Church Calls

How about tracking Christianity, one of the three Abrahamic religions, in Van? We have prepared an exquisite route for you, where you can still feel the wisdom and doctrines left by the Christian religion in Van, which was heralded by Jesus Christ. But first a brief explanation.

As it is known, the calendar we use today begins simultaneously with the birth of Jesus the prophet of Christianity, and the discovery of the writing. Written history entails the spread of religious beliefs and the spread of Christianity to Europe and other continents, especially in Anatolia. What about Mesopotamia? Land of Kenan? What about the other edges of Anatolia? In fact, each one was influenced by the Christian belief until the birth of Islam. The vast majority of the world population that existed at that time were born, lived, and died as Christians. Since the belief in polytheistic religions was common in the stated period, it was difficult to accept Christianity, however, people started to embrace the monotheistic religions over time and build many temples with their desires to worship.

Mesopotamia is considered as the birth of civilizations and the place where human history begins. In the places close to it, it is possible to witness the same development and the same interaction process. Also named as Upper Mesopotamia and known as the "city with sea" with its huge lake, Van got its share from that belief, culture, and tradition. In this way, it developed, made progress, expanded, and became a very strong city and even a state, thanks to the silk road and spice road.

Tusba is the first form, then the its reputation of beauty spread the surrounding lands. The monasteries built for monks in Van, which is predominantly populated by the Armenians, exist in abundance, raised a lot as soon as the arrival of Christianity with numerous churches 

During its lifetime, the beauty of Van not only have been blemished with many invasions by those who envied and wanted to possess that beauty but also by the earthquakes. It has been destructed many times, however, it managed to stand up over and over. Moreover, despite hosting many sanctuaries from thousands of years ago, it also laid the foundations of modern structures.

Well, everything is good so far, but as GeziBilen, what exactly we have done on this route? In fact, we chose to trace the shrines built in this land in the first centuries of the Christian religion. We are excited, let us get started!