As the
name might confuse you, Blue eye is the biggest spring of all natural springs
in world, having the clearest of water you would have ever seen before. Located
in South of Albania and also known by
the name Syri i Kalter there is a beautiful natural phenomenon occurring in
this spring of water. It has a vibrant blue color just like many other lakes of
Albania in its center and a lighter shade of blue on its sides. This makes the water
spring look like a blue eye with its dark colored pupil in center and a light
colored iris around. On the sides of the spring is green vegetation with oak
trees, shadows of which give an impression of eye lashes thus making the whole
spot all the more beautiful and mesmerizing. The name Blue Eye was supposedly
given by an engineer in a hydro power station. When he saw the enthralling
allure of this place he got reminded of the blue eyes of his beloved and gave
this name to the water spring.
The exact
depth of Blue Eye is still not known. However it is reported to be about 45
meters. An Albanian environmental journalist Xhemal Mato was the first to dive
in it. As told by Mato when he dived in that deep blue water, he felt a strong
current of water which appeared to be coming out from a dark tunnel. The current
was so strong that he had to hold his diving mask and the pressure kept on
increasing on going deeper. On reaching till 6 meters Mato was unable to go
further and decided to come back. After him a lot of other divers also went
deep into the waters of Blue Eye but the strong current and the low temperature
hadn’t allowed anybody to analyze its actual depth yet.
The Blue
Eye water spring is not just famous for its captivating beauty but there also a
few stories known to people which suggest this spring of water possess
supernatural powers. One theory claims that a clever peasant burned a dragon
and fed it a mule loaded with touch wood and cinder. Out of this dragon the
water sprung creating the piece of nature. It is also said that in October 2002
there was an Italian representative who wanted to exploit the underground water
and for this he came to Saranda. But all of a sudden the spring turned white
with wall its water dried out. This looked like an iris of a blind man. People believe
that this was a punishment for anyone who tries to ruin the spring and there
are divine powers bestowed in this water.
