Lake 16 Tishreen, the Seven Lakes of Mashqita

Lake 16 Tishreen is a branching artificial lake about 30 kilometres from Latakia, formed behind the 16 Tishreen Dam on the Nahr al-Kabir al-Shamali, the Northern Great River. It is counted as the third-largest lake in Syria. Seen from above, islands and spurs of mountain seem to divide it into seven parts, so it is also called the Seven Lakes; after nearby villages it is known as Lake Mashqita or Lake Al-Bahluliyah too.

Where it is and getting there

The lake lies at the village of Al-Bahluliyah, near Mashqita, about 30 kilometres inland from Latakia. Villages close to its shores include Qesmin, Al-Kneissat, Ruwaisat Qesmin and Al-Khabouria.

What the lake is like

Mountains covered in pine, oak and scrub surround its shores. The small islands in the middle have red soil and are wooded with pine and oak as well. The area sits in a hilly belt between the coastal plain and the mountains and receives about 1100 millimetres of rain a year. The water ranges from 11 to close to 26 °C over the year. Because it lies well away from towns, the lake is considered largely free of pollution. The surrounding area grows citrus and grapes.

The river that feeds it is an old one: in the texts of Ugarit, the Bronze Age kingdom near Latakia, it appears as the Rahbanu.

What happened to the fish

Years of overfishing cut the fish population sharply. In mid-2011 a three-stage restocking programme began: first 1200 adult carp, then 25000 fingerlings of about 20 grams each, and finally one million larvae.

How long it takes and when to go

Half a day to walk along the shore and see the arms from a hillside. Spring and autumn are mild and the forest is green; in midsummer the coastal hills heat up too.

What most people miss

Seeing the lake from above rather than from the shore. The name Seven Lakes only makes sense from a slope; standing at the water you see just the arm in front of you. From the hillsides on the Al-Bahluliyah side, the points where the arms open into one another come into view together.