One day in Erciş: the lake, history and food
Do not try to fit every place into one day. Time beside the lake, one historic stop and an unhurried meal make a rewarding introduction to Erciş.
Discover Erciş and beyond.
Discover Erciş and the Lake Van region through local food, wildlife, historic places and culture, from Balık Bendi and Ulupamir to Akdamar and Nemrut.
Places to visit in Erciş: where to begin
For a first visit, begin with the lakeshore and one historic stop. Çelebibağı Cemetery and the traces of old Erciş introduce the past beside the water; Kadem Paşa Hatun and Zortul tombs offer a closer look at stonework. Think of the castle as remains of the old settlement rather than an intact building.
Nature visits depend on the season: Deliçay and Balık Bendi come into focus during the pearl mullet migration, while coastal wetlands offer birdwatching interest. For Zernaki Tepe’s archaeology or Ulupamir’s culture, start with the articles below and check visiting arrangements separately.
Muradiye Waterfall, Akdamar Island, Ahlat and Nemrut Crater Lake are separate outings beyond Erciş. Choose one to suit your transport and available time rather than adding them all to a short day in town.
Nature and the lake
When to visit Erciş: a guide to the seasons
There is no single best season for Erciş. Watching fish migrate and discovering the grape harvest call for different plans.
Erciş shores: planning lakeside time and swimming
An evening looking across the lake and a full day of swimming call for different plans. Start by choosing what you want from the Erciş shore: a walk, birdwatching or a beach with visitor services.
A day by Lake Van
To get to know Erciş, start with the lake. Its position on the northern side of Lake Van is part of the town’s story.
Balık Bendi: the pearl mullet migration in Erciş
Fish travelling upstream in Deliçay are part of one of the most striking natural events associated with Erciş.
Birds of the Erciş shore: looking for flamingos
Pause beside the lake and the landscape begins to move: long legs crossing shallow water, necks bending to feed, small groups shifting along the shore.
The hot springs of Ilıca and Zilan, Erciş
The story of water at Erciş continues beyond the lake. Hot springs in the Ilıca–Zilan valley reveal another side of the landscape, connected to the ground beneath it.
Koçköprü Canyon: from green slopes to ice
The landscape of Erciş continues beyond the lakeshore. At Koçköprü Canyon, green summer slopes and long winter icicles give the same place two very different appearances.
Food and produce
Helise: wheat and meat cooked into one texture
Alongside herbed cheese and keledoş, make room for another name: helise. Its appeal lies less in elaborate presentation than in the texture of the dish.
Van breakfast: kavut, murtuğa and an unhurried morning
Small dishes within reach, cheese beside the bread, a freshly poured glass of tea. Learning a few names is a good beginning to a Van breakfast.
Keledoş: where kurut and local greens meet
Some dishes cannot be explained by one ingredient. Keledoş brings meat, grains, pulses and greens into the same spoonful.
Salted pearl mullet: a taste kept from the lake
The lake’s story continues in the kitchen. Preserved as tuzlu balık, pearl mullet brings another rhythm to the table, often with ayran aşı beside it.
Van herbed cheese: a landscape at breakfast
The green flecks in the cheese are not decoration. A small piece of otlu peynir opens a conversation about local herbs, milk and the landscape beyond the breakfast table.
Ayran aşı: familiar flavours in a bowl
Think beyond a glass of ayran. In this bowl, the texture of wheat meets yoghurt and herbs: a small introduction to a much wider food tradition.
What to eat in Erciş: a taste of the region
The table is a good place to begin getting to know Erciş. Its food connects the lake, the vineyards and a culinary tradition shared across the Van region.
Erciş grapes: the story behind a bunch
Look closely at a bunch of Erciş grapes: purple-black fruit, thin skins and a tart edge alongside the sweetness. There is a landscape behind this local flavour.
Erciş cabbage: from kelem to sarma
Alongside grapes, another familiar name belongs to Erciş: kelem. The story of its cabbage begins in the fields and continues with leaves opened one by one in the kitchen.
Traces of history
Haydarbey Bridge: traces of a crossing over Deliçay
Sometimes a bridge is understood through the traces beside the water rather than an arch that still carries people across.
Akçayuva Tomb: a past without an inscription
The tombs around Erciş extend beyond its familiar central monuments. At Akçayuva, architectural comparison offers clues to a building without an inscription.
The 2011 Van–Erciş earthquake: loss, solidarity and memory
23 October 2011 holds a painful place in the memory of Erciş. An account of the town should also remember those who died, those left behind and those who came to help.
Erciş Castle and traces of the old town
The story of today’s town centre is closely connected to an older settlement beside the lake.
Looking closely at the stones of Zortul
Sometimes the most interesting part of a building is a small detail carved into its stone.
Kadem Paşa Hatun Tomb: memory in stone
A polygonal stone body and pointed roof distinguish Kadem Paşa Hatun Tomb in Erciş’s Vanyolu neighbourhood. The building carries a family’s memory across the centuries.
Zernaki Tepe: an ancient town plan at Erciş
At Zernaki Tepe, also referred to as Zirnaki, the intriguing feature is the layout of a town: intersecting streets and repeated blocks rather than a single monumental building.
Çelebibağı Seljuk Cemetery: memory beside the lake
Lake Van on one side, stones carved with lettering and motifs on the other. Çelebibağı Seljuk Cemetery offers a way into the past of Erciş through the memory of its people as well as its monuments.
Karataş inscriptions: a vineyard story carved in rock
The past of Erciş survives beyond castles and monumental tombs. Small marks on a rock face can also tell a story about vineyards and water.
Urartian irrigation around Erciş: following the water
History does not always appear as a high wall. A channel bringing water to a field can be an equally meaningful trace of the past.
Culture and memory
Notable people and achievements connected to Erciş
A town’s story lives in people as well as buildings. These connections lead from Erciş to historical research, law books, artists’ studios and sporting podiums, with each person’s relationship to the town made explicit.
Sport in Erciş: teams, athletes and achievements
Get to know Erciş through its pitches, training halls and equestrian games. Alongside team trophies are young athletes progressing from school to national competition, and the coaches who help them along the way.
Erciş folk songs, poets and literature
Sometimes a melody brings a town back to mind. Alongside its lake and vineyards, Erciş has poetry sung with the saz and stories passed between generations. Here is a starting point for listening and reading.
The economy and everyday life of Erciş
There is more to Erciş than places to visit. Crops on the plain, beet processed at the factory, schools and commerce offer another way to understand everyday life in the district.
Ercişli Emrah and Selvi: a town remembers
Erciş can be discovered through the stories people tell and sing, as well as the places on a map.
Ulupamir: Kyrgyz culture in Erciş
Ulupamir has a distinctive place on Erciş’s cultural map. Clothing, music, craft and equestrian traditions offer ways to get to know its Kyrgyz cultural life.
Around Lake Van
Separate outings beyond Erciş: mountains, lakes and historic places on the Van and Bitlis sides of the region.
Çaldıran: the high plain behind a cold-weather record
For visitors exploring beyond Erciş, Çaldıran opens onto a landscape different from the lakeshore. Its reputation for cold has a specific, dated weather record behind it.
İshak Pasha Palace: stone architecture above Doğubayazıt
Beyond the lakeshore, a palace overlooks the plain at Doğubayazıt. İshak Pasha Palace is a historic destination to research with a separate day in mind when extending a visit to Erciş.
Adilcevaz walnuts: from the table to local craft
Alongside the grapes of Erciş, there is another crop to discover on a neighbouring shore. In Adilcevaz, Bitlis, the walnut connects food with objects shaped by local craftspeople.
Bendimahi Bridge: two arches on an old caravan route
A journey around the lake can reveal not only destinations but the old routes between them. Bendimahi Bridge in Muradiye is one surviving trace of those connections.
The Van cat: a familiar face of the lake region
A white coat, a fluffy tail and a curious look. The Van cat is one of the familiar faces of the Lake Van basin, the wider region that Erciş calls home.
Mount Süphan, Lake Aygır and Lake Arin
West of Erciş, towards Adilcevaz, the broad shape of Süphan accompanies the landscape. The smaller lakes around the mountain tell different stories about water.
Muradiye Waterfall: the sound of Bendimahi
Extend a journey east from Erciş and moving water brings a different atmosphere to the Lake Van landscape. Muradiye Waterfall is in Van’s Muradiye district.
Akdamar Island: stories carved above the lake
Akdamar tells another story on the southern side of the lake shared with Erciş. Off the shore of Gevaş, a small church holds an extraordinary amount of detail on its walls.
Nemrut Crater Lake: a world inside the caldera
West of Lake Van, the Nemrut caldera in Bitlis changes the perspective. Here, you look at water from inside an immense volcanic basin.