Being famous for its distinctive domestic cats, Van offers a ferry trip to a sacred destination- an evil eye bead for Turkey’s largest lake.

This remote but important city is settled in a verdant oasis at the foot of a rocky peak. An imposing ninth century BC citadel overlooks the new and old parts of the town. Steps carved in the rock lead to the Urartian fortress and halfway up inscriptions in cuneiform pay homage to Xerxes. Inside of the fortress are several Urartian royal rock tombs. In the old city the Ulu Mosque, Hüsrev Paşa Mosque, Kaya Çelebi Mosque and the İkiz Kümbet (Twin Mausoleums) reflect the Seljuk and Ottoman architectural styles. Van's interesting Archaeological Museum is in the new city, inland from the uninhabited old district. Still very much part of a traditional lifestyle, the women of Van produce beautiful kilims (rugs) woven in blue, red and white patterns. The exotic Van cat that is a symbol of the city has thick white fur and eyes of one colour eachblue and green. The philatelic sections of major Turkish post offices have beautiful Van cat stamps for sale.

At Van İskelesi (Van Pier), friendly tea gardens and restaurants invite you for a break and Edremit, a holiday resort 14 km to the southwest, has nice beaches available for both swimming and camping. In the same direction is Gevaş, where you can visit a Seljuk cemetery with numerous decorated headstones and the lovely Halime Hatun Mausoleum.

“Van, the ancient Urartian capital of Tuşpa, tempts visitors with its location on the eastern shore of the lake with the same name.” 

Lake Van, the largest lake of Turkey, is located at an altitude of 1720m and is ringed by beautiful mountains. Mount Süphan (4058m) is on the northwest side and the İhtiyar Şahap Mountains are to the south of the region. You can go around the lake, visiting several ancient Urartian sites as well as other places that represent the legacies of the various peoples who inhabited the area.

Some of the islands on Lake Van have monasteries and churches. Forty-one kilometres southwest of Van, Akdamar Island (a half-hour sail from shore) is the most important of these. On the island stands the 10th century Akdamar Church whose stone walls are richly carved with Old Testament scenes and figures. The church, hosting a religious ceremony once a year, now serves as a museum. After sightseeing, swimmers and picnickers can enjoy themselves around the island’s almond groves. Should you have time, visit Çarpanak Island to drink in its landscape and to wander around the 12th-century church, which is now a museum.

Among the interesting geographical features around Lake Van, the Muradiye Waterfalls, 88km north of Van, with a peaceful tea garden and restaurants and Gahnispi-Beyaz Çeşme Falls, 60km south of Van, are worth visiting.

Çavuştepe, 35km from Van on the Hakkari road, is an important Urartian citadel. It was excavated in 1970. Today you can see temples, a palace, a sacrificial altar and inscriptions there. On the pastoral, winding road to Hakkari, the Zernek Dam Lake offers itself as a resting spot on the way to Hoşap, 60km from Van, where a 17th century fairytale castle rises above a small hill. The interior is badly damaged, but the exterior walls, crenellations and turrets are well-preserved.

Information Text on the Use of Your Personal Data

This Consent and Information Document (“Information Document”) regulates terms and conditions for use of the data notified by Users of services (“Patients”) and/or gained from Patients during delivery of Oba Tourism Organization Adversiment  and Publishing Limited Company (“Medithrace”) with headquarter at Ertuğrul Mah. Orduevi Cad. No 2 Süleymanpaşa -  Tekirdağ pursuant to Personal Data Protection Law (Nr. 6698)  activities performed to deliver services, including “Free-of-charge Second Opinion and Health Counseling” (“Services”) at contract partner hospitals (“Hospitals”) with details written below.
 
How is your medical history and health information obtained?

Your personal health details are derived from “your medical reports, details about medications you take, epicrisis, imaging studies, imaging reports and pathology reports” that you submit us and they are shared with or disclosed to partner hospitals in Turkey and their relevant personnel in order to create your treatment plan.

Which data is processed?
 
This article lists the data that is regarded as personal data in Personal Data Protection Law (Nr. 6698) and processed by Medithrace for the services delivered to patients. Unless otherwise is stated, “Personal Data” and “Data with Specific Quality (Sensitive”) shall have following meanings pursuant to terms and conditions of this Information Document. 

