This remoti, largely mountainous region is the home of some of the most fascinating sights in Turkey. Near Dogubeyazit is Mount Agri (Ararat) where Noah’s Ark is said to have landed (althought the Koran differs here, quoting Mount Cudi south Lake Van). Nearby is the 17th century walled palace of Ishak Pasha, wiht is intricately carved stonework.
Lake Van, almost an inland sea, is the setting for the monnumental Seljuk cemetery of Ahlat, the 10th century Church of the Holy Cross on Akdamar Island, and an Urartu citadel.
In the torrid basin of the Dicle (Tigris) and Firat (Euphrates) rivers are the cities of Diyarbakir with its magnificent black basalty city walls. Mardin with its unique white stone architecture, and Sanliurfa with its pool of sacred fish. Abraham is believed to have lived for several years at Harran, known for its strange conical dwellings.
The summit of Mount Nemrut in Adiyaman is the site for colossal stone heads, erected by King Antiochus I of the Commagene in the first century B.C. They stare immutably out over the serried peaks of the eastern Taurus, a sight particularly spectacular at sunrise.
Visits: 1971
