess expressly remark that it
should have been built during the
Seljuk reign. The letter thesis is
further pedestaled by the very
indication in the Great Log of Mosques
that it is among the foundations of
Armenian Kings in the property assays
archieve of the City of Van, which
dates back to 1571.
Seated at Tebrizkapi Quarter nested to
the east of old Van City, this
structure is also referred to as
Sinaniye Mosque or Tebriz Kapi Mosque.
The minaret of the current mosque is
inherited from the Seljuk Era while
the mosque part comes from the Ottoman
Empire. There is not any clue
regarding its building time as it
lacks any epitaphs on its walls. The
minaret inherited from the Seljuk rule
rises in a cylindrical frame fixed
onto a square pedestal.
This Mosque is found in Ortakapi
quarter of the Old City. The mosque is
encapsulated in a complex of Islamic
Academy building, a tomb and a
kitchen. According to the scripts
found on the epitaph located on the
main entrance door, the Mosque was
built by Kose Husrev Pasa, the
Governor-General of the City of Van,
in 1567. It is accounted among the
artpieces of the famous architect
Sinan.
This work is found in Ortakapi quarter
of the old city, somewhere close to
the outer city fortification walls.
According to the story, its
construction was initiated by Kaya
Celebi Zade Koci Bey in 1660 but could
only be completed by Cem dedemoglu
Mehmet Bey in 1663, three years later,
due to execution of Koci Bey. It was
opened to public in 1993 following
renovations and repairs held by the
General Directorate for Charity
Organizations.
This structure locates within the
Hamurkesen Village, to the east of the
Castle. According to the epitaph
welcoming us on the main entrance
door, the building was constructed by
Seyyid Mohammad in Hegiran 1122
(Gregorian 1710). It consists of a
heraglio having a square surface and a
single dome. The dome was
reconstructed by the GD For Charity
Organizations lately, after its
collapse in the recent years. The
structure has walls constructed of
rock material cut to level with
traffic flows enabled only through the
crown shaped vaulted entrance gate.
Lacking any particular adornments
inside, the structure has a mihrab
planned as a niche with a
semi-circular edge.
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Horhor Mosque (Rushing Water Mosque) |
This
is located somewhere nearby the
rushing water courts of the old city.
There is not any clue of its
construction time or builder, as it
lacks any epitaphs or charter. It is
however predicted to be built in XVIII
century, with reference to its
architectural design and properties.
The Mosque has a horizontally aligned
rectangular seat with only southern
and eastern side walls reaching our
age. Its significance lies in the
stone mihrab aligned central to its
lateral wall facing qibla. Protruding
slightly outwards, the mihrab has a
pentagonal niche shape, giving the
look of a rectangular prism,
terminated with a basket ornamented
with oyster-like chamfers. It has a
cap stone rising with gradually
positioned stairs. It is finished with
pen-made ornaments using madders.
This utility locates to the northwest
of Old city, amidst the Horhor Mosque
and Grand Mosque. The construction
time and builder of this structure are
also unknown due to its lacking an
epitaph. However, late scientific
assessments based on its architectural
status, point somewhere between 18th
and 19th centuries. Again aligned
horizontally in a rectangular scheme,
this Mosque has durable walls, with
only the upper cover being collapsed.
Walls are constructed partly of stone
and partly adobe at the lower and
upper sections, respectively.
Innermost places of the Mosque is
accessed through a door opening just
to the centre of the northern side. In
the entrance axis, there comes the
mihrab formed in a niche with
semi-circular edges aligned central to
the wall facing qibla.
This site is located in the
Aktamar Isle of Gevas District.
With its position falling to the
southeastern part of the Island,
the church has been ordered by
Gaugic I, the Kind of Vaspuracari
from Monk Manuel in the name of
Holy Cross. The chapel located
to the northeastern section of the
church was constructed between
1296 and 1336 while its gemmation
was built in 1793 and lately
somewhere in late 18th century,
the bell dome was added. However
no chronology data is available
for the chapel at north.
| St.
Barthelemeus Church in Albayrak |
This is located in the Albayrak
Village attached to the District
of Başkale. Having seat on a hilly
region facing the Great Zap
valley, the church and jamaton was
built at the same time.
Architecture and decorative styles
of the building refers to the 13th
and 14th centuries. The structure
had then comprehensive repairs and
renovations during 1647 – 1655
period, as well as in 1760 and
1877. The shape preserved until
the day is the heritage of 17th to
19th centuries. It is bedde on a
rectangular area expanding in the
east-west direction. The church on
the east and jamaton on the west
have been considered as a whole.
