In Greek mythology, during the Trojan War the region by Lake İznik was held by the Phrygians, who sent troops to the aid of King Priam, led by the brothers Phorcys and Ascanius, sons of Aretaon as related in the Iliad.
[1] In 2014, during aerial photography to survey the local monuments, the remains of an underwater Byzantine basilica -possibly erected in the 4th century- were identified, a discovery which was named one of the top 10 discoveries by the Archaeological Institute of America.
The basilica was dedicated to St. Neophytos of Nicaea and it was built sometime after 390 AD and destroyed in a major earthquake in 1065.
[4] The lake, which is in unprotected status, was declared by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area in 1989 for its waterfowl species, which are threatened through pollution and development of İznik as a recreational center.
[5] This geographical article about a location in Bursa Province, Turkey is a stub.