Akdamar Island

Akdamar Island
Akdamar Island seen from the south shore of Lake Van, near the town of Gevaş
Akdamar Island is located in Turkey
Akdamar Island
Akdamar Island
Geography
LocationLake Van
Coordinates38°20′30″N 43°02′07″E / 38.341667°N 43.035278°E / 38.341667; 43.035278
Total islands1
Area0.7 km2 (0.27 sq mi)
Length0.7 km (0.43 mi)
Width0.6 km (0.37 mi)
Coastline2 km (1.2 mi)
Highest elevation1,912 m (6273 ft)
Administration
ProvinceVan
DistrictGevaş

Akdamar Island (Turkish: Akdamar Adası), also known as Aghtamar[1][2] (Armenian: Աղթամար, romanizedAġt’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.

  1. ^ 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...
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ Avetisyan, Kamsar [in Armenian] (1979). "Աղթամար". Հայրենագիտական Էտյուդներ [Notes on Armenian Studies] (in Armenian). Yerevan: Sovetakan grogh. p. 196.
  4. ^ "Apricot and almond trees blossomed on Akhtamar Island of Lake Van". Armenpress. 12 April 2013.
  5. ^ 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...
  6. ^ Վերանորոգումից հետո Վանի Ախթամար եկեղեցու բացումը տեղի կունենա սեպտեմբերին (in Armenian). Armenpress. 17 July 2006.
  7. ^ Tumanyan, Hovhannes (1891). "Ախթամար [Akhtamar]". toumanian.am (in Armenian). Hovhannes Tumanyan Museum. Archived from the original on 2016-10-11. Retrieved 2016-08-19.