Hospital collects following data that are notified by Patients. 
 
●    Identity - Address Details: Name surname, identity number, gender, date of birth, business or personal e-mail, phone number, home address or business address that are written on relevant forms,
●    Health Evaluation Details: Your medical history, medical reports, details of medications you take, epicrisis, imaging studies, imaging reports and pathology reports.
●    Extra data: Other health and/or personal information that is required for service delivery and not covered in above written data classes. 

Pursuant to Articles 3 and 7 of Personal Data Protection Law (Nr. 6698) and regulations to be issued by the Committee, personal data or sensitive data shall not cover the data that is anonymized by deleting your identity details in an irreversible manner and terms and conditions of this Information Document, hereby, shall not apply to such data. 

Why do we use your data?

Your data is shared with or disclosed to physicians, healthcare staff and other relevant hospital personnel to help our firm provide you with “free-of-charge second opinion” service that is rendered in relation with your probable treatment. Thus, they are used to have contract hospitals create a complete treatment plan and submit estimated cost.

Hospitals may process the personal data notified by the Patient and the new data derived by the Hospital from the personal data in order to help the Patient use the Services, deliver the Services, fulfill the intended use of the personal data specified in this Information Document, fulfill the liabilities arising out of the content of Services and meet any and all legal obligations.

In addition, the Hospital may process the personal data and disclose them to third parties without any need to consent of the Patient pursuant to Articles 5, 6 and 8 of Personal Data Protection Law (Nr. 6698) and/or in the presence of exemptions in the relevant legislation.

Allowed Disclosures
 
Medithrace shall be entitled to disclose the personal data notified by the Patient and the new data derived by the hospital from the personal data in order to render the Services, improve the patient experience, improve Services and achieve any one of the goals specified under the section “Why do we use your data?” of this Information Policy.

Your personal, clinical and genetic data collected pursuant to this Information Document, hereby, shall be processed in line with the provisions written in this document and the provisions and security measures dictated by relevant legislation of the country, where the data is stored and/or processed.

Your Right to Access Your Data and Your Correction Requests

 The patient shall have the following rights by applying to Medithrace;

●    Learning if the personal data is processed or how it is processed,
●    Requesting relevant information, if personal data is processed,
●    Learning the intent of processing personal data and whether they are used in line with the intention, 
●    Learning local and international third parties who are shared the personal data,
●    Requesting correction, if personal data is processes incompletely or incorrectly,
●    Requesting correction, deletion or disposal of the personal data in line with the provisions set by relevant legislation; requesting notification of the correction, deletion or disposal to third parties that are transferred the personal data,
●    Raising an objection to a negative outcome arising out of analyzing the data exclusively with automated systems,
●    Requesting compensation of loss and damage that arises out of illegal processing of personal data. 

The patient may post the request in writing to Ertuğrul Mah. Orduevi Cad. No: 2 Süleymanpaşa -  Tekirdağ or e-mail the request letter to info@medithrace.com. Medithrace shall issue and transfer the positive or negative response in writing or electronically pursuant to the above mentioned requests, provided the grounds of negative response are notified. The Patient undertakes that the details subject to this Information Policy are complete, correct and up-to-date and that they will be immediately updated in case of any change Medithrace shall assume no responsibility, if up-to-date information is not notified by the Patient.

Duration of Storage for Personal Data


Medithrace shall store the personal data notified by the Patient for the interval that the Services are actually delivered in order to fulfill liabilities set in this Information Policy, hereby, and arise out of the content of Services to help the Patient use the Services.

Our Measures and Commitments for Data Security

Pursuant to provisions set by relevant legislation or mentioned in this Information Policy, Medithrace commits to take necessary technical and administrative measures to ensure appropriate level of security in order to prevent illegal access to the personal data and/or illegal data processing.
Possible Changes in Information Policy
Medithrace shall be entitled to amend provisions of this Information Policy at any time, provided the amended policy is accessible at the Web Site, www.medithrace.com. The amendments made in the Information Policy by Medithrace shall be put into force immediately after the amended provisions are publicized.

By signing the declaration and consent document, I agree and state that I received the information and consent document, I read and understood the content and my personal data is processed, used and disclosed to third parties if necessary for my potential treatment.

LART