Bitlis

As the latest in a series of popular tourist rail trips, the Tourist Tatvan Train has completed its first journey with an almost two-day voyage to highlight the touristic value of the southeastern town.

In response to the burgeoning demand for the iconic Eastern Express among avid travelers, two new tourist trains are set to embark on their inaugural voyages to southeastern routes next week, with one destined for Diyarbakır and the other for Tatvan, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu has said.

A regional laboratory in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır, home of many different civilizations spanning thousands of years, has performed maintenance and repair works on approximately 1,252 artifacts in 2023 to shed light on cultural history and exhibit them in museums.

The Lake Van Express, stretching from the capital Ankara to the eastern province of Bitlis' Tatvan district, has become a focal point for photographers, particularly during the winter months.

As Türkiye grapples with the cold wave coming from Iceland, the Turkish State Meteorological Service has warned of heavy snowfall in 23 out of all 81 provinces, with temperatures expected to plummet in the coming days and heavy rains to continue to lash coastal and southeastern regions of the country.

With torrential rains accompanied by storms lashing provinces across Türkiye, the Turkish State Meteorological Service has issued an "orange alert" for two and a "yellow alert" for 10 out of all the country's 81 provinces, warning residents to exercise caution against possible dangerous situations.

A group of divers have uncovered areas that bear traces of both a cemetery and a village at the bottom of Lake Van.

New ruins have been discovered at the bottom of the 3,712 square kilometer Lake Van, the country's largest saline soda lake.

Two individuals have been arrested in connection with the assault on journalist Sinan Aygül in the eastern Bitlis province's Tatvan district.

Yücel Baysali, an employee of Tatvan Municipality, and police officer Engin Kaplan were detained and subsequently taken into custody.

The local municipality in the district of Ahlat, in the eastern province of Bitlis, is offering a prize of 60,000 Turkish Liras (around $35,000) for a lost book, which sheds light on the town's history.

Ahlat is known as the place where the conquest of Anatolia began from and is home to very distinctive tombstones and other historical structures.

With the cold wave that ravaged eastern Turkey in the past weeks leaving its place to relatively warm weather, a group of activists and residents in the eastern province of Bitlis' Adilcevaz district have marked the arrival of spring with nomadic rituals.