SEYHAN DAM LAKE IN ADANA
The city of Adana in southern Turkey was at first
sight no different from other Turkish cities: the same type of shops,
banks, mosques and signs. We might have been anywhere. I searched
for clues to the city's individuality as my friend drove me to his
flat in one of the innumerable modern buildings on the city's outskirts,
in an area known as New Adana near Seyhan Dam.We turned a bend and
suddenly the scene changed. There were tall blocks of flats to one
side, but on the other dark green vegetation and to our immediate
right the lake of the Old Seyhan Dam. The view was as beautiful
as a stage set in a romantic Hollywood film. I was taken completely
by surprise. Continuing along roads lined by modern buildings, large
brightly lit shops and trees, we arrived at the flat where we would
be staying for the next few days.
Early the next morning I walked down to the lake
shore. The water reflected the blue of the sky, and the slanting
light had the delicate luminosity of winter.
 I
climbed to the top of the first hill that caught our eye, and found
ourselves in a crowded landscaped park. Over a loudspeaker could
be heard someone reading from the Koran, and we discovered that
this was a sacred shrine: the tomb of Coban Dede. Next my attention
was attracted by a well dressed crowd ascending the steps. It was
a wedding procession.Apparently ceremonial visits to the lake shore
or crossing the road over the new dam to
Balcali and back is customary at weddings and circumcisions,
some saying that the sight of water brings good fortune. Whatever
the reason behind the custom, it was evident that this blue stretch
of water is a source of enormous pleasure to the people who live
in its vicinity.On the shore right in front of us, people were making
sailing boats ready. I was reminded of Istanbul where I was born
and grew up, and I felt as if I were on the Bosphorus or on the
shores of Lake Buyukcekmece in summer.
The sailing boats were already some distance away
when we reached the lake shore again, and we saw some other people
getting ready to go out water skiing. I sat on the jetty in eager
anticipation, because I had rarely seen lakes adorned with water
skis and sailing boats.
The weather would pass for summer by our standards, but as I basked
in the warm sunshine I noticed snowy peaks on the horizon. Then
I realised with astonishment that I was looking at the Aladaglar,
a part of the Toros that I know well from climbing there every year.
There was the peak of Alaca, rising to an altitude of over 3500
metres, and to the right Avci Beli ridge, and then the peak of Kaldi.
I had not thought they would be visible from Adana.
Next I walked along the shore to the park near the old dam, in search
of Genclik Bridge, a long suspension bridge for the use of pedestrians
only. In the centre stood a youth fishing, his bicycle beside him.
I do not know whether it was his rod or his bicycle that I envied
most.
 The
green countryside and the buildings around me formed an attractive
contemporary harmony. It was a delight to come to the inland city
of Adana and find such a beautiful shoreline. Along the lakeside
people passed jogging or riding bicycles, and a group of girls were
exercising. I watched a boy paddling a canoe on the lake. Then I
returned to the west shore by another bridge.
That evening I went down to the lake again with
my fried'sg son, who was in his twenties, and he told me about the
popular pastimes of the young people of the city. On a tiny island
in the lake was a neon sign reading Love Island, and next to it
another larger island linked to the shore by a causeway. No one
could remember the islnd'se proper name, and it was known to everyone
as American Island. Scores of cars were parked on it, and cheerful
groups of young people were having noisy fun, while others strolled
apart enjoying the beauty of the night. As I watched them I began
to see how the name had arisen.
With its parks, picnic areas, tour boats, and floating
restaurants, the lake is a focal point for the social life of the
area. It was here that I really became aware that I was in Adana,
and on the edge of Seyhan Dam Lake.
The next morning we set out early, and stopped for a few minutes
on Adnan Menderes Boulevard. The clear bright weather of the previous
day had made way for a strange haze in the air, and the lake looked
quite different. But it was still beautiful, and we got back in
the car resolved to return again.
* Haldun Aydingun is a photographer
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