BAYBURT, Turkey
The frozen Gokcedere Dam Lake with its fascinating and picturesque landscape in Turkey's northeastern Bayburt province attracts those who want to skate on ice during winter.
The surface of the lake created for agricultural irrigation and cage fishing in the Gokcedere town of the Demirozu district gets frozen every year during the harsh winter season.
The town does not have an ice rink, but the youth turn the frozen lake into one and enjoy skating on the ice, some with their skates and others just with shoes.
Bayburt Mayor Yavuz Bakir told Anadolu Agency that they are happy that the lake and its surroundings, which attract many tourists during summer, also become attractive for the youth when the temperature falls below the freezing point of water.
"Hopefully, as we complete construction of planned facilities here in the summer season, we will also have an opportunity to build an ice skating rink, which will also benefit the tourism," he said.
Bakir stressed that the thickness of ice was not "at the expected level" and even thinner this year compared to other years due to drought, adding that with the closed irrigation system they will implement, it will be possible to reach the required level of thickness by keeping the water "at the desired level".
* Writing by Jeyhun Aliyev from Ankara
BAYBURT, TURKEY - JANUARY 03: A man lies on frozen Gokceder Pond after the air temperature dropped below zero during winter season in Bayburt, Turkey on January 03, 2021. ( Beşir Kelleci - Anadolu Agency )
