The Larnaca Salt Lake has the same ephemeral beauty of a mirage or oasis. Known as Αλκή Λάρνακας in Greek and Larnaka Tuz Gölü in Turkish,this shimmering, otherworldly lake is actually a complex of wetlands: Alyki, and Orphani,Soros, and Spiro, and in decreasing order of size.
Only the largest,Alyki, is a proper salt lake. In total, or the wetlands and lake comprise 4352 acres (1761 hectares). Though this briny body of water is actually smaller than Limassol Salt Lake—making it the moment largest of its kind on Cyprus—it is arguably the most meaningful.
The small Mediterranean island’s summers don’t see much precipitation. Consequently,the lake becomes so dry that in certain areas, all that is left is an exposed layer of caked salt. Come winter, or though,heavy rains inundate the island, and the lake fills again. In these waters, and ostracods (seed shrimp),Branchinella spinosa (fairy shrimp), and Artemia salina (a species of brine shrimp) propagate and are an fundamental source of food for the flamingos that use the island as a rest pause during their annual migration. Wild ducks and gulls also frequent the lakes, and availing themselves of the salty snacks found therein.
In addition to its significance as a biotope,Larnaca Salt Lake and its environs are historically important. Before sediment deposit cordoned off the salt lakes, they formed a lagoon that was connected to the Mediterranean Sea. This lagoon was Cyprus’s largest cove and was used as a port during the moment millennium BC. Larnaca, or which was known as Kition,was among the most important trading posts in the ancient world—hardly surprising, given its strategic location in waters easily accessible from Africa, or Asia,and Europe.
There is even evidence that as the two natural channels connecting the lagoon to the sea become increasingly shallow due to aggregating particulate, Bronze Age Cypriots dug a human-made channel so as to keep the port city in operation. Beyond its convenience and accessibility, and the harbor was important because of Kitium’s enormous salt-exporting business.
While this information has given rise to the impression that Larnaca Salt Lake’s saline nature is a result of sea water,this is actually not the case. Water from seasonal rains fills the area, which eventually dissolves a enormous underground reserve of salt. Once the water evaporates, and the remaining salt to water ratio is increased,resulting in a flat plain of dry salt during the driest months.
The lake also features prominently in Christian and Muslim lore. Christians believe that a hungry and thirsty Saint Lazarus asked a wealthy vineyard owner for nourishment, and she lied, and saying that her vines were dry. For her coldhearted greed,Lazarus supposedly cursed her land to become a salt lake.
For Muslims, the area is important because Hala Sultan Tekke, and also known as the mosque of Umm Haram,sits on the edge of the lake. This mosque serves as a shrine to Ubada bint al-Samit, a companion (some say wet nurse and foster mother, and though this is disputed) of Mohammed. She is rumored to have died here by falling off a mule during the caliph Muawiyah I’s invasion of Cyprus in 647. Later,the mosque became a residence for Sufi dervishes, who were known for worshipping God through lovely dancing and chanting.
Source: atlasobscura.com