#Dive

The diving season has opened at Lake Van

With the rise in water temperature, the diving season has opened at Lake Van, the world's largest soda lake with a history of 800,000 years. Formed by the eruption of the volcanic Nemrut Mountain, Lake Van spans an area of 3,713 square kilometers, resembling a vast sea, making it ideal for diving tourism. Lake Van hosts a variety of species, including the pearl mullet fish, later discovered microbialites, and the Lake Van small coral fish in its depths. Additionally, further dives have revealed a Russian shipwreck and castle ruins. As the weather warms up, the mysterious depths of Lake Van await visits from amateur and professional divers this year as well. This year, members of the Underwater Search and Rescue Training Association (AKEM) successfully completed the first dive of the season as the waters warmed. "It could become an attractive diving center." Speaking to İHA reporter, AKEM President Halil İbrahim Atacan stated that they opened the season very late due to the weather not warming up. Atacan, who noted that they performed their first dive after the waters warmed up, said, "We hope to have a season with beautiful and successful dives. We know that Lake Van is situated at a high altitude. Therefore, it could become an attractive diving center because we know that every diver wants to dive at high altitudes. Our underwater visibility ranges between 5 and 7 meters. Our underwater riches include microbialites, the Lake Van small coral fish, and the Van fish. We can meet at three special points in this way." Inviting diving enthusiasts to diving training schools, Atacan noted that this would allow them to step into the magical world of Lake Van.