Lake Uluabat ( and ) is the name of a freshwater lake in the vicinity of

Bursa, Turkey Bursa () is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the Marmara Region, Bursa is one of the industrial centers of the country. Most of ...

. It is a large lake, covering an area of between 135 and 160 km² depending on the water level, but very shallow, being only 3 m deep at its deepest point. The lake contains eight islands and one other that is sometimes an island and sometimes a peninsula. The largest island is known as Halilbey Island. In the southwest the lake is fed by the

Mustafakemalpaşa River The Mustafakemalpaşa River, Orhaneli River or Adirnaz River (, or ) is a river in northwestern Anatolia in the Bursa Province of Turkey's Marmara Region. It is named for the city of Mustafakemalpaşa which lies near its delta onto Lake Uluaba ...

, which has formed a silty delta. Water leaves the lake by way of the Ulubat stream, flowing to the west, and reaches the

Sea of Marmara The Sea of Marmara, also known as the Sea of Marmora or the Marmara Sea, is a small inland sea entirely within the borders of Turkey. It links the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea via the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, separating Turkey's E ...

via the Susurluk River. Most shores of the lake are covered in submerged plants, and it has the most extensive white water lily beds in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. Uluabat Lake is one of the breeding areas for the endangered

pygmy cormorant The pygmy cormorant (''Microcarbo pygmaeus'') is a member of the Phalacrocoracidae (cormorant) family of seabirds. It breeds in south-eastern Europe and south-western Asia. It is partially migratory, with northern populations wintering further ...

(''Phalacrocorax pygmeus''). The latest DHKD (Society for the Protection of Nature Turkey) survey in June 1998 found 823 pygmy cormorant pairs, 105 night heron pairs, 109

squacco heron The squacco heron (''Ardeola ralloides'') is a small heron, long, of which the body is , with wingspan. It is of Old World origins, breeding in southern Europe and the Greater Middle East. Behaviour The squacco heron is a migrant, wintering ...

pairs, and 48

spoonbill Spoonbills are a genus, ''Platalea'', of large, long-legged wading birds. The spoonbills have a global distribution, being found on every continent except Antarctica. The genus name ''Platalea'' derives from Ancient Greek and means "broad", refe ...

pairs breeding on Uluabat. The alternative name Lake ''Apolyont'' comes from the lake's

greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

classical name Apolloniatis (''Απολλωνιάτις''), from Apollonia-on-the-Rhyndacum (modern Gölyazı), an ancient Greek city situated on its banks which had considerable importance since it was on major trade routes. Modern residential areas by its shores are

Mustafakemalpaşa Mustafakemalpaşa is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Bursa Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,641 km2, and its population is 102,284 (2022). The Mustafakemalpaşa River (Mustafakemalpaşa Çayı) flows through it. History Th ...

(formerly Kirmasti) and

Karacabey Karacabey is a municipality and district of Bursa Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,158 km2, and its population is 84,907 (2022). It is located just west of the Simav River near its confluence with the Adirnaz River. The district of Karacabe ...

(formerly Mikalick). The area was famous for centuries for its

silkworm cultivation Sericulture, or silk farming, is the cultivation of silkworms to produce silk. Although there are several commercial species of silkworms, the caterpillar of the domestic silkmoth is the most widely used and intensively studied silkworm. This spe ...

, but this industry has died out due to synthetic fabrics. The main industry today is fishing.

History

Overview

Uluabat Lake was recognized by the

Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on Wetlands. It i ...

. The Global Nature Fund designated the lake as a "Living Lake" in 1998.

Hydrology

Lake Uluabat empties into the

via the Susurluk River. The Lake is fed by the

Ecology

Lake Uluabat is a large, long, shallow inland lake that is surrounded by marshes and agricultural land. There are submerged plants on the shores of the lake. According to the Global Nature Fund, there is nowhere in Turkey with more white water lily beds than Lake Uluabat.

Islands and peninsulas

There are seven islands in the lake, including Halilbey Island.—which is the largest island, and St. Constantine—known for the Byzantine era monastery. Today St. Constantine island is uninhabited, but the monastery has survived the Ottoman conquest of

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

. The

orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

monastery has received attention from scholars because of its inscribed cross type with apses east and west. One of the most well-known features of Lake Uluabat is the small island village of Gölyazı—an ancient Greek settlement near modern-day Bursa. Gölyazı was featured in the final episode of the Turkish TV series ''

Kara Para Aşk ''Kara Para Aşk'' ( English: ''Black Money Love'') is a Turkish television series broadcast on ATV screens on Wednesday evenings. The leading cast are Tuba Büyüküstün, Engin Akyürek and Erkan Can. The production of the series is undert ...

''. The Gölyazı Old Mosque, located on the peninsula is a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

Wildlife

The lake, which has an "Unprotected Status" (UP), was declared by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

as an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

in 1989 for its

waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which i ...

species of international character and species which are globally threatened. This paper was "adapted from a talk given at the XVII ICBP European Continental Section Conference held in

Adana, Turkey Adana is a large city in southern Turkey. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the northeastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the administrative seat of the Adana province, and has a population of 1 816 750 (Seyhan, Y ...

from May 15 to May 20, 1989. Uluabat Lake is one of the breeding areas for the endangered