Lake Van

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.

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.

With the studies carried out by the Culture and Tourism Ministry, governorship and municipality, the historical Akdamar Island of the eastern province of Van and the historical church on it has been lit up and the island has attracted attention with its new appearance.

Amidst escalating concerns about climate change, striking photographs captured at Lake Van in the Eastern Anatolian region have revealed the harsh reality of drought.

Global climate change and resulting droughts continue to affect Lake Van. The 3,712 square kilometer lake is the largest soda lake in the world and the largest lake in Türkiye.

Shepherd İbrahim Koç recalls his youth with fondness as he grazes cattle on a barren field that was once lush with vegetation on the edge of Türkiye's largest lake.

An occasional shrub marks the spots from where Lake Van has retreated over years of global heating and drought.

"The animals are thirsty," the 65-year-old lamented.

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.

In the eastern province of Van and the neighboring provinces, a squad of 17 members from the Coastal Police are saving the lives of people falling in the lakes, ponds, and rivers.

The squad of the Marine Police consisting of 17 people have intervened in many drowning cases in Van, Hakkari, Bitlis, Ağrı and Iğdır so far.

As part of the "Van Sea Swimming Festival," organized by the Van Municipality to promote Lake Van and to boost tourism, professional swimmers have swum in Nemrut Crater Lake, Türkiye's largest crater lake.

The three-month hunting ban, which was initiated during the breeding period of the pearl mullet, an endemic fish species residing in Lake Van, has ended.

Within the scope of the annual hunting ban for pearl mullet which started on April 15, intensive measures were taken to prevent poaching.

In line with the Lake Van Basin Protection Action Plan, more than 800,000 cubic meters of bottom mud has been removed from Lake Van since 2019, Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum has said.