Cyprus is the third largest island in the Mediterranean after Sicily and Sardinia. With its turquoise bays and beaches of white sand, the island is a popular holiday destination for summer visitors. Its remoter beaches are also visited by an endangered Mediterranean species that has inhabited these waters since time immemorial. This is the loggerhead turtle, Caretta caretta, which lays its eggs on the beaches at Girne and between Karpaz and Gazimagosa on this green island adorned with citrus trees. In particular the coast between Karpaz and Gazimagosa is noted for its beautiful beaches and crystal clear sea.

Diving holidays have become ever more popular over recent years, and people travel all over the world to enjoy underwater sights like the Napoleon fish of the Red Sea, dolphins of the Caribbean, sharks of the Maldives and South America, mantas or devilfish of Palau, and stingrays of the Grand Cayman Islands. Northern Cyprus also offers a fascinating array of sealife, the most famous being the loggerhead turtle, over two thousand of which inhabit the seas around the island, and the green turtles numbering around five hundred.

Indeed, you would be mistaken if you thought that scuba diving was preferable for turtle watching, since the sound of the regulator tends to scare them away.
The water here is shallow and beautifully clear. However, if you disturb the sandy bottom the water becomes cloudy, so you must move carefully when walking and swimming in shallow water. The best time for diving is from early in the morning until 14.00, because in the afternoon the wind gets up, reducing visibility in the water. The colour of the sea here is not turquoise as in the other diving areas, but slightly greenish due to the beds of seaweed covering the sand. The seaweed forms the main article of diet for the turtles, and you will often see them feeding off the species Caulerpa prolifera. The fact that turtles are a common sight by daylight and are not easily frightened away by human beings makes them one of the main attractions for visitors to Cyprus.

These beaches demonstrate clearly how with a little care people can enjoy the natural world without endangering the lives of the animals that live there.


* Y. Fehmi Senok is an underwater photographer and freelance writer.