Migratory birds left homeless: Gökgöl has dried up

Gökgöl, located in the Tuz Gölü Basin to the west of the Kulu district, was declared a protected site in 1996.

Gökgöl, which served as a breeding ground for many migratory birds with its 50-hectare area, had seen its waters largely recede last year, causing the migratory birds to abandon it. The complete drying up of the lake this year has deeply saddened the local residents.

Local resident Hasan Gölcük, who noted that people used to visit the lake even for fishing, said, "Bird watchers would stay for months; there were many studies conducted on the birds. The drying up of Gökgöl will harm Tuz Gölü because it was feeding Tuz Gölü. I don't want to see Gökgöl anymore; it breaks my heart to look at that scene. We used to go fishing and have picnics there. People from outside Kozanlı would come for picnics; there were even people coming from as far as Kayseri."