Lake of Ibrahim Al-Khalil: Its Water From Fire And Its Fish From Wood

In dazzling autumn colors, the “Fish Lake” garden in the center of the state of “Sanliurfa” is proud, where the Turks believe that “Nimrod set it on fire and ordered the Prophet of God Ibrahim, peace be upon him, to be thrown into it.” Sanliurfa, located in southern Turkey, is known as the “City of the Prophets,” and some see it as “the fourth holy city in the world after Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem,” and is the gateway through which Islam entered Anatolia. As for the “Fish Lake”, it is known as “the largest natural aquarium in the world”, and it has great religious significance for all religions, which makes it the focus of tourists’ attention. Large numbers of fish live in this lake, which visitors can also enjoy watching from above the “Shanli Urfa” castle in an amazing fantasy accompanied by a cup of coffee or tea.

The state of “Sanliurfa” is full of antiquities belonging to many religions, as in addition to the “Lake of Fish”, there is a cave where it is believed that the Prophet of God Ayoub spent his affliction years.

And next to the cave, there is a well believed to be that Ayyub, peace be upon him, washed from its waters to recover from all the diseases and the pain he suffered, according to what the Turkish academic, Jihad Kurçoğlu said.

In turn, Nihat Cevci, the mayor of Şanlıurfa, says that a fish lake is a place that everyone should watch closely and that its beauty increases with the advent of autumn.

There are many explanations, according to historians, about Ibrahim Al-Khalil Lake, and the reason behind giving it this name, as the accounts, state that this lake is “the place where the Prophet Ibrahim, peace be upon him, was thrown by an order from King Nimrod at that time to burn him before the fire turns to cold and peace upon him by the will of Allah ”  As the popular belief there says that the fire then became water and the wood that Nimrod used for the fire became fish, so that this pond was classified as the largest natural aquarium for fish in the world, and it is also said that whoever touches these fish suffers.

The lake is also characterized by the presence of two of the oldest mosques in the region, which are located on the ridges of the lake, namely Khalil al-Rahman Mosque, which dates back to 1300 AD, and the historical Radwaniyah Mosque as well.

In addition to these landmarks that surround the fish lake, another landmark is no less important, which is the “cave” in which it is believed that the Prophet Ibrahim, peace be upon him, was born, and for that, it is an important destination for tourists who visit from multiple places.