People walk to castle in middle of lake as water ebbs

TUNCELİ

Some 50 nature lovers have reached a 2,800-year-old castle located in the middle of Lake Dam Keban in the eastern province of Tunceli by walking to draw attention to the sudden drawdown that occurred in the lake.

The Pertek Castle was built by the Urartians in the eighth century and became home to the Persians, Hellenes, Romans, Seljukians and the Ottomans. The upland that the castle was located on turned into an island after the Dam Keban was constructed in 1974.

“This is the first time in 30 years that the water ebbed this much, and the castle’s ground is no longer an island,” Hıdır Yanmaz, a nature aficionado, told Demirören News Agency.

“We used to see the castle from a ferry that could approach floating. Today we walked toward it,” he added.

Highlighting the trekking was organized to draw attention to the drawdown at the lake, he said, “This is a memory to be remembered for long years.”