The great Tuz Gölü (Salt Lake) makes an extraordinary sight off to the right of the road from Ankara to Aksaray near otherwise unexciting Şereflikoçhisar. Here you can hop out for a tea break before attempting to walk towards what looks like a stretch of water quite close to the road but is more like a mirage in the desert, receding ever further away from you as you walk towards it.
It may not always look like it but, with an area of 1,600sq km, Tuz Gölü is Turkey’s second largest – and one of its shallowest – lakes. It’s also the main source of Turkey’s table salt although recently there have been concerns that too many companies are now extracting it, with adverse environmental consequences.
In spring migratory flamingoes arrive at the southern end of the lake to spend the summer here. However, the lake is showing increasing signs of stress. In 2021 it dried up and in 2022 many dead flamingoes were found on the shores. In 2023 the water turned bright pink from algae which may have made for nice pictures but was not a good sign as regards the health of the lake.
Sleeping
In theory you could stay at the Başkent Motel attached to the service station opposite the official “entrance” to the lake on the Aksaray-Ankara road. I didn’t have time to inspect it but it didn’t look very inviting.
In summer you might want to camp beside the lake although the development near the service station is hardly beautiful. 
Transport info
Most buses plying the Ankara to Nevşehir route pass through Şereflikoçhisar where you would be able to pick up a taxi to the lake. The Metro bus services even time their tea breaks so that customers can walk down to the shore instead if they want to.
