I don’t recommend dunking your whole head under the mud since I got plenty of it in my eyes, ears, and nose. Instead it is better to just rub the mud on your face. It was fairly surreal to climb out and look at all the other mud covered people drying in the sun. Like being on another planet. The mud is slightly radioactive and contains many minerals which are supposed to be very good for your skin and health.
Lake Koycegiz is incredibly gorgeous. The water is rich with minerals and so has a pale turquoise color that reminds me of glacial lakes in Alaska. As we biked around, I though to myself, “This is the real Turkey” because we passed kids on bikes, old guys coming down to the lake shore after work for a swim, friends sitting in the shady grass along the shore, and guys drinking beer on park benches (though these didn’t look like the bums in Union Square of Seattle.)