Winter does not only mean cold, snow and roadblocks, it can also provide fun-filled opportunities – from snowball fights to even ice skating on frozen lakes. National figure skater Iklim Şentunalı sure didn't miss the chance to do exactly that on Lake Çıldır.
Şentunalı stepped on Lake Çıldır, located between northeeastern Turkey's Ardahan and Kars, to put on a mesmerizing show on the ice.
Her performance was viewed and appreciated by many on social media.
You spin my head right round: National figure skater Iklim Şentunalı steps out onto frozen Lake Çıldır for a unique spinhttps://t.co/ixNaQJwPHu pic.twitter.com/Mpoc9OS4yY
— DAILY SABAH (@DailySabah) January 26, 2022
Situated 1,959 meters (6,427 feet) above sea level, Lake Çıldır usually freezes at the beginning of winter as the temperature drops to minus 10 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit) at night.
Spanning 123,000 square meters (1.3 million square feet), what makes Lake Çıldır unique is that tourism activities and the local fishermen's livelihood depend on the lake being frozen.
Every year, once the lake freezes, the villagers of Taşbaşı prepare their horses to ride on the ice. The troika coachmen also offer tourists visiting the lake a chance to go on the ride of their lives.
If riding across a frozen lake sounds a little scary to you, you can also choose to walk on the ice and take in the outstanding winter views as everything around will be covered with a thick blanket of snow.
Ice fishing and troika rides attract many, but sometimes it's life's simplest pleasures do the trick – sunsets and tea or any other drink you enjoy.
