Ahlat, Turkey

History

Ahlat is one of the oldest settlements in Armenia, and it is difficult to determine exactly when it was founded. Initially, it was mentioned as a town (village-town), but it later transformed into a major city that had its own strong fortress and was considered the largest port on Lake Van.

Dozens of Armenian and foreign chroniclers provide extensive information about Khlat, including Stepanos Asoghik, Aristakes Lastivertsi, Vardan Areveltsi, Kirakos Gandzaketsi, Grigor Khlatetsi, Matthew of Edessa, Yaqut, Ibn al-Athir, John Skylitzes, and others. Aristakes Lastivertsi considers it one of the largest cities in 11th-century Armenia, while the famous Arabic chronicler Yaqut describes Ahlat as a "strong and renowned city," "endowed with all kinds of blessings." They speak of it with particularly high praise as a port and a well-fortified fortress-city. The city's defensive wall was commonly described as a massive, turreted structure with three gates.

From the History section of Ahlat on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.