Paragliders flock to İznik Lake as water turns turquoise blue

BURSA

Paragliders from across the world have surged into the western city of Bursa’s İznik Lake, the 5th largest lake in Türkiye, as the lake’s water has turned turquoise blue as a result of warm temperatures, presenting a visual feast to both local and foreign tourists.

A stunning panorama of İznik Lake accompanied paragliding enthusiasts as they ascended 1,160 meters above sea level to the summit of Orhangazi Gürle Mountain before jumping off and gliding down.

Şahin Yılmaz, a professional paraglider who initiated the paragliding event at İznik Lake, pointed out that they are having difficulty keeping up with the heavy demand.

While paragliders enjoyed the view of the lake from the air, scores of local and foreign tourists also flocked to the lake to swim and capture lustrous photos with the lake’s astonishing scenery.

"This happens every year. It occurred a bit late this year. Thanks to this incident [of the lake’s water turning to turquoise at certain times of the year], both local and foreign visitors come over,” Bekir Uslu, a beach manager at the lake, pointed out.

According to experts, the sudden change in hue of the lake to turquoise was due to an increase in plankton, living organisms that are vital to both the precipitation in the atmosphere and the survival of other living things in the ocean.

This sudden uptick of the plankton population was triggered by rising temperatures, which led the İznik Lake to resemble the southern province of Burdur’s Salda Lake, which is often referred to as “Türkiye’s Maldives.”