Lake Sevan has a special place in Armenian history. It is the only one of the three great lakes of ancient Armenian, collectively referred to as the Seas of Armenia, which is within the borders of the Republic of Armenia. Lake Urmia is now in Iran and the third one, Lake Van, is in Turkey. It is said that when Armenians came from the areas around Lake Van to Lake Sevan, they found that this lake was dark, almost black.