Meke Krater Gölü

Meke Crater Lake is a volcanic lake in the Karapınar district of Konya, about 8 kilometres southeast of the district centre. The Culture Portal presents it as a crater lake formed by two separate eruptions, with few parallels in the world. In aerial photographs the dark cone surrounded by blue water looks like an eye, which is why for years it was called the evil eye bead of the world. Today, however, the lake has largely dried up, and it is important to know this before you visit. Meke formed in two stages. A volcanic eruption about 4 to 5 million years ago left a hollow that gradually filled with water and became a lake. Roughly 9000 years ago a second eruption raised a new volcanic cone in the middle of the old lake. This created a nested system, with a cone inside the large lake and a small crater lake on top of the cone. According to the sources, the outer lake and crater hollow were about 800 metres long and 500 metres wide, and the lake reached a depth of 12 metres. The surface of the lake lies 981 metres above sea level. The central cone rises 50 metres above the water level, and the inner lake on its summit is given as 25 metres deep. Meke, whose water is saline, is fed by groundwater. The site information sheet submitted under the Ramsar Convention explains why this formation is considered special. It notes that a system of three elements, a volcanic cone, a caldera lake and a crater lake, rarely survives together. The permeable material of the cone means that even heavy rain is absorbed at once, which is why the cone has remained uneroded for thousands of years. The lake takes its name from the meke birds that live in the area. Meke is secured by a chain of protected statuses. The lake was declared a first degree protected area in 1989 and a natural monument in 1998. In 2005 it was added to the Ramsar list, with an area of 202 hectares, as a wetland of international importance for waterbirds. The Ramsar sheet lists birds such as marsh harrier, black-winged stilt, lapwing and ruddy shelduck, as well as endemic plants growing on the plain. The story of the lake drying up sums up the water problem of the Konya Closed Basin. A scientist from Selçuk University announced in 2009 that the lake had almost dried out. In 2012 it was reported that the capacity of the lake had fallen by about 60 percent in the previous twenty years, and in the drought of 2014 the lake was recorded as almost completely dry. According to reports from 2020, almost no water remained of a depth that had once reached 10 to 12 metres. Experts and local sources point to heavy pumping of groundwater for farm irrigation as the main cause. When its salinity rises, the remaining shallow water turns red because of microorganisms. So in summer you may see white salt crusts and red patches at the foot of the cone. This view is striking in photographs, but it is also a sign of the water the lake has lost. Many bird species once seen at the lake are reported to have moved to other areas as the water shrank. The best way to see the lake is to take in the view from the rim of the crater hollow. From there, the whole silhouette of the cone and the volcanic hills behind it fit into one frame. The ground under the salt crust can be soft, so do not walk onto the dried lake bed. There is hardly any shade or facility on the site, so bring water, a hat and a windbreaker. Meke is reached about 2 kilometres after the turn-off at the 7th kilometre of the Karapınar to Ereğli road, and it lies a little over 100 kilometres from central Konya. Public transport is difficult, so you need to come by private car. According to the Ramsar sheet, the Karapınar plain holds seven small volcanoes and many sinkholes, so Meke can be the first stop of a day exploring the volcanic and karst face of the plain.