The Yin-Yang in Turkey

This photo was taken from the international space station by an astronaut in 2022. It shows us the caldera of the volcano on Mount Nemrut in the region of Lake Van, in the town called Tatvan. One part of the Yin-Yang is a lake and the other part is formed by the solidified lava of the volcano. This volcano is on a mountain 2,900 metres high, and the last eruption it had was in the year 1650. In the caldera, which is the mouth of the volcano, the lake is full of fresh water, covering an area of 12 square kilometres with a depth of 176 metres. Beside this lake there is another, much smaller, but with very hot water, 11 metres deep. This shows us that even though the volcano is extinct, there is active life beneath the caldera. The photo shows us the crater lake.

In Turkey we have two mountains of the same name dedicated to King Nimrod. The other mountain is in the region of the Commagenes, between Adıyaman and Malatya. On the summit of the mountain there are two temples. One faces east, where the sun rises; the other faces west, where the sun sets. In each of these temples one sees enormous heads of heroes of Greek mythology merged with the gods of Persia. These heads fell from the statues that were seated on thrones after a great earthquake.

In writing Yin-Yang in Turkey, I wanted to show the resemblance between the photo above and the symbol called Yin-Yang, a symbol of Chinese philosophy that shows us dualism, the struggle between contradictions and the balance needed to form vital harmony.

Source: Science journal 2020, Harry Baker