Wiped out lake to be declared natural protected area

ISTANBUL

The 12,000-year-old Dipsiz (Fathomless) Lake, which has been wiped off the map by treasure hunters, will be filled with water again and declared as a protected area, Murat Kurum, minister of Environment and Urbanization, announced on Nov. 18.

Dipsiz Lake, whose water was drained to search for a mythical treasure, will be filled with water again, but its ecology likely cannot be restored to its original state.

"A scientific commission consisting of scientists from universities has been formed to rehabilitate the lake and its surrounding area," Kurum said.

"The lake and its surrounding area will be declared a Natural Protected Area. Moreover, the area known as Dipsiz Lake and the protected area in its eastern side will be combined and an ecological corridor will be formed there," Kurum added.

"Our teams keep on working in the area. Our objective is to pass it on to the next generations by restoring it to its previous form," he said.

The Fathomless Lake’s water was drained after the governorship’s office in Gümüşhane allowed for an excavation work on Nov. 9.

The permission was given upon an application by an anonymous citizen claiming that the treasure of an ancient Roman legionary was at the bottom of the lake.

After the excavation works were stopped without a result after five days, it turned out that the former lake area was being filled with soil.

Academics lashed out at the incident, which effectively marked the extinction of the country’s one of the rare glacier lakes.