Larnaca Salt Lake - Larnaca (Cyprus) - Wikipedia Entries on Waymarking.com

The complex of four salt lakes called "Larnaca Salt Lake" is one of the most distinctive landmarks of the Larnaca city area and also important natural monument.

Larnaca Salt Lake is a complex network of four salt lakes (3 of them interconnected) of different sizes to the west of the town of Larnaca. The largest is lake Aliki, followed by lake Orphani, lake Soros and lake Spiro. They form the second largest salt lake in Cyprus after the Limassol Salt Lake. The total surface area of the lakes adds up to 2.2 km² and being just off the road leading to Larnaca International Airport is one of the most distinctive landmarks of the area. It is considered one of the most important wetlands of Cyprus and it has been declared a Ramsar site, Natura 2000 site, Special Protected Area under the Barcelona Convention and an Important Bird Area (IBA). It is surrounded by halophytic scrubland and on its bank lies the Hala Sultan Tekke, one of the holiest of shrines within Ottoman Islam. It houses Umm Haram’s tomb, Muhammad's 'wet-nurse'.

Besides its picturesque beauty, the lake is the haunt of 85 species of water-birds with estimated populations between 20 000–38 000. It is one of the important migratory passages through Cyprus. Among them are 2 000–12 000 flamingoes (Phoenicopterus ruber) which spend the winter months there feeding off populations of the brine shrimp.

During the winter months the lake fills with water whilst in the summer the water evaporates, leaving a crust of salt and a haze of grey dust. Salt harvested from this lake used to be one of the island's major exports, being collected by donkeys, carried to the edge of the lake and piled up into huge pyramidal heaps. With rising labour costs harvesting dwindled to a negligible amount and stopped altogether in 1986 as the island imports most of this commodity. [from wiki]