Chelonia Mydas: Mersin's Green Sea Turtle

Chelonia Mydas via EVS Mersin

It's sea turtle nesting season!

My sister-in-law was enjoying the beach near  Mersin last week and she uploaded some nice photos (below). She even posted a link to the Mersin sea turtle protection organization, EVS Mersin, a volunteer-run part of the youth Third Eye Association of the Mediterranean (TEAM). (Thanks, Pascale!)

Kids come from all over Europe to help. Maybe another good excuse to send my boys over there AND get something for the ole college application? (Double Bonus!) Maybe next summer.

Meanwhile, I've posted about the Caretta Caretta of Dalyan, so it would be logical to think those are the ones I wrote into the BURNT AMBER scene at Kizkalesi.

Ha! They were, but the EVS Mersin site drew my attention to another species that makes it's home in the eastern Mediterranean - Chelonia Mydas, the green sea turtle. And now I'm not sure which kind I saw when I was there. Next time I'll have to stop a turtle and ask. (Or find an EVS Mersin volunteer!)

Sea Turtle Nest - Please, Let's Protect Them

Flipper tracks...

leading back to the sea. :)

Caretta Caretta

Image by Simon Grubb via Flickr

The most likely place to find a Loggerhead Sea Turtle in Turkey is Dalyan. Already famous for it's Lycian Tombs, the town has been fortunate enough to sustain a valuable eco-tourist site as well. Conservationists, assisted by David Bellamy, thwarted a development plan for the famous turtle beach there.

Turtles mate in March and April and then generally lay their eggs along the Mediterranean coast in the month of July. The sandy beaches around KızKalesi, where Sybil spends the summer, are also good nesting grounds. They make an appearance in Chapter 7.

Here's a video of some tourists feeding the turtles of Dalyan:

#in