Places to Visit in Ahlat & Ahlat Travel Guide

Ahlat was among the places that were waiting quietly on my list of places I wanted to see for a long time. Iran When I decided to go to Van before my trip, van travelI decided to add Ahlat to my route. Glad I added it. Even though Ahlat is a quiet city whose name is little known and is not visited much, it has a very important place in Anatolian history. When you go to Ahlat and see the Seljuk works, you understand this much better. I went in limited time Places to visit in Ahlat, how to get there, what to eat, history Many information you will need on your Ahlat trip. Ahlat travel guide This article is waiting for you, have a pleasant reading!

A Brief History of Ahlat

Before starting to tour Ahlat, it would be good to learn about its history briefly, so that we can better understand the importance of the city and the structures here.

Ahlat's history dates back to the Neolithic Ages. The history of the city, which is a very old settlement, dates back to BC. It starts with the 4000's Hurrians and extends to the Ottoman Empire. Located in a strategic position between the east and the west of Anatolia, Ahlat became the capital of Ahlatshahs, a branch of the Seljuks, in the 12th century, and experienced its strongest periods in this period. Wild pear; After the arrival of Islam in Anatolia, it became one of the three great science, culture and art centers of the Islamic world, along with Afghanistan and Uzbekistan, and received the title of "Dome of the Rock".

Places to Visit in Ahlat

Located on the shores of Lake Van, Ahlat is an open-air museum with its strategic location and natural beauties, as well as numerous cupolas, tombs, baths, fountains, castles and famous Seljuk tombs. While walking around its streets, you can come across a legacy from history at any moment.

Ahlat Museum

Photo taken from www.kulturportali.gov.tr.

The best way to understand the history and culture of a city is to visit the museum of that city. Thus, you can easily interpret what you see in the places you visit, from when, from whom, what is the importance. Therefore, when you go to Ahlat, the first place you will visit is the Ahlat Museum.

If you are coming to Ahlat from the direction of Tatvan, you will see a very large two-storey museum building on your left. This new building was opened in 2014. Unfortunately, if you miss the entrance to the museum on the double-lane road that passes in front of the museum, you have to continue for a long time to return because unfortunately no one thought of putting a turn again nearby.

The museum consists of four sections; Archaeological Hall, Urban Memory Hall, Foyer Area and Garden. Artifacts from different periods are exhibited in each section.

Museum; In the Summer Term; 08.00-19.00, in the Winter Period; It can be visited between 08.00:17.00-2022:15. Museum entrance fee is XNUMX TL for XNUMX.

Ahlat Seljuk Cemetery

Ahlat Museum is located right next to the Ahlat Seljuk Square Cemetery. The area where the cemetery is located is really huge, bigger than you can imagine and very impressive. Entry is free.

Let me describe the size of the cemetery as follows: There are 210.000 tombstones spread over an area of ​​9000 square meters, and it is considered the largest of the Turkish-Islamic cemeteries and the representatives of the Orkhon Monuments in Anatolia. Ahlat Seljuk Square Cemetery; It is on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Tentative List, I hope it will be on the permanent list as soon as possible.

There are three different types of graves in the Ahlat Seljuk Cemetery; Witnessed Sarcophagus, Sarcophagus and Akit. The identity information of the person lying on the eastern face of the tombstones, occupation and whereabouts of some of the tombs are included. On the west face of the tomb, the name of the craftsman who made the tombstone, verses from the Holy Quran and decorations are located. As a result of the researches, the signatures of 32 different craftsmen were identified on the tombstones. The size of the tombstone was determined by the title of the person lying in the tomb.

Since each tombstone is a work of art, it takes a lot of time to look at the tombs one by one. Wooden walkways are arranged in the cemetery. Explanation signs have been added to the points where tombstones belonging to important people or tombstones with a certain feature are located.

Ahlat's most impressive and important place, the Ahlat Seljuk Cemetery, should definitely be on your list of must-see places in Turkey.

Emir Bayindir Cupola and Mosque

There are 30 cupolas in Ahlat. The number that has survived from these 30 cupolas is 15. First, "What is a cupola?" Let's clarify the question. The mausoleums, which were usually built for the great state and/or the clergy during the Seljuk period, are called cupolas. The lower part of the vaults was the burial chamber, and the upper part was for prayer and worship. The columns in each cupola represent different things. The cupolas in Ahlat were built in a way similar to the Central Asian Turkish Tent.

Emir Bayındır Cupola is the most beautiful – in my opinion – of the 15 cupolas that have survived to the present day in Ahlat. This cupola was built for Bayındır Bey, who died in 1481. There is also a small mosque next to the cupola.

Ruined City

When you continue for 500 meters from Emir Bayındır Kümbet, you will first see Emir Bayındır Bridge and then the ruined city. Active settlement continued until the Ottoman Period in settlements carved into caves from the Neolithic Age. Stone houses were built on top of the cave houses in the near future, and history and today are intermingled.

