Summary
- A photo of Mohamed Salah turned an ordinary rock at Kurtdere Yaylası into a viral photo spot.
- The story gained a second wave of attention after an AI-generated image falsely claimed the rock had been stolen.
A simple photo of Mohamed Salah in the highlands of Trabzon was enough to turn an ordinary rock into one of the region’s most talked-about photo spots.
On September 14, 2026, the Egyptian footballer shared images from Kurtdere Yaylası, in the Maçka district of Trabzon, on social media. In one of them, he was sitting on a rock beside a small stream. Within days, visitors began searching for the exact location so they could photograph themselves in the same place and recreate the pose.
From a personal post to a destination
Kurtdere Yaylası was already a natural destination in the mountainous Maçka area, but Salah’s image gave one particular rock a new identity. Fans and tourists began travelling to the spot to recreate the photograph, while the nickname “Salahtaşı” — “Salah’s rock” — started being used informally.
The attention even led to changes at the site. Content creators installed a “Salah Yaylası” sign, and on September 23 crews from Trabzon Metropolitan Municipality placed a bench near the rock as visitor numbers increased.
The photograph became the route
From a photographic point of view, the story is not about complicated technique. The image is simple: one person, a rock, a stream and an open highland landscape. What changed everything was the recognisable subject and the fact that viewers could identify the place and reproduce the same frame in the real world.
As more visitors repeated the same pose, the photograph moved from being a personal snapshot to becoming a visual destination. The landscape itself did not change; the story people attached to it did.
Misinformation followed the attention
The viral attention produced a second story. An image circulated on social media claiming that the rock had been removed and stolen. Anadolu Agency fact-checked the claim and concluded that the image was AI-generated and that the rock was still in place.
A few days later, local reports said that the bench and sign added to the site had disappeared. That was a separate incident from the false claim that the rock itself had been stolen.
What we think
This is a clear example of how an entirely ordinary photograph can gain enormous influence when it combines a recognisable person, social media and a location that audiences can easily revisit and reproduce. For image makers, it is a reminder that a photograph’s impact does not always come from technical complexity; it can come from context, timing and the story that grows around the frame.
Frequently asked questions
Where is Mohamed Salah’s rock?
It is at Kurtdere Yaylası in the Maçka district of Trabzon Province in northeastern Türkiye.
How did it become famous?
Salah posted a photo of himself sitting on the rock, after which visitors began travelling to the same location to copy his pose and framing.
Was the area officially renamed “Salah Yaylası”?
No. The area remains Kurtdere Yaylası. “Salah Yaylası” and “Salahtaşı” became informal names associated with the viral photo spot and appeared on a sign and in social-media posts.
Was the rock stolen?
No. Anadolu Agency debunked the claim and reported that the image showing the rock as missing had been generated with artificial intelligence.
What happened to the bench and sign?
A bench was installed near the rock and a “Salah Yaylası” sign appeared at the site. On September 27, reports cited local residents saying both had been removed by unidentified individuals.
