TRAVEL NATURE / LIFE - Sail the seven seas at Antalya Aquarium - TURKEY

The southern province of Antalya has a new attraction, the Antalya Aquarium, which opened yesterday. With tens of thousands of fish and sea creatures in 40 tanks, the aquarium offers different attractions like the snowy ‘Winter World’

The southern province of Antalya has a new attraction, the Antalya Aquarium, which opened yesterday. With tens of thousands of fish and sea creatures in 40 tanks, the aquarium offers different attractions like the snowy ‘Winter World’

The Antalya Aquarium, Europe’s second and the world’s fifth largest aquarium, opened yesterday in the southern province of Antalya on an area of 30,000 square meters in Arapsuyu Olbia Canyon.

Thousands of fish and sea creatures have been brought from various countries under expert supervision to be displayed at the aquarium. The facility, which includes over 40 thematic tanks with titles like “World Oceans,” “Turkish Seas” and “Three Islands,” also has a 131-meter-long and three-meter-wide tunnel aquarium system, which is one of the longest in the world. The aquarium holds seven tons of water.

Swimming in pool

Decorative automobiles and statues in some aquarium tanks, as well as a replica of an Italian warplane that crashed in the Mediterranean during World War II, are home to fish species while also presenting a visual feast to visitors.

Visitors will also be able to swim with sea creatures like thornback rays and sharks in a swimming pool depicting the Maldives.

“Winter World” will offer a different experience to visitors. In the city’s 45-degree summer heat, visitors can cool down in the 1,200-square-meter snowy section of the aquarium, where it will be minus 5 degrees Celsius. There will be igloos, cafes, slides and animal mockups. Visitors will also be able to play in artificial snow.
The giant aquarium, which is expected to become a member of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA), cost 85 million Turkish Liras. The official opening ceremony will be held in October.

New attraction in the city center

At a press conference held to introduce the aquarium to members of the press, Antalya Metropolitan Mayor Mustafa Akaydın said the project had been initiated on Nov. 29, 2011, and was finished within a very short time. “In terms of its tank capacity, the aquarium is the world’s fifth and Europe’s second largest one, and also the longest one in the world. There will be 40,000 fish species there in 40 tanks with different themes.”

Akaydın said the Antalya Aquarium was one of the most special and most significant investments made in the city’s history.

He said the facility would make big contribution to Antalya tourism. “We need to create new attractions in the city besides sea, sun and sand. Now we have two centers in the city center, Kaleiçi and a museum. The third one will be this aquarium.”

İrfa Demirok, one of the partners of the Antalya Aquarium Company, said one of the world’s best sculptors had participated in the construction. “The life support and water system technologies are the best in the world. Visitors will find themselves in an unexpected world.”

He also said the project’s architect, capital and construction team were Turkish.

The giant Antalya Aquarium will be open from 10 a.m. to 12 a.m. every day. The entrance fee will be 30 liras for Antalya Card holders and 23 liras for children.

ENVIRONMENT - TURKEY

Turkey regaining ecological richness through new project

ANKARA - Anatolia News Agency

Thanks to new projects from the Natural Preservation and National Parks Association, Turkey is slowly starting to re-gain some of its botanic and ecological richness. One of the major goals of the projects is to protect the country’s wetlands

‘The Bird Sanctuary Project’ aims to protect and develop wetlands. The bird sanctuaries host many rare