Lake Van

Eastern Anatolia, Turkey

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Lake Van is Turkey’s largest inland body of water and one of the world’s biggest soda lakes, situated 5,640 feet (1,720 meters) above sea level in Eastern Anatolia near the Iranian border. Covering 1,443 square miles (3,737 square kilometers) with a roughly triangular shape, this saltwater lake is fed by rain, snowmelt, and four rivers but has no outlet, resulting in high salinity that prevents it from freezing and makes the water unsuitable for drinking or irrigation. The lake is dotted with islands, including the largest, Akdamar Island, which hosts the historic 10th-century Armenian Church of the Holy Cross—a key cultural landmark visitors reach by boat. Its steep, cliff-lined shores surround volcanic and mountainous terrain, and while most fish cannot survive in its saline waters, a unique freshwater fish called darekh (or taraichi) has adapted to the environment and is a local delicacy. The city of Van on the eastern shore was once the capital of the ancient Urartu kingdom (9th–8th centuries BC), and the area remains a blend of natural beauty, rich history, and sparse population.