Underwater riches explored in Türkiye’s popular tourist hub Bodrum

By Ali Balli

MUGLA, Türkiye (AA) – A Turkish director is turning visuals from his dives around Türkiye’s Aegean town of Bodrum into a book and documentary with support from Turkish institutions.

Tahsin Ceylan, an underwater documentary filmmaker and cinematographer, and his team brought to light the underwater riches of the holiday district of Bodrum with the support of Turkish institutions including the Culture and Tourism Ministry, Bodrum Governorship, Bodrum Municipality, and Bodrum Castle Underwater Archaeology Museum.

Titled the Deep Blue of Bodrum, the book, published in both Turkish and English, also has an accompanying documentary.

Ceylan told Anadolu that Bodrum is well known for its life on land, but there is also a quiet underwater world beneath the surface.

“Underwater life is very important. Seagrass is especially dense in this region. Seagrasses are also on the red list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN),” he said, referring to the list of threatened species.

“There is a healthy structure living in the basement. One square meter of space produces 20 liters (5.3 gallons) of oxygen a day. It is extremely important to protect these species,” he added.