Van Gölü

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the Eastern Taurus Bitlis massif (Ihtiyarsahap Daglari 3,634m/11,919ft, Cadir Dagi or Artos 3,537m/11,600ft), to the east by single peaks such as the Comaklibaba Dagi (2,602m/8,534ft) or ErkDagi or ErekDagi (3,204m/10,500ft), to the west and north largely by volcanic mountains such as Süphan Dagi (4,058m/13,300ft), Nemrut Dagi (2,828m/9,275ft) and Ala Daglar (3,510m/11,500ft). It is known that in earlier times Lake Van was a freshwater lake which was drained by the Murat Nehri, one of the sources of the Euphrates.

In the Quaternary Period, the era between the two Ice Ages, volcanic rock (andesite) from the Nemrut Dagi blocked the outlet near Tatvan in the so-called Rahva plain. Thereafter, on account of the surrounding mountains, there was no way out for the lake's water even at its highest level (80m/260ft higher than now) during the third Pleistocene Era. The Assyrians called Lake Van the "Upper Lake" or "Sea of the Nairi lands" (Surging Sea). Three times a day a ferry for cars and lorries crosses the lake from Van Iskelesi to Tatvan. Departure times depend on the rail service from Tatvan to Van which also uses the ferry. The line then continues to the Iranian border (mainly goods traffic, journey time six hours, buses about two hours).