29 Sept 2012
After our visit to Akdamar Island we headed further east to the city of Van where many homes had been devastated by a series of earthquakes in late 2011 and early 2012. Although the worst of the damage has been cleared up there were still lots of families living in portable homes in and around the city. Our guide Engin and his family had lost their homes in the earthquake. However, they did not lose any family members.
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| Portable homes at the University |
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| One Group of Portable Home |
Van is a large city in Eastern Anatolia on the south eastern shores of Lake Van at an altitude of 1727m. It was once the Urartian capital (called Ararat in the Bible) and flourished between 13th to 7th century BC.
Archaeological excavations and surveys carried out in the Van Province suggest a history of human settlement to about 5000 BC. The ruins of Van Castle on a steep sided bluff and the Tilkitepe Mound a few kilometres away are the only sources of information about the oldest culture of Van which was once known as Tushpa.
We overnighted in Van and the next morning visited the impressive Van Castle on the outskirts of the city.
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| Walls of the Van Castle (from our Mini Bus) |
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| Another View of the Walls |
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Tom about to enter through the gates of Van Castle.
Today we are able to stand on the Castle walls and view the shores of Lake Van as well as the buried foundations of the ancient city of Tushpa.
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| Mosque and Lake Van |
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| Mosque and Buried Tushpa |
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Van Castle Walls and Buried Tushpa
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| View over Van. Note the Portable Homes in the Distance. |
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| Engin, our guide, telling us (John) the history of Van Castle |
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| Fun at the Top with Ellie and Michael |
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| Fran on the way Down with Lake Van in the Distance |
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| Replica Van Home in the Park near the Van Castle |
Refreshed by a cup of Turkish tea we moved on to the Van Cat House at the University of Van. These cats are unique to the Lake Van/Van area as they have long white fur and two different coloured eyes, one blue and one amber and unlike other cats they enjoy swimming.
We were amazed at the elaborate Cat house offices and grounds but this did not take away from the fact that the cats are kept in enclosures, males separated from females, on swimming pool matting which just absorbed the urine so the smell was overpowering!
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| Elaborate Van Cat Offices |
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| Glamorous Sign |
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Female Van Cat Section
This little beauty wanted to be photographed rather than play and beg for attention like most of the others! Tom took a while to get this photo without the wire and showing the different coloured eyes. Thanks Tom!
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Van cat with Different Coloured Eyes.
We enjoyed this day but felt rather sad about the cats. On the other hand it was pointed out to us, these cats have trouble surviving in the wild and domestic scene as the other cats "bully" them because of their albino look.
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