Akdamar Island

Last update September 21, 2026

Akdamar Island is located in Lake Van and can be reached only by a short boat journey from the mainland; this small barrier prevents it from seeming overcrowded. The lake alone is worth the trip: it is a huge body of water rich in minerals, situated among dry mountains and changing in colour from deep blue to turquoise according to the light. Boats depart from a small pier near Gevaş, which is about forty minutes’ distance from Van city, and the journey across the lake takes between fifteen and twenty minutes.

The main attraction of the island is the Church of the Holy Cross, which was originally constructed in the tenth century as an Armenian cathedral. The carvings on its exterior have fared remarkably well: biblical scenes, animals, and figures have been cut into the stone and are still legible after a thousand years of weathering. Inside the church, some of the walls are decorated with faded frescoes, but because of centuries of exposure and neglect most of them have been worn away. The church had been left abandoned for many decades before restoration work carried out in the 2000s managed to stabilise the building and make it available to visitors.

The island, located beyond the church, is small and can be walked around in under an hour. Across it grow wild almond and pomegranate trees, which were planted many centuries ago, and in spring the blossoms of the almond trees turn sections of the hillside pink. It’s a good idea to take some water and food with you because there isn’t much available on the island. Generally, people regard it as a half-day outing—they go by boat, spend an hour or so exploring and then return by boat.

If you combine a visit to Akdamar with a trip to Van city, which has a history worthy of a full day—including the Van Castle and the ruins of the old city that were destroyed in the early twentieth century—then this part of eastern Turkey won’t receive as many tourists as the coastal areas or Cappadocia, and that is precisely why the journey is worth making. You will most probably find yourself sharing the ruins with only a small number of other visitors rather than a large crowd.