Window displays of briny cheeses from robust fat-tailed sheep, and slabs of honeycomb and kaymak (clotted cream) combine with smoky wood-fired flatbread. Rudimentary English menus list additional courses such as chilli-studded menemen (Turkish scrambled eggs), plump olives or cinnamon-tinged jam made from fresh walnuts. Washed down with cay (tea) or Turkish coffee, it's little wonder most diners linger well past an hour and, for travellers, it's the ideal opportunity to map out an essential day trip from Van.
Heading southeast towards Iran, the plains bordering Turkey's biggest lake - six times larger than Lake Taupo - soon give way to deep river canyons and serried mountains still dusted with snow in late spring. Sparse tussocky vegetation clings to the hills, echoing the South Island's Central Otago region, but military roadblocks dispel any promise of a vineyard just around the corner.
A recent rapprochement between the Turkish government and the PKK - the Kurdish Workers Party established in 1978 to seek greater rights for the Kurdish population - has eased tensions, and showing a "Yeni Zelanda" passport to bored soldiers now produces only a heartfelt proclamation of "Anzac!" as travellers are waved through.
Conflict amidst these borderlands is definitely no recent phenomenon, and rising dramatically from the steppe above an ancient bridge, Hosap Castle is a craggy, 17th-century testament to when this tortuous road was part of the mercantile network of the Silk Route.
Now, the partially-restored fortress crammed with hidden alcoves and chambers is watched over by furtive crows, a Kurdish grandfather and his extended family. The occasional lorry belches past en route to Iran, but Hosap's former importance lingers as a forlorn reminder of past grandeur.
Back on the southern shores of Lake Van, another chapter of the region's diverse history is being resurrected on Akdamar Island.
Visit in spring and scarlet poppies blanket the rocky shoreline leading to the compact Armenian Church of the Holy Cross. For New Zealand travellers the flowers echo Anzac Day, but the importance of the 10th-century church to members of the Armenian diaspora is also moving.
Almost all of the region's Armenian people were killed or exiled by the Ottoman Empire around the same time as the 1915 Gallipoli campaign far to the west, and only in recent years has restoration resurrected fine carvings and illuminated cobalt-blue interior frescoes.
In 2010, annual services by the head of the Armenian Patriarchate in Istanbul recommenced after a 95-year hiatus. This was another cautious step forward in the slowly, slowly reconciliation of the estranged modern states of Turkey and Armenia.
CHECKLIST
Getting there: Emirates has flies to Istanbul from Auckland, with direct connections at Dubai. From Istanbul, Turkish Airlines has regular flights to Van.
Getting around: For confident drivers, renting a car is a good way to explore Van.
Further information: Alkans Tours based in Van, rents out cars and offers a guided day trip taking in Hosap Castle and Akdamar Island.
