Akdamar Church Museum

Akdamar Island lies in Lake Van in the Gevaş district, about fifty-five kilometres from Van city, and it is reached by a boat ride of roughly twenty minutes from the pier on the Van-Tatvan road. The reason to go is the church, built between 915 and 921 by the architect Monk Manuel for Gagik I, king of the Armenian kingdom of Vaspurakan. It began as a royal palace church, and it reflects the cultural mixing of the Vaspurakan realm, which ruled around Van under Abbasid overlordship.

The plan is a four-lobed cross with a central dome and corner niches, built of red cut tuff. Later additions include a chapel and a bell tower. The church was restored in 2005 and 2006 and opened as a monument museum in 2007. Its fame comes from the stone reliefs around the outside walls. They show biblical scenes, Christ, Mary, apostles and prophets, but also palace life, hunting scenes, nobles, animals, fruit and geometric and floral motifs, in a style that also draws on Abbasid art.

Inside, the walls carry fresco cycles, now largely faded, which are among the earliest and most extensive wall paintings of the area. The island's name comes from a local legend: Tamara, a monk's daughter, lit a lantern for the young shepherd who swam across each night, until a storm drowned him with her name on his lips.