THE ESSENCE OF LIFE WATER
The survival of all living creatures, from the simplest
organisms to human beings, depends on water, that substance so essential
for the continuation of life on earth. It was in water that life
first began millions of years ago, evolving into the countless diversity
which exists today. Water has sometimes shaped evolutionary patterns,
and caused the migration, and even the extinction of certain species.
When we examine human history we find that the locations
of our homes, from prehistoric caves to great cities, have been
chosen because of proximity to a water source. Mesopotamia, the
area between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, became one of the
most important cradles of civilisation, and the Nile gave birth
to Egyptian civilisation. Every great city in history had plentiful
supplies of fresh water.
This vital need led to an emotional bond based on
respect, legends symbolising which are to be found in most civilisations.
In Greek mythology, for instance, there are many relating to Poseidon,
the god of the sea and underground rivers, Oceanus, god of rivers,
and the naiads of streams, springs and fountains.
 One
of the most important factors in the shape of our world today is
water. Water covers three-quarters of our world in the form of oceans,
and the Poles and Arctic regions are covered by water in the form
of ice and snow. On land there are lakes, rivers and underground
water systems. Water evaporates by means of heat to form mist and
clouds, and returns to the earth in the form of rain and snow. There
is water vapour in the air that we breathe. This constant circulation
of water enables life to continue, and at the same time is perpetually
altering the shape of the world.
In Turkey's Eastern Black Sea mountains, water vapour
forms thick layers of cloud and mist, resulting in the highest rainfall
levels in the country, so that these ranges several thousand metres
in height are verdant and bright with flowers even in the height
of summer.
The streams which flow down from the peaks combine
with others to form large numbers of fast flowing rivers which give
life to luxuriant forest before pouring into the Black Sea.
In winter water returns to the earth as snow, particularly
at high altitudes. The snow which caps the great Toros range stretching
along Turkey's Mediterranean coast begins to melt with the coming
of spring. In this karstic region, water plays an extraordinary
role, eroding the limestone of which these mountains are largely
formed to create countless deep gorges.
Since the water dissolves the calcium in the limestone,
it penetrates through the rock itself, as well as pouring through
fissures, creating rivers, waterfalls and lakes in the depths of
the earth. The underwater river in the Dumanli cave system in Antalya
is one of the largest in the world.
 The
water flowing through these rivers and lakes pours out through cracks
or cave mouths to form rivers. Water falling on the Yedigoller plateau
in the Aladag Mountains in the eastern Toros forms a large lake
and underground river that flows for many kilometres before emerging
into the light of day in the form of five waterfalls that burst
out of a cliff at Kapuzbasi. These falls, which never dry up, are
the main source of the Zamanti River.
Underground water erodes the rock both physically
and chemically, creating caves of magical beauty with stalactites,
stalagmites, pools of water and galleries, and the water which finds
its way above ground through caves, waterfalls and springs, flows
through valleys, plains and forests in the form of streams, which
join to form rivers, and finally empty into lakes or the sea. So
water completes its cycle, and now must rise again to the mountain
tops. It is this phenomenon which gives life and beauty to our world,
in all its shades of blue and green.
* Ali Ihsan Gokcen is a photographer
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