Meke Lake, located in Karapınar district of Konya and known as the ‘evil eye bead of the world’, was nominated from Turkey for the ‘100 Geological Heritage’ list prepared by the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) this year.

 

 The nomination proposal was made by Dr. Lecturer Gülin Gençoğlu Korkmaz from the Geological Engineering Department of our University. The nomination proposal was made by the Association for the Protection of Geological Heritage (JEMIRKO) with the initiative of Gülin Gençoğlu Korkmaz. The application, supported by Hacettepe and Muğla Sıtkı Koçman Universities, was submitted to UNESCO.

 

JEMIRKO President Prof. Dr. Nizamettin Kazancı stated that Meke Lake has a geologically rare double-phase volcano structure and said, ‘There are many Maar, but there is nothing like Meke.’ Stating that Meke Maar is on a volcano that started in the last 100 thousand years and lastly saw activity 5 thousand years ago, Prof. Dr. Kazancı said, "Pictures showing the eruption of a volcano were found in Çatalhöyük and interpreted as Hasan Mountain. Perhaps this volcano was not Mount Hasan, but Meke, because it coincides with the human period. In the last 20 thousand years," he said.

 

Although popularly known as ‘Lake Meke’, Meke is technically a maar structure. In the centre of this crater, which was formed by explosions caused by the contact of underground waters with magma, a volcanic cone was formed as a result of a second volcanic activity that developed later, and this double structure gives Meke its unique appearance resembling an evil eye bead.

 

Whether Meke will be included in the list will be determined at the end of the evaluation, which will last until September 2025. If successfully selected, Meke Lake is expected to attract more international attention.

 

Konya Technical University KTUN