Marmara

After weeks of meticulous efforts as part of a cleanup campaign to clear a mass of mucilage from the Marmara Sea, Turkish authorities are moving to a second phase in the fight against the jelly-like layer of slime that developed on the surface of the sea.

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Turkey's agriculture and forestry minister has said fish caught in the Marmara Sea can be consumed without any doubt amid public worry that the fish weren't edible due to "sea snot," or mucilage, that has invaded the sea over the past weeks.

The marine mucilage density has decreased in the southern shores of the Marmara Sea thanks to the efforts in line with a massive cleanup campaign launched by the authorities to eliminate the problem.

With efforts to eliminate the problem of mucilage in the Turkish seas finally paying off, thousands of people flocked to beaches to enjoy the sunny weather on the first Sunday without nationwide lockdown.

Following the extreme heatwave that affected a significant part of the country for about two weeks, the Turkish State Meteorological Service (TSMS) has issued a warning for heavy rains expected for the weekend while stressing people to take precautions.

A village in the Marmara region, some 195 kilometers away from Istanbul, has been enthralling visitors with its natural beauties, offering people an alternative holiday destination.

"Kıyıköy is beautiful in every season," said Veli Şen, the provincial cultural and tourism director of the northwestern province of Kırklareli.

Studies have shown that mucilage in the Sea of Marmara has not yet descended to the lower depths of the sea in northwestern Turkey, a marine sciences institute in the country said.

A woman lost her life as a garden wall collapsed on her due to severe storms that hit three of Turkey's Aegean and Marmara provinces on June 23, blowing roofs away, toppling trees and threatening the safety of people living in the region.

These powerful storms severely impacted the Marmara province of Balıkesir and the Aegean provinces of Aydın and Manisa.

Sea snot that has become an environmental concern threatening the ecosystem of Turkish waters and started to spread from the Marmara Sea to the Aegean Sea has begun to disappear in the Gulf of Saros, a team of professional divers said on June 23.

Turkey will use oxygenation technology to protect the Sea of Marmara from mucilage, also known as sea snot, as part of the country's clean-up campaign launched earlier this month, said the environment minister on June 21.