Van is a city in eastern Turkey, situated on the eastern shore of Lake Van and serving as the capital of the province of the same name. Its position between Anatolia, Kurdistan, and Iran made it a regional center of trade, government, and population movement for generations.
History
Van is associated with the ancient city of Tushpa, the capital of the Kingdom of Urartu, which flourished in the region during the first millennium BCE. In later periods, the area came under the rule of various kingdoms and dynasties, including the Persians, Armenians, Byzantines, and Seljuks. The city was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in the sixteenth century and later became the center of the Van Vilayet. The old city was largely damaged and destroyed amid the battles and violence of the First World War, and the modern city subsequently developed to the east of its former site. Source: Governorship of Van.
The Jewish community
According to Sinyor Demirel’s diary, the Jewish community of Van was founded by Jewish families who moved there from Başkale. These families belonged to the cultural sphere of the Jews of Van and Urmia, later known as Nash Didan, and spoke Neo-Aramaic alongside Turkish and Kurdish. Their move from Başkale to the urban center of Van reflects the family, commercial, and migratory ties connecting the settlements of the region. Studies of the Jews of Van and Başkale describe a community that lived for generations alongside Kurdish, Turkish, Armenian, and Yazidi populations, until its gradual dispersal during the twentieth century. Source: Çelik and Levendoğlu, “Cultural Background of Van Başkale Jews”.
Van in the diary
In the diary, Van is an important urban center reached by relatives and residents of Başkale for trade, work, and residence. Sinyor and his companions arrive there from Dilman; merchandise travels from Van to Başkale; Shmuel Kutler is arrested and tried there; and the city serves as a stopping point on Sinyor’s journeys. The account of a community founded by migrants from Başkale emphasizes the close connection between the two communities and the movement of families across the borderland between eastern Turkey and northwestern Iran.
Names and spelling variants
Van; ואן
Mentioned in the book
Chapter Three – Wanderings; segment 03.03 – Dilman; Chapter Four – Bashhalan; segment 04.03 – The Wealth Tax; segment 04.06 – Shmuel’s Trial; segment 04.08 – Smuggling the Frontier; Chapter Five – Military Service; segment 05.01 – Military Service; Chapter Five – Military Service; segment 05.06 – Bridges