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.
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.