"Steam & Release": Phtographers' Delight - Horses and Buffaloes Enjoying a Hot Spring Bath, in Freezing Bitlis

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Anatolia News Agency website, 14 February 2026)

                                Everyone into the pool!

Photography enthusiasts from various provinces of Türkiye are coming 

to Güroymak district of Bitlis to photograph the buffaloes and horses 

entering the hot springs in Budaklı village, where air temperatures 

can drop to -20 degrees Celsius. The buffaloes and horses, unable to 

leave their stables due to the harsh winter conditions, are brought to 

the hot springs by their owners at regular intervals to be washed in the

40 degree Celsius water.

Rıdvan Süslü, a photographer from Van, told an AA reporter that the 

hot springs are a popular destination for tourists in both summer and 

winter.  Süslü explained that villagers bring their animals to the hot 

springs to clean them after they have been kept in barns for long 

periods in winter, and continued:

"Every year, we visit this place during periods of heavy snowfall to 

take photographs. We have come here many times, but we never get 

enough. We know that many photographs taken here have won awards 

not only in our country but also worldwide. It is very valuable for the 

people of the region. We travel hundreds of kilometers to get here.

Although the conditions are difficult, we always enjoy this place 

immensely. This is a place that could become a popular destination 

for photography enthusiasts and those interested in photography."

Mustafa Kılıç, a photographer from Mardin, stated that the region 

has beauties that will attract photography enthusiasts.  He explained 

that they captured an unparalleled event in this unique region, saying,

"We are in a place where animals enter the water, and children and 

young people have fun jumping into the water from the backs of 

horses.  

With the photos we take here, we are both enriching our 

archive and capturing unique photographic moments. I invite all 

photographers from Turkey and abroad to come here. A unique 

visual spectacle is created in the hot springs where horses and 

buffaloes enter. Photographers from all over Türkiye are capturing 

the beauties of this place in their photographs."