Lake Urmia no more
One of the places I really wanted to see during my recent trip was Lake Urmia in Iran, which is one of the three great lakes in that region together with Lake Sevan in Armenia and Lake Van in Turkey. Initially the plan was to pass the lake on the way to Europe, but as we spent a bit more time in the Alamut Valley in Iran, we ran out of time to make the detour to Lake Urmia. So on my way back, I made sure it was part of the route.
Unfortunately, the lake is not much of a lake anymore – it’s more like salt flats as about 90% of the lake water has disappeared since the ’70s. This is affecting in a big way the region as many people and birds were dependent on the lake. It’s an interesting place to photograph with white flats stretching as far as the eyes can see, but I would have rather seen a full and functioning ecosystem.