We present a new detailed pollen and isotope record from Lake Van (Turkey) spanning the period from 250 to 128 ka. In contrast to SW Europe, all three terrestrial warm intervals at Lake Van are characterized by clear interglacial conditions. The largest forest expansion occurred during MIS 7c instead of MIS 7e. Our record also reveals high oscillations between 193 and 157 ka followed by low variations (157 to 131 ka) that highlighted Dansgaard–Oeschger-like events during the penultimate glacial.