Emir Bayindir Bridge

Emir Bayındır Bridge was built in the 15th century over the stream that separates the Ruined City and the Cemetery. The bridge, which was built during the Akkoyunlu period, carries the typical architectural features of that period. A passionflower motif engraved on the northern façade of the single-handled bridge on the one-eyed bridge made of cut stone.

Hasan Pasha Cupola

*This photo and a few photos I used in the article belong to my friend Mehmet Altay, with whom we traveled to Ahlat. Mehmet organizes tours to different national and international routes and takes great photos, Mehmet Altay Instagram I recommend following his account.

Another tomb located in a smaller cemetery above the valley just above the Ruined City is the Hasan Pasha (Sultan) Vault. The cupola, which is estimated to have been built in the 13th century, belongs to the Ahlat Sultan Hasan Aka. If you have time, this is one of the cupolas that I would definitely recommend you to see in Ahlat.

Double Cupola

In the city center of Ahlat, there are two cupolas side by side between the houses and even the production facilities. It is known as the Double Vault, because two people are buried in each of the two vaults. As can be seen from the photographs, although the main construction forms of the cupolas are a cylindrical structure on a square foundation and a conical roof, the stone carvings of all of them and the architecture in the cylinder section are different and unique.

Ahlat Beach Castle

Built during the reign of Yavuz Sultan Selim on the shores of Lake Van in Ahlat, the castle is known as the Beach Castle due to its location. Consisting of an inner and outer castle and 13 bastions, the castle was built on a rectangular plan. Beach Castle, located in the Kale Mahallesi of Ahlat, is one of the places that I did not have the chance to see because it was under restoration when I went to Ahlat.

Abdurrahman Gazi Tomb

Hazrat Omar, He commissioned Al-Jazeera Commander Iyaz Bin Gane to conquer Ahlat and its environs, and Abdurrahman Gazi, the son of the standard-bearer of the Prophet (SAV) Muaz Bin Cebel, went on an expedition with the Islamic Army. During the conquest of Ahlat in 641, Abdurrahman Gazi was martyred and his tomb was built in accordance with the vault architecture.

Bonus: Nemrut Crater Lake

If you want to go to the shore of Nemrut Crater Lake, you should prefer May and later. Since there is snow on the hill where the crater lake is located, the road is not completely cleared before the snow melts. If you go earlier, you probably will not be able to go to the lake shore.

It is possible to extend the list of places to visit in Ahlat much longer, but I wanted to list the must-see places in this article.

Map of Places to Visit in Ahlat

In the Google Maps application below, you can see the places in the list of places to visit in Ahlat that I mentioned above as marked on the map, you can save this link and use it during your trip.

What to Eat in Ahlat?

I was very hungry on the way to Ahlat, I had not done any preliminary research on food. As a result of a short Google search, I learned that Ahlat's roasting is famous, and I called İsmail'in Yeri, one of the most recommended places, by phone. When I learned that they were open, I wrote İsmail'in Yeri in the navigation and turned the wheel there.

Roasted Peanuts As you can see in the photo above, it comes plain, served with tomatoes, cucumbers and pita bread. If I'm not mistaken, I paid a total of 75 TL for roasting with a drink (price for April 2022). Apart from roasting, there were also pita and grilled varieties, I preferred roasting.

Employees of İsmail'in Yeri were very interested, we chatted a lot. After getting their suggestions about places to visit in Ahlat, I started my Ahlat tour.

Haaaa "we've come this far, won't we eat Bitlis' famous büryan kebab?" If you say, I couldn't find any open-minded people in Ahlat. You can handle that job in Tatvan before you come to Ahlat. Meltem Büryan Hall is the most famous place in Tatvan, but I have never been able to find it open. I was late when I went to Tatvan before, this time it was closed for Ramadan. We will have to go to Bitlis again to eat Büryan.

Where is Ahlat?

Ahlat is a district of Bitlis province in our Eastern Anatolia Region. Located on the northwest coast of Lake Van, the city is approximately 62 km from the city center of Bitlis.

Although Ahlat is connected to Bitlis, it is one of the stops added to the route of those who come to visit Van and Tatvan. Ahlat, which is 177 km from the city center of Van, is 42 km from Tatvan.

Ahlat's Google Maps application click to see location.

How to go to Ahlat?

If you are going to choose the airline to go to Ahlat, the nearest airport is Muş, 117 km away, and Van Ferit Melen Airport is 174 km away. Even if you are going to go to Ahlat by air from points such as Istanbul-Ankara, you will definitely need an extra vehicle. It is possible to reach Ahlat by renting a car or using one of the bus companies below.

• Van Ercis Itimat
• Van Ercis Sema
• Lake Van Tourism

Van travel writingsI suggest you take a look too.