Başkale

Başkale, in south-eastern Van, 120 km from the provincial centre at 2,350 metres elevation, has Özalp to its north, the Turkey-Iran border to its east, Yüksekova to its south and Gürpınar to its west. The Great Zap, a major tributary of the Tigris, runs through deep valleys between Mount Haravil (3,468 m) and Mount İspiriz (3,668 m). Known as Adamma in the Urartian period and Adamakert to the Armenians, the settlement came under Ottoman rule in the 16th century under Süleyman the Magnificent. Fairy chimneys and travertine formations can be seen in the district.