Dream Trip 2008: August

Great Travel Moment

On our way back to Istanbul, our tour guide decided to do an unscheduled stop. He told us that we could buy "gourmet salt" where we would stop. It was at Tuz Golu, Turkish for "Salt Lake". Tuz Golu is about 75 miles south of Ankara. It is the second largest lake in Turkey. It is about 48 miles long and 30 miles wide. It is 2,715 feet above sea level. The salinity of the lake is 33 %. During summer, after evaporation, the lake dries out leaving about 12 inches of salt formation. About 300,000 tons of salt is obtained here. We had no idea then that there would be salt all over. Some of us walked around as the others purchased their gourmet salt. It was exciting to see our shoe prints on salt. We,also, saw big rocks made of salt. When we got back on the bus, we were like kids who were taken to a beach outing for the day. We were all very happy. This picture makes me want to go back to Turkey to see more of its nature and learn more of its culture.