The Big Hungarian Lowland is a huge open space – flat surface with the area of about 100 thousand square kilometres. Half of which is located in Hungary. It is the biggest steppe in Europe called „puszta” what in Hungary means „empty”. In the middle of the Big Hungarian Lowland there is Cisa lake, the second lake in Hungary if it comes to size (127 square km). On its Northern shore, in Tiszavalki Harbour, there is birds reservation which is inscribed on UNESCO World Heritage list. You can find there 200 species of birds. The middle part of the lake is the biggest fishing area in Hungary. More than 50 species of fish live here, from which 12 are under environmental protection. Hortobágy river flows though the steppe. Because of the acvitity of humans the steppe has almost completly disappeared. Puszta has been partly protected and included into the National Parks: Hortobagy. Kiskunság, Körös-Maros, Szatmar-Beregi and Pusztaszer. A characteristic element of this land are single farms scattered between fields and pasturelands, becasue cattle breeding has been the main activity of Hungarian people in this area. Here is the place where gulyás (known also as goulash) has been invented by shepards who one day put all their food into one pot. In order to see how they lived you can go to one of the many heritage parks. A worth to see curiosity are also the museums of pepper and onion, vegetables which are very popular in Hungary, and also the museum of marzipan in Szentendre near Budapest. On the whole, quite big, area there are only several bigger cities such as: Segedyn, Debrecen, Szolnok, Nyíregyháza, Kecskemét and Békécsaba. Debrecen is called the calvinian Rome, because in 15th century there was the centre of Hungarian reformation. It is also the town of representative buildings and green gardens. Bike fans can go to the dikes which are in the premises of the Nationa Körös-Maros Park. They begin in Szarvas city.