VAN, a town of Asiatic Turkey, capital of an eyalet on the east shore of the Lake of Van, 145 miles S.E. of Erzeroum. It is situated at the southern foot of an isolated rock on which the citadel stands, and is enclosed by a double line of mud and stone walls. The streets are narrow, dirty, and ill paved; but the houses are for the most part well built. The chief public buildings in the town are four Armenian churches, several mosques, small but
Vanbrugh, well supplied bazaars, caravanserais, baths, and the citadel, which, if in good repair and well defended, would from its position be almost impregnable. Cotton fabrics are manufactured here, and a considerable trade is carried on in them and the produce of the surrounding country. Pop. variously estimated from 12,000 to 40,000; probably about 20,000. The Lake of Van is of a very irregular shape, about 70 miles long by 28 broad. Its elevation above the sea is 5467 feet, and its depth in some places is very great. It receives the water of numerous rivers, but has no visible outlet. The water is salt, except near the mouths of the rivers, where, though brackish, it is fit for drinking. The only fishery here is that of sardines.