Covered with a halo of mystery, the Lake Van – about which many have heard but few have seen – located in one of the most remote and hard-to-reach regions of Turkey.
Overview
The water in this several million years old unusual reservoir is not fresh, and not even just salty – it is a saline soda! The amazing turquoise hue and tremendous transparency of the lake are due to the fact that ordinary algae cannot live in it.
However, there is life in the Lake Van. For example, there is a unique Pearl Mullet (turk. İnci-Kefali or Darex), which spends most of its life in the lake, but rises to spawn in rivers, since sprawling required pure fresh water. Small fish overcome turbulent rapids, jumping out of the water making their way against the roaring stream. Spawning of Pearl Mullet stretched over time and usually lasts from late April to early July.
Various ancient civilizations arose and perished on the shores of Lake Van, the most famous of which was the Kingdom of Urartu. Its capital Tushpa was located on the eastern shore of the lake, near to today’s modern Van city. Ancient ruins of well-preserved fortress, tombs of kings and monumental cuneiform inscriptions carved into the rock – with most famous King Xerxes from the Achaemenid dynasty – impressive to this day.
