Lake Van
Lake Van (; ; ) is the largest lake in Turkey. It lies in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey in the provinces of Van Province, Van and Bitlis Province, Bitlis, in the Armenian highlands. It is a Salt lake, saline Soda lake, soda lake, receiv ...
, in
Bitlis Province
Bitlis Province (; ; ) is a province of eastern Turkey, located to the west of Lake Van. It takes its name from the central city, Bitlis. Its area is 8,294 km2, and its population is 353,988 (2022). The province is considered part of Western ...
in eastern
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
. It is the seat of
Tatvan District
Tatvan District is a district of Bitlis Province of Turkey. Its seat is the city of Tatvan.İ ...
.İlçe Belediyesi Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 30 January 2023. Its population is 79,214 (2021), making it the most populated municipality of the province. The current mayor is Mümin Erol ( DEM Party).
The town is populated by
Kurds
Kurds (), or the Kurdish people, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group from West Asia. They are indigenous to Kurdistan, which is a geographic region spanning southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syri ...
The citadel of Eski Tatvan possibly dates back to the
Urartian
Urartian or Vannic is an extinct Hurro-Urartian language which was spoken by the inhabitants of the ancient kingdom of Urartu (''Biaini'' or ''Biainili'' in Urartian), which was centered on the region around Lake Van and had its capital, Tushp ...
period. It was used at least until the 17th century.
Sayf al-Dawla
ʿAlī ibn ʾAbū'l-Hayjāʾ ʿAbdallāh ibn Ḥamdān ibn Ḥamdūn ibn al-Ḥārith al-Taghlibī (, 22 June 916 – 8 February 967), more commonly known simply by his honorific of Sayf al-Dawla (, ), was the founder of the Emirate of Aleppo, ...
, the
Arab
Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world.
Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...
Hamdanid
The Hamdanid dynasty () was a Shia Muslim Arab dynasty that ruled modern day Northern Mesopotamia and Syria (890–1004). They descended from the ancient Banu Taghlib tribe of Mesopotamia and Arabia.
History Origin
The Hamdanids hailed ...
emir of
Aleppo
Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...
, visited Tatvan in 939/40. While he was there, he received the submission of the Armenian prince
Ashot III of Taron Ashot III (, ''Asotios''; Arabic: ''Ashūṭ ibn Ghirghūr'' and ''Ibn Ṭurnīq''; ) was the last independent ruler of the southern Medieval Armenia, Armenian region of Taron (historic Armenia), Taron from until his death in 967.
Ashot was a natu ...
. The town was historically an important place on the route from
Van
A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. There is some variation in the scope of the word across the different English-speaking countries. The smallest vans, microvans, are used for transporting either goods or ...
to
Bitlis
Bitlis ( or ; ) is a city in southeastern Turkey. It is the seat of Bitlis District and Bitlis Province. By the 20th century, though, Tatvan had dwindled to a mere village, little more than "a cluster of houses by a jetty". It only developed back into a town when transport links improved around mid-century, with the construction of the railway in the 1950s and the improvement of the road to Van in 1964. In the 1980s, T.A. Sinclair wrote that the Denizcilik Bankası (Shipping Company) ran a good hotel on the south side of town, which was often full. The other hotels at the time, he wrote, were in the town centre and were not good.
Transport
The
Tatvan Pier railway station
Tatvan Pier railway station () is a railway station and pier in Tatvan, Turkey. Situated on the western shore of Lake Van, the station serves as a connection between modes of transport, with two slips carrying a total of seven tracks. TCDD Taşım ...
is the eastern terminus of the railway line between Ankara and
Teheran
Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District. With a population of around 9.8 million in the city as of 2025, ...
, with freight and passenger trains. It is connected eastwards to
Van
A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. There is some variation in the scope of the word across the different English-speaking countries. The smallest vans, microvans, are used for transporting either goods or ...
, 100 km away, and westwards to the rest of Turkey, by State Road D300. There is also a
train ferry
A train ferry is a ship (ferry) designed to carry Railroad car, railway vehicles, as well as their cargoes and passengers. Typically, one level of the ship is fitted with Track (rail transport), railway tracks, and the vessel has a door at the f ...
across the
lake Van
Lake Van (; ; ) is the largest lake in Turkey. It lies in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey in the provinces of Van Province, Van and Bitlis Province, Bitlis, in the Armenian highlands. It is a Salt lake, saline Soda lake, soda lake, receiv ...
. The ferry was upgraded in 2015.
There is no railway around the lake to Van. The intention is to build one but to date there are no plans. This would actually create an unbroken rail link between Europe and the Indian subcontinent, as Van is effectively the western terminus of the Iranian railway network.
There is a bus station about 500 meters from the train station.
Climate
See also
*
Turkish State Railways
The State Railways of the Republic of Turkey (), abbreviated as TCDD, is a government-owned national railway company responsible for the ownership and maintenance of railways in Turkey, as well as the planning and construction of new lines. TCDD ...
*
Islamic Republic of Iran Railways
The Islamic Republic of Iran Railways (abbreviated as IRIR, or sometimes as RAI, or as IRI Railway) () is the national state-owned railway system of Iran. The Raja Passenger Train Company is an associate of the IR, and manages its passenger t ...