Techirghiol is a

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

Northern Dobruja Northern Dobruja ( ro, Dobrogea de Nord or simply ; bg, Северна Добруджа, ''Severna Dobrudzha'') is the part of Dobruja within the borders of Romania. It lies between the lower Danube river and the Black Sea, bordered in the south ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

, near the

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

with the same name.

Etymology

The name of the lake comes from the

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

''Tekirgöl'', meaning "Tekir's lake". The name also means (in Turkish) "Striped Lake" (tekir - striped, and göl - lake). This is because of the salinity of the lake; when the wind blows, white salt stripes appear on the surface of the lake.

Legend of Tekir

The legend says that once upon a time a crippled and blind old man named Tekir, riding on the back of his donkey, reached the shore of this lake by mistake. The old man tried to get out of that smelly mud for hours on end, but his stubborn donkey didn't want to move at all, as if a mysterious force was not letting him out of the lake. It was with great wonder and joy that the old man realized, when getting out of the lake, that his eyes could see light again, and that his feet, which had stopped working a long time ago, began to obey him. As for his wise donkey - its bad wounds on the back had healed, and his body was younger than ever. When they heard of this, many people rushed to the shore of the lake, bathing and putting mud all over their bodies to be cured. Tekir and his donkey are featured in a statue located in the center of the town of Techirghiol.

References

External links

Techirghiol site
Lakes of Constanța County Saline lakes of Europe Ramsar sites in Romania Important Bird Areas of Romania {{Constanţa-geo-stub