There is a monumental entrance at
the center of the western wall.
It is located in the Yanal Village
of Baskale District. Built up by
St. Ejmiacin, has its roots back
to somewhere between 7th and 9th
centuries AC. Its centre has a
dome and planned in the shape of a
four leaved clover. With the east
and west sides set lengthier, the
church was entangled with a dome
having a frame in the central
location, formed with
juxtaposition of vault two pairs
aligned opposite to one another,
neat to horizontal mainline. The
dome protrudes outwards and is
reflected on sides with a highly
pedestal having square shape. The
branches of the church have given
a concave semi-circular shape
planned in a lengthier apsis
sphere on the east and the arch
extending through the west. In
front of the western side wall is
a door with a keen vault. The
walls on the north and south, on
the other hand, protrude outward
in a pentagonal structure. The
left arm side forms a wider front
with its adjacent clusters.
Slightly reddish stone cut to
level had been used in
construction.
In addition to those listed above,
there are still quite a lot of
churches and monastries both in
Van and its districts, which had
succeeded to preserve themselves
until the date. Major examples to
these include Double Church in the
old city, Salmanaga Church in
Ercis, Stn. Ethienne Church in
Muradiye, Red Church of Gevas, St.
Tomas and Ogee Monastries,
Bahçesaray Aparank Monastry, Dire
Gele (St. Georges Church) ,
St.Jacgues and Andzghousts
Churches; Çatak Elmalı Church and
Ziv, Hişet, Hiris and Aşahı Hiris
and Aşağı Hiris Churches as well
as the Gürpınar St. Merinos
Church.
This is located within the
building complex attached to
the Husrev Pasha Mosque in the
old city, to the north of the
mosque building. It is assumed
that the Madrasah was built at
the same time with the mosque,
that is, in 1567. Shattered
dramatically by the effects of
time and harsh terrestrial
conditions, the madrasah was
unraveled thanks to a number
of some certain excavation and
restoration efforts initiated
in 1996 under leadership of
Prof. Dr. Abdusselam Ulucam.
|
Hosap Evliya Bey Madrasah |
Located on the southeast of
Hosap inside the Gevirhan
Graveyard and built by
Mahmoudi Evliya Bey during the
3rd quarter of XVIIth century,
this madrasah consists of a
row of rooms extending in the
east-west direction of the
court, an octagonal masjit
located to the south and two
rooms to the east. The three
rooms remaining on the west
have rectangular shape and
tunnel vault roofs unlike the
three rooms located in the
east, whose roofs have
completely collapsed. Use of
rubble stone is typical in the
formulation of floors of this
structure, where no adornments
have been made.
|
Pizan Hüsrev Bey Madrasah |
Built in 1653 by Hüsrev Bey
according to the scripts found
on its epitaph and located in
Pizan (Orenkale) village of
Başkale, this madrasah was
built on a square-like
rectangular frame with a
courtyard, two stories and two
wings. Behind the porched
courtyard are four and three
rooms respectively located in
the southeast and northwest
corners. The number of rooms
built on both upper and lower
levels is identical. The
somewhat large space found on
the lower floor of the
northwestern side has been
organized for use as a masjit,
on the southern part of which
situated is a niche style
mihrab designed in an oblique
form. Entrance is allowed to
the courtyard through an
embedded wall pedestaled by
keen vaults, facing the
northeastern front. On the
door locates the epitaph. Use
of rubble stone dominates the
entire structure, which has no
decorative ornaments.
|
Gevaş Halime Hatun
Cupola |
Situated on the eastern
part of Selcuklu Graveyard
in Gevas District, this
structure was ordered in
1336 by someone called
Melik Izzeddin, in memory
of his beloved daughter
Halime Hatun, based on
information gathered from
the epitaph located on its
entrance door. It belongs
to Master Esed, the son of
Pehlivan of Ahlatli. Built
with two floors, the
funeral part of the cupola
has a square section.
Access to the eastern side
door is provided by
climb-down stairs.
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Erciş Anonim (Zortul)
Cupola |
This place is located in
the close vicinity of
Village Zortul of Ercis
District, in a position
surrounded by farms.
Despite, the builder and
time of construction is
unknown due to its lacking
an epitaph, expert
assessments suggest that
it was built for a highly
important citizen of the
Karakoyunlu Empire, in
early XVth century. This
two storied structure has
a square pedestal on which
rises its dodecagonal
body. The body was
enveloped with a pyramidal
cone.
