An Alternative Holiday in Turkey "Uzungöl"

Uzungöl (English: Long lake) is lake situated to the south of the city of Trabzon in Turkey. Over the years it has become a major tourist attraction. It is also the name of a nearby village.The lake is at a distance of 99 km from Trabzon and 19 km from Çaykara district. It was formed by landslide making the stream bed to become a natural dam in the valley of Haldizen Stream.

The area is most famous for its natural beauty. Located in a valley between high rising mountains, the lake and village at first appear inaccessible. The surrounding greenery of the mountain forests and fog, occasionally enveloping the lake at night, also add to the scenery.

In recent years a major tourist boom has attracted a number of hotels, restaurants, and gift and souvenir shops to be built in the area. The transport infrastructure has also been greatly improved. Recently the government proposed to build a wall around the water with cement fortification, destroying the shores of the lake, so that water from waves on the lake would not wet the nearby roads around it. This has been met with a lot of protest from locals as well as ecologists concerned with the environmental damage, stating that this move would turn the lake into a giant artificial pool