Vivid world of Mediterranean Sea in book

The 640-kilometer coasts of the Mediterranean province of Antalya have great historical and ecological riches under water. Many colorful fish and marine species such as lapin, starfish, jellyfish, sea horse and others have been photographed for a book titled "Sualtı Cenneti Antalya" (Underwater Paradise Antalya.)

Turkey's tourism capital Antalya has 19 districts and 12 of them have a total of 640 kilometers of coastline of the Mediterranean Sea.

At the time of Governor Münir Karaloğlu, who is also a diving enthusiast, a book and a film titled "Underwater Paradise Antalya," consisting of photographs and images of underwater cinematographer Tahsin Ceylan, was prepared in collaboration with the Chamber of Shipping's (DTO) Antalya branch.

The film won the first prize in the professional category at the Paf Tachov Film Festival in the Czech Republic.

One of the alternative tourism types in Antalya, which is home to both historical wrecks and great biological richness under water, stands out as diving tourism. There are around 48 diving schools in the coastal districts and dozens of diving spots in the city.

Karaloğlu, who pioneered the underwater book and the film, also dived in Alanya, Kaş and Kekova in order to draw attention to diving tourism.

In Antalya, where some 350,000 dives took place in 2019, the figure fell by 60 percent in 2020 due to the pandemic. This year the goal is to reach higher figures.

Underwater cinematographer Ceylan photographed fish and marine species of interesting colors and shapes, which even a significant portion of the population of the city residents do not know about.

There are many hidden and colorful beauties in the Mediterranean. Among the fishes with magnificent colors and...