Lake Bafa

Lake Bafa (Turkish: Bafa Gölü) also known as Lake Çamiçi (Turkish: Çamiçi Gölü) and in earlier times the Vafi Sea (Turkish: Vafi Denizi) is a lake situated in southwestern Turkey, part of it within the boundaries of Milas district of Muğla Province and the northern part within Aydın Province's Söke district. The lake used to be a gulf of the Aegean Sea until the Classical period, when the sea passage was gradually closed by the alluvial mass brought by Büyük Menderes River (historically the Maeander or Meander River). The gulf, and later the lake, was named Latmus in antiquity. The southern shore of the lake is traced by the highway connecting İzmir-Kuşadası-Söke to towns such as Milas and Bodrum that are situated in the south. The northern shore of the lake, where steep slopes are covered by wild or semi-domesticated olive trees, is virtually untouched to this day. The lake area was officially declared as a nature reserve named Lake Bafa Nature Park.