TR · Eastern Anatolia · 38.49°N 43.38°E

van

Big breakfasts, a lakeside fortress and an island church covered in stone carvings.

Best time
May–June and September–October are the best months, though October evenings are cold. July–August is warm and dry at this altitude; December–February is bitterly cold and snowy, and the island boats are less reliable.
How long
2–3 days
Getting there
Fly with one stop via Istanbul, about 15–17 hours all in. The airport is about 15 minutes from the centre. Turkey is 5 hours behind KL all year.
Save postcard
TR · Eastern Anatoliavan38.49°N 43.38°Egowherelah.com
Dear group chat,Big breakfasts, a lakeside fortress and an island church covered in stone carvings.— gowherelahTo: whoever’s drivingVanTR, Eastern Anatolia
KLvan
≈ 7,072 km from KL, as the crow flies
The Hoşap Castle (Mahmudiye), perched on a steep rock above the Hoşap River, southeast of Van, served in the 19th century as occasional refuge for the Kurdish derebey Han Mahmut of Müküs (present-day

Photo: Volker Höhfeld · CC BY-SA 4.0

1 / 5

Photos: Wikimedia Commons, credited on each.

Van sits on the shore of Lake Van, Turkey's biggest lake, a vast blue soda lake ringed by mountains. The city is famous across the country for its breakfasts, and its fortress and the island church of Akdamar are the big sights.

Makan

  1. Van breakfastDozens of small plates: herb cheese, honey, kaymak cream, eggs, olives and hot bread. Kahvaltı Sokağı, Breakfast Street, is lined with places serving it.Map ↗
  2. MurtuğaFlour fried in butter, then scrambled with eggs, a rich breakfast dish.Map ↗
  3. Otlu peynirSalty cheese packed with wild mountain herbs.Map ↗

Things to do

  1. Van FortressA long rock ridge on the lake shore, fortified by the Urartians nearly 3,000 years ago.Map ↗
  2. Akdamar IslandA 10th-century Armenian church covered in carvings of animals and Bible stories, reached by boat from near Gevaş.Map ↗
  3. Van MuseumUrartian gold, bronzes and carvings in the new museum beside the fortress.Map ↗
  4. Van catsThe city's fluffy white cats, often with one blue eye and one amber, are bred at a cat house on the university campus.Map ↗

Good to know

  • Akdamar boats leave from a pier near Gevaş, about 45 minutes from the city, so sort out transport there and back.
  • Meat is halal as standard here.

Last checked October 2026. Things change, so check opening times, fees and transport before you go.