Issyk - the lake which was vanished away

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My spontaneous trip to the Lake Issyk (Kazakh: Есік көлі) started because of these apples.
My parents and I were driving from Turgen', Kazakhstan and we stopped to buy apples. The lady who was selling the apples was really friendly. She asked where I was from and we had a nice chat. So, she suggested, that I should visit the Lake Issyk, which was just 25km away.

On my way to the Lake Issyk nothing around indicated that there was a lake nearby. There was the normal beautiful, but typical, mountain landscape.

This view made me think of a Chinese painting.

After 20 km of a mountain road I finally saw the lake. The view was breathtaking and he water color was fascinating.

But all beautiful places keep stories and the Lake Issyk has its own tragic history.

In 1939 there were touristic camps around the lake. There was a restaurant and a hotel. Many tourists came to spend their holidays on the lake. It was a very famous place. Each summer thousands of people came with their families to enjoy the beauty of the lake and mountains. Images of the lake were printed on souvenir postcards.

On July 7, 1963, the lake was destroyed by a huge mudflow. The accident which happened fifty one years ago had destroyed a half of the city Issyk. More than 1000 people died in that accident and the lake itself was completely destroyed.

Finally in the middle of 1980s, restoring works were started. A dam was built to protect the city of Issyk and restore the lake. Nowadays, the lake is three-fourths size of the lake it used to be.

The destroying mudflow came from these mountains. It greatly diminished the once great lake. Not many people survived to tell about that natural disaster.