The “Lake” that once was!

Urmia Lake, the largest inland lake in Iran and the second saltwater lake in the world, which was once one of the most spectacular landscapes in Azerbaijan,has faced a tragic destiny and, according to some, is taking its last breaths.

Here, humans and climate changes are destroying this valuable natural heritage within a few decades all at once.

Experts believe that a set of human factors and policies such as the implementation of various plans to develop water harvesting, increasing development of agricultural lands and changing the cultivation pattern towards water_based products and natural factors such as climate fluctuations (decreasing rainfall and increasing temperature and evaporation) in Urmia Lake catchment area has put this lake on the verge of absolut drought.

According to the present evidences and experiences gained from similar lakes in some parts of the world, there will be a horrible consequence in terms of sanitation, environmental, social and economic for the region and its inhabitants.

The aim of this project is to look at the abandoned piers and ports and the surviving elements of these places, which once upon a time had a lively life and now have turned into an unusable and deserted place.

The present collection shows images of the process and result of the drying of the lake and its consequences on the piers that were once considered important places.