Mohamed Salah’s boot goes viral, here’s where it was found

KUALA LUMPUR, 25 SEPTEMBER 2026 —

A humble boulder in Turkey’s Trabzon mountains has become an overnight global sensation after Egyptian football superstar Mohamed Salah posted a casual photo of himself sitting atop it, sparking a stampede of fans eager to replicate the moment.

The boulder, now dubbed "Salah’s Rock" (Salah Yaylası in Turkish), is located in Kurtdere Yaylası, a high-altitude meadow within the Maçka district of Trabzon province. Salah visited the area in September 2026, shortly after joining Trabzonspor on a two-year contract announced on 6 August 2026.

His Instagram post, featuring the footballer lounging on the rock with a backdrop of rolling green hills and a river, ignited a frenzy among fans who began searching for the exact location.

Before Salah’s visit, the boulder was an unremarkable feature of the Altındere Valley, a scenic region already known for its hiking trails and proximity to Sümela Monastery (Sümela Manastırı), a 6th-century Byzantine-era monastery clinging to a cliffside 300 meters above the valley floor. The monastery, a UNESCO-listed site, is one of Trabzon’s most famous tourist attractions, drawing visitors to the Karadağ mountains where Maçka is situated.

However, the monastery’s fame had not previously extended to the meadow where Salah posed.

Local authorities confirmed the surge in visitors, with reports of fans queuing to sit on the rock and recreate Salah’s pose. Some visitors even installed a wooden sign reading "Salah Yaylası" near the site, further cementing its newfound identity. The phenomenon has not gone unnoticed by Trabzon’s tourism board, which has described Maçka as a "key district for tourism" due to its natural landscapes and historical sites.

The viral effect extends beyond Trabzon’s borders, with Turkish media highlighting how Salah’s move to Trabzonspor—his first club outside the English Premier League—has amplified his local influence. The footballer, a global icon after a decade at Liverpool FC, had previously drawn massive crowds to Anfield, but his shift to Turkey has made his activities in Trabzon a major talking point.

The boulder’s sudden fame is a testament to how quickly digital culture can turn an ordinary moment into a mass phenomenon, with economic ripple effects for businesses from souvenir shops to guesthouses in the region.

For now, the boulder remains the center of attention, with no official plans from Trabzon’s government to commercialize the site beyond managing visitor flow. The focus instead is on ensuring the area’s natural beauty is preserved amid the unexpected influx. As Salah continues his duties with Trabzonspor, the rock’s legacy as a symbol of modern fandom grows—proving that even the simplest of backdrops can become a global landmark in an instant.

Related: Mohamed Salah