Lake Tuz (Salt Lake) (Tuz Gölü)

Central Anatolia, Turkey 1 tours visit here

Lake Tuz (Tuz Gölü) is Turkey's second-largest lake and one of the world's largest hypersaline lakes, spread across the plateau of Central Anatolia where the provinces of Ankara, Konya and Aksaray meet. The basin has no outlet, so the water that collects over winter and spring simply evaporates through the dry summer, leaving a broad white salt crust behind. Its extreme shallowness shapes what visitors see. Even when full, the water lies as a thin sheet over the basin, and by high summer large stretches dry out completely, the horizon dissolving into a flat white plain that can be walked out onto. When a film of water remains, the surface mirrors the sky, which is why late afternoon and sunset are the most photographed hours. Salt is harvested commercially from pans along the shore and supplies much of Turkey's table salt. The lake is a protected special environmental area and one of the country's more important bird sites, with greater flamingos breeding here in summer. It is normally seen as a stop of an hour or so on the road between Ankara, Konya and Cappadocia, where signposted lay-bys and salt shops give access to the shoreline. Sun protection and closed shoes help; the crust is glaringly bright and abrasive underfoot.