Include: The Hüsrev Pasha
Cupola, Hosap Süleyman Bey
Cupola, Hosap Hasan Bey
Tomb, Çaldıran Kübik Köyü
Cupolas, Pizan (Örenkale),
Harbeleri and Eski Van
İkiz Cupolas.
|
Bend-i Mahi (Blue
Curve) Bridge |
Constructed with the
baldachin style and
organized into two
canopies each formed
up with eight columns
that are seated in an
octagonal pedestal and
fitted one another
using keen vaults.
Both canopies were
encased by a pyramidal
cone. The pavements of
the structures are
formed with rocks and
there is not a
sarcophagus. It was
lately subjected to
repairs by the GD For
Charity Organization
in 1992.
Located in the center of
Hosap, immediately to
the north of today's
Van-Hakkari Motorway
section and to the south
of the castle, this
bridge crosses the Hosap
stream. It is learnt
from the two epitaphs
located downstream that
the bridge was
constructed on order of
Evliya Bey in 1082
according to the Hegiran
calendar (i.e. 1671).
 Located
at the entrance of
Çatak crossing over
the stream cutting the
district into two
halves, the bridge
extends in
northeast-southwest
direction. There are
some epitaphs found on
the bridge in Armenian
Language. As no one
was yet found to
translate what's
written on them, the
building time and
builder of the Bridge
remains unknown but,
rumors say, it should
have been built during
the Reign of the
Ottoman Empire
somewhere between
XVIIth and XVIIIth
centuries.
Crossing over the
Catak stream, this
bridge locates at the
Catak-Narli road
intersection.
Scientists say it
belongs to the XVIIth
–XVIIIth centuries.
Extending in the
northeast-southwest
direction, this bridge
is classified among
those with a pavement
and a single lane. The
head of the bridge has
keen vaults. Lateral
sides are formed using
bricks on which
grouting material was
applied for securing
without the use of
rubble stone. It has a
small room on the
northeast corner.
It is assumed to have
been constructed
during XVIIth –XVIIIth
centuries. Being used
as a caravansary, the
structure is closed by
small retailer shops
from the north, which
other parts greatly
embedded under ground.
The structure
organized in a
rectangular frame
consists of four yards
extending in the
north-south direction.
Yards have been split
from one another by
keen vaults and
encased with the use
of tunnel vault roofs
from the top. The
caravansary owned by
private persons today
and finished from
outer surfaces with
earthened roofs is now
utilized as a stable.
The Old Van City
located to the
south of the
Ancient Castle of
Van was a viable
and promising town
center until its
occupation by
Russian-Armenian
armies in 1915.
Accommodating
roughly around
35.000 inhabitants
consisted of
Muslims and other
minor community
groups, the city
had a diversified
range of religious
facilities and
building as well
as architectural
artworks capable
of serving almost
any belief and
taste. The truth
that lies in the
very essence of
such a magnificent
architectural
layout was
tolerance and
mutual respect.
With the recession
of the Russian
Army in 1918, all
the vineyards
together with
their houses as
well as all
heritage of the
Old Van City was
shattered and
burnt out
completely. Today,
the Old Van City
ironically became
a shattered land.
The planning,
types and
structural
functions of
houses forming
major part of this
Old civilization
ruin, were all
designed to
exploit the narrow
and tight spaces,
organized in slant
rows where it is
likely that a
building would
touch or be backed
by another, as
shown in a number
of photos taken by
researchers given
below. Contrary to
this, the new
settlement should
have far taken its
toll in respect of
land, since houses
have almost two
stories and
organized in a
decentralized
manner and with
hectares of
gardens and arable
land. The Van
Houses which
roughly give a
headcount of some
15 thousand today
is under
utilization
according to the
needs of the day.
Some of them can
be enlisted as
follows:
Abdulselam Arilas
House
İsmail Ödemiş
House
Cemil Efendi House
Sipahioğlu House
Ambarcı Mehmed
House
Gazi Abbas Melül
House
These
residences show
great similarities
with one another
in functionality
although being
formed in
different layouts
and constructional
forms. The
structures can be
classified under 4
groups by their
technical
characteristics,
as follows:
• Single Story
Houses
• Double Storied
Villas Without Bay
Windows
• Double Storied
Villas with Bay
Windows
• Special
residences
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