Van is built on three thousand years of human occupation, sandwiched between Lake Van and Mount Erek. The Urartian citadel west of the modern city is the headline sight, but the surrounding area — Akdamar Island in the lake, the ruined Armenian monastery on the mountain, the high pastures behind it — is what makes the trip east worthwhile. Don't try to do it all in a day; everything is further apart than it looks on the map.