Tuz Gölü
( Lake Tuz )Lake Tuz (Turkish: Tuz Gölü meaning 'Salt Lake'; anciently Tatta — Ancient Greek: Τάττα, Latin: Tatta Lacus) was the second largest lake in Turkey with its 1,665 km2 (643 sq mi) surface area and one of the largest hypersaline lakes in the world. It is located in the Central Anatolia Region, 105 km (65 mi) northeast of Konya, 150 km (93 mi) south-southeast of Ankara and 57 km (35 mi) northwest of Aksaray. In recent years, Lake Tuz has become a hotspot for tourists. In October 2021, Lake Tuz dried up completely.
Map of Lake Tatta in Ancient TimesAnciently, the lake was called Tatta, and was located on the frontiers between ancient Lycaonia and Galatia; it had originally belonged to Phrygia, but was afterwards annexed to Lycaonia. The ancients reported that its waters were so impregnated with brine, that any substance dipped into it, was immediately encrusted with a thick coat of salt; even birds flying near the surface had their wings moistened with the saline particles, so as to become incapable of rising into the air, and to be easily caught.[1][2][3] Stephanus of Byzantium speaks of a salt lake in Phrygia, which he calls Attaea (Ἄτταια), near which there was a town called Botieum, and which is probably the settlements of Şereflikoçhisar or Eskil.[4]
Pre-historyPre-historical Lake Tatta was originally a much larger freshwater lake with numerous rivers flowing in and out of it, that dominated the Central Anatolian interior. Lush with vegetation, the region sprung up some of the earliest known civilizations including the Hittites and Anatolian people. After the last Ice age between 11,000 and 5,000 years ago, the Central Anatolian steppe began to gradually transform into its current form.
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