Frozen lake..a shrine for winter lovers in Turkey

Picnics in buggies on the lake.

archival

Between December and March, when the ice is thick enough, Orhan Guler, who lives on the bank of Lake Chelder in eastern Turkey, introduces tourists to his white-coat area during the winter.

Guler, 19, organizes outings in horse-drawn carriages for tourists who adore the view of the white ice on the lake, one of the largest in the Anatolia region at the border with Georgia.

He says: “The thickness of the ice today is 25 centimeters, but it may reach 40 centimeters.

On some days the temperature drops to 30 degrees or 40 degrees below zero, and the sun is not always shining like it is today, but this is the source of our livelihood.”

Lake Childer, which extends over 20 kilometers, is a paradise for migratory birds of wild geese, gulls and pelicans.

The region produces "Gravier" cheese, similar to the Swiss Gruyere cheese, inherited from a Swiss citizen called by the Tsar when the Russians occupied the capital of the region, located 70 kilometers, in 1870. The winter is long and harsh at an altitude of about 2,000 meters, while activities are rare, so the transportation of tourists constitutes The horse-drawn carts are a source of revenue for the residents of the area.

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