Wild West or Wild East: Is there life beyond the settled frontier?

As the setting for numerous works of fiction, the period and region quickly became so popular that it now defines its own genre, the “Western.” Certain interest groups such as cowboys, Indians, businessmen and the United States government repeatedly clashed in these conflicts. We could refer to them as a “western civil war of incorporation” that established US authority over the region.

Eastern Turkey, too, has a rich cultural heritage and the land has witnessed many wars.

When I was just a kid our family went to Dodge City on vacation. It is a tourist site with reconstructions of state houses, dance halls and saloons reminiscent of the Texas cattle drive trade. Throughout much of the Old West, there was little to no local law enforcement and the military had concentrated presence only at specific locations. Buffalo hunters, railroad workers, drifters and soldiers scrapped and fought, leading to shootings where men died “with their boots on.” The fort at Dodge City offered some protection to wagon trains and the U.S. mail service, and it served as a supply base for troops. By the end of 1872, the railroad crossed Kansas. Dodge City acquired its reputation of lawlessness and gun-slinging and its infamous burial place -- Boot Hill Cemetery, which is now a tourist place full of fun and fascinating history for kids.

Every country has their “Wild West.”

When I made my first visit out to Van in the early 1980s I was reminded of the Wild West all over again. The place and people had a frontier feel to it. It was stepping back in time and I expected to see John Wayne ride into town any minute.

What else can you find in Van?

Van is surrounded by fruit and grain in agricultural areas. Van has something Dodge City doesn’t: Lake Van and ruins.

Lake Van is the largest lake in Turkey. The lake is saline and of volcanic origin with no outlet. Several small streams feed into the lake. It is 119 kilometers across at its widest point, averaging a depth of 171 meters with a maximum depth of up to 451 meters. WOW!

Van Castle on the Lake’s eastern shore is an important historical monument. Definitely worth a visit.

The Lake Van region is also the origin of the popular Van cat breed, famous for their unusual eyes: one blue and one green.

I must not forget to mention that since around 1995, there have been reported sightings of a “Lake Van monster.” Supposedly about 1,000 people claim to have seen the monster. It is said to be about 15 meters long.

Did you know that in July some Texans took on a lake-eating monster? The monster there takes on a different shape!

We had heard about the monster in Loch Ness, Scotland and in Van and now one in Texas!

Located on the Texas-Louisiana border was a scene likened to a horror movie. The furry green invader from South America, which is infiltrating lakes in the American South and abroad to growing alarm, is called Salvinia. This plant is threatening to smother the labyrinthine waterway, the largest natural lake in the South, covering about 35,000 acres and straddling Texas and Louisiana.

“It’s your classic 1950s drive-in-movie-monster plant,” said Jack Canson, director of a local preservation coalition and a former Hollywood scriptwriter. In one area of Louisiana, along a thicket of cypresses called the Big Green Brake, the Salvinia has already grown out into the lake as a luminescent green crust over the water. “It’s at the stage where it starts to lose its eerie beauty and starts to look like a real monster,” said Mr. Canson, the prow of his motorboat poking cracks in the matted covering like an icebreaker. Even flamethrowers have failed to kill it, he said. And beetles that devour the plant elsewhere die in the Texas cold.

In Eastern Turkey there are a lot of historical ruins and natural beauty, and friendly people who could benefit from the area being more developed for tourism. After all, many would rush to see the Van monster! Even if it is not found in the lake, you can see a 4-meter high statue in Van city.