Ancient site· İpekyolu, Van
Van Castle
Van Kalesi
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Urartian rock citadel above Lake Van — King Sarduri II's cuneiform inscriptions are still legible on the cliff face.
Editor's Note
The Fortress of Van is a massive stone fortification built by the kingdom of Urartu between the 9th and 7th centuries BC, the largest of its kind. Rising on a steep bluff on the shore of Lake Van about 5 km west of the city, it overlooks the ruins of Tushpa, the ancient Urartian capital. The structure measures roughly 1,800 m long, 120 m wide and 80 m high, its lower walls of unmortared basalt and the rest of mud brick. Successive powers including the Medes, Achaemenids, Romans, Byzantines, Seljuks and Ottomans each controlled it at various times.
Read more on Wikipedia →Highlights
- Architectural remains from antiquity
- The layered history of Anatolian civilizations
Practical info
- Location
- 38.5025°N · 43.3400°E
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