There Was Once a Lake Here; Journey Through the Water-Ways of Iran!

Every summer my father planned a trip that took us around Iran. That meant over the years we got to visit more that 75% of the land mass of the country. Our journey started from the southwest city of Ahvaz and took us all over, from west to east, south to north. We crisscrossed the mountains, the rivers, the greenery and the dry landmass that represented the amazing and eclectic Iranian topography.  From the Zagros to the Alborz Mountains, from Karoon to Aras River, from Kavir to the Lut desert, we climbed it, swam in it and drove through it. One of my most memorable part of these voyages through Iran (though not always my favorite!) was my dad stopping the car in the middle of nowhere and giving us a bath using the many small waterfalls that flowed out of the mountains, all I remember is how much I hated the cold water and how clean and refreshed I felt after the bath. When we found a river, we would stop by and eat our breakfast or lunch next to it, enjoying the clean, clear water and the soothing sound of water flowing...sitting under the tree that provided us the shelter.

On one of the trips we went to an amazing body of water located in north western Iran called Lake Urumiyeh. As soon as my dad had parked the car we ran out towards the lake. As we got closer we felt the heaviness of the air. We got to the edge which was full of green algae, with a bit of encouragement and pushing from my older siblings, I rushed into the water. As soon as I plunged in, I felt a strong burning sensation in my eyes, no one told me that lake Urumiyeh was a salt lake. My eyes were burning and I decided to come out quickly and try to fix it. A local guy standing there seeing my agony approached my parents and gave them a cucumber and told them to put it in my eyes and that would sooth my discomfort. That day I was introduced to a water system, that held a prominent place not only in Iran and the middle east but globally too. Lake Urumiyeh was the biggest salt lake in the Middle East and the sixth largest in the world.

Lake Urumiyeh 1980s

Tragically, over the past few years, Lake Urumiyeh along with the many water ways of Iran are either in decline or dying. Though climate change can be blamed for some of the declining water levels and river beds in Iran, the main culprit is the mismanagement of water. There are many experts both in Iran and from outside that are warning about the water crisis and the long-term consequences that could lead Iran to become a “water-insecure” nation.

Lake Urumiyeh today

A serious commitment to addressing Iran’s water crisis by the Iranian authorities and utilizing both domestic and international expertise, will be go a long way to prioritize water on the national dialogue and policy.

For thousands of years the people of Iran used engineering ingenuity to manage water to be able to live and thrive in an otherwise harsh environment. This ingenuity is still there and must be allowed to express itself to solve this crisis and revive Iran’s water system.

The threatened River Karoon 

I think of my days as we crossed the bridge over the once mighty River Karoon and with that image in my mind recall the beautiful poem of the late Iranian poet, Sohrab Sepheri who writes…

Let's not muddy the water.
Imagine that close by a dove
is drinking from it,
or in a distant grove a finch
is washing its wings in it,
or in some village it fills a storage jar.
Let's not muddy the water.

Perhaps this flowing stream runs
by the foot of a poplar tree
and eases some heart's grief.
A dervish, perhaps,
has moistened his crust in it.
A young woman stood on its bank---
the water doubled her beauty.
Let's not muddy the water....