Çarpanak is an island in Lake Van, north of the city of Van, where no one lives today. In antiquity it was called Ktutz, a name taken to mean the magic point, and the monastery complex on its north side is still known as Ctouts.
The complex is thought to have been founded in the ninth century in the name of Saint Gregory and was rebuilt in 1462. It is made up of the church of Saint John, a jamatun to the west of the church, a chapel to its north-east, a library and a graveyard.
Its dome under a conical cap, which recalls the Seljuk tomb towers, and its entrance with muqarnas make the complex, in the directorate's account, a rare instance of medieval Christian and Muslim architecture brought together.
Less visited than Akdamar, it remains one of the most important pieces of cultural heritage in the Lake Van basin, for the quality of its workmanship, for the cream and brown Ahlat stone it is built of, and for the untouched air of the place.
When to go
- Climate
- Across Van as a whole, monthly mean temperatures run from -3 °C in January to 22.4 °C in July; the mean stays between 15 and 25 °C in June, July, August and September; rainfall is heaviest in April (55 mm) and lightest in August (6 mm). Long-term means for 1939-2025 from the Turkish State Meteorological Service (MGM).
Getting there
- Access
- The island the church stands on lies off Dibekdüzü village, in the Van municipality.
