The Guinness World Records process has been initiated for the underwater fairy chimneys in Lake Van

The Guinness World Records process has been initiated for the underwater fairy chimneys in Lake Van

Ambassador Emre Zeki Karagöl, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' representative in Van, stated that they have applied to the Guinness Turkey Representative Office to have the microbialites, known as 'underwater fairy chimneys' in Lake Van, included in the Guinness Book of Records, and that they have passed the preliminary selection.

Karagöl, who was appointed to Van as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs representative in December last year, learned about the existence of microbialites, some reaching 40 meters in height, in the depths of the lake during a previous family vacation in the city.

After conducting research on the subject and meeting with academics working in this field, Karagöl initiated efforts to promote these beauties internationally.

Wanting to have the microbialites, which took thousands of years to form, included in the Guinness Book of Records, Karagöl applied to the Guinness Turkey Representative Office on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Van Representative Office.

"WE PASSED THE PRELIMINARY SELECTION"

Karagöl said that he started working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1994 and was assigned to Van on December 1, 2025. Karagöl stated that while considering international projects related to the city, the microbialites in Lake Van, some reaching 40 meters in height, came to mind, and added:

"I contacted Prof. Dr. Mustafa Sarı, who previously worked in Van, regarding this matter. He directed me to an international journal. I learned that these microbialites were mentioned in 1990, and that scientific sources stated that there were formations reaching approximately 40 meters. I then developed the idea of ​​including these microbialites in the Guinness Book of Records, a gift my father gave me years ago. In this context, we made the first application as a representative in the second half of December.

We passed the preliminary selection and are currently in the second evaluation phase. I learned that approximately 200-300 different applications were sent from various countries around the world, and the Guinness team examines these applications one by one. It was stated that these evaluations, conducted within the framework of scientific criteria, take 3-4 months."

"OUR APPLICATION IS BEING EVALUATED SCIENTIFICALLY"

Explaining that they expect the process to have a positive outcome, Karagöl said, "The Guinness Book of Records is a very comprehensive platform that reaches millions of people worldwide. I believe that if we can get into the book, it will make a significant contribution to the tourism of Van, Lake Van, and the region. This was one of the projects I had in mind during this process. We also added the microbialites, which I saw in various films and visuals, to our application file. Our application, which was deemed worthy of review, is being evaluated scientifically, and comparisons are being made with different freshwater lakes."

Karagöl emphasized that with the inclusion of microbialites in the Guinness Book of Records, diving tourism in Lake Van would develop even further.

The Guinness World Records process has been initiated for the underwater fairy chimneys in Lake Van