This was a lake in Malatya, a large city and province in eastern Anatolia that has been inhabited for thousands of years. It is the prime source of fresh and dried apricots in Turkey, the world’s leading producer of apricots. I also read on Wiki that Malatya was historically a producer of opium, judged by the British in 1920 to have the "highest percentage of morphia."

‘Thank goodness you’re finally home!’ posted earlier: