Αξιοθέατα και μέρη για επίσκεψη Van - Top 5

Tunnel looked pretty sketchy. We avoided it by taking the old road over the pass. It's 200hm extra but you will have no traffic at all and some nice mountain views!

The tunnel is just over 2 km long. In general, tunnels are dangerous for cyclists, so tunnels are always recommended to drive through with a car. I was traveling with a group of bikes at the time, so the access was closed to vehicles. Clean street. Well lit. The tunnel connects the two provinces of Van and Bitlis. There are many mountains in the area, so the tunnel is unavoidable.

The trail goes through a village and along a long unpaved road. So hold out a bit, then you will come to a nice campsite. There are toilets but no shower. You can go straight to the beach and if you get a nice seat you have a nice view in the evening and in the morning when the sun comes up.

A quiet park with plenty of seating. Toilets cost 2 TL. There is a small café there and if you ask nicely you can also camp. The park is fenced, but you can enter it 24/7. There are prayer rooms (mescid) and running water.

Only one lane, deep manhole covers at the edge, a lot of traffic, a bus without lights overtook us by changing between the demarcation pylons to the other lane and then merging back into our lane.

From the castle there is an excellent view of the center of Van and the surrounding mountains

The Church of the Holy Cross (Armenian: ?????????, Surb Khach, scientific transliteration Surb xač', Turkish Akdamar Kilisesi or Surp Haç Kilisesi) is an Armenian church on the Turkish island of Akdamar in Lake Van in eastern Turkey. It is part of a monastic complex that was the seat of the Akdamar Catholicate between 913 and 992[1] and between 1116 and 1895. The church is state-owned and currently used as a museum. Akdamar Island has long been the cultural center of Armenians in the Armenian Highlands. Source: Wikipedia

Akdamar is the second largest island in Lake Van in Eastern Anatolia (Turkey). The island was a palace of the Armenian kings of Vaspurakan of the Artsruni dynasty from 908 to 1021, residence of the Catholicos of Dvin 920/931 – 950/992[1][2] and seat of the Catholicos of Aghtamar from 1116 to 1895. Aghtamar was for a long time the cultural center of the Armenians in the Armenian Highlands. Source: Wikipedia