 Akdamar Island seen from the south shore of Lake Van, near the town of Gevaş | |
  Akdamar Island | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Lake Van |
| Coordinates | 38°20′30″N 43°02′07″E / 38.341667°N 43.035278°E |
| Total islands | 1 |
| Area | 0.7 km2 (0.27 sq mi) |
| Length | 0.7 km (0.43 mi) |
| Width | 0.6 km (0.37 mi) |
| Coastline | 2 km (1.2 mi) |
| Highest elevation | 1,912 m (6273 ft) |
| Administration | |
| Province | Van |
| District | Gevaş |
Akdamar Island (Turkish: Akdamar Adası), also known as Aghtamar[1][2] (Armenian: Աղթամար, romanized: Aġt’amar)[3] or Akhtamar[4][5] (Armenian: Ախթամար, romanized: Axt’amar;[6][7] Kurdish: Girava Axtamarê[citation needed]), is the second largest of the four main islands in Lake Van, in eastern Turkey. About 0.7 km2 in size, it is situated approximately 3 km from the shoreline. At the western end of the island, a hard, grey, limestone cliff rises 80 m above the lake's level (1,912 m above sea level). The island declines to the east to a level site where a spring provides ample water.
It is home to the 10th century Armenian Holy Cross Cathedral, which was the seat of the Armenian Apostolic Catholicosate of Aghtamar from 1116 to 1895.
- ^ de Waal, Thomas (2015). Great Catastrophe: Armenians and Turks in the Shadow of Genocide. Oxford University Press. p. 7. ISBN 978-0-19-935069-8.
The island of Aghtamar on the inland sea of Lake Van is home to one of the most famous of all Armenian churches, a tenth-century cathedral...
- ^ Adalian, Rouben Paul (2010). Historical Dictionary of Armenia. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. p. 74. ISBN 978-0-8108-7450-3.
AGHTAMAR. Island in Lake Van and location of one of the most important architectural monuments of medieval Armenia.
- ^ Avetisyan, Kamsar [in Armenian] (1979). "Աղթամար". Հայրենագիտական Էտյուդներ [Notes on Armenian Studies] (in Armenian). Yerevan: Sovetakan grogh. p. 196.
- ^ "Apricot and almond trees blossomed on Akhtamar Island of Lake Van". Armenpress. 12 April 2013.
- ^ Knight, Charles, ed. (1866). "Lake Van". Geography: Or, First Division of "The English Encyclopædia". London: Bradbury, Evans & Co. p. 519.
There are some small islands in the lake, the principal of which is Akhtamar...
- ^ Վերանորոգումից հետո Վանի Ախթամար եկեղեցու բացումը տեղի կունենա սեպտեմբերին (in Armenian). Armenpress. 17 July 2006.
- ^ Tumanyan, Hovhannes (1891). "Ախթամար [Akhtamar]". toumanian.am (in Armenian). Hovhannes Tumanyan Museum. Archived from the original on 2016-10-11. Retrieved 2016-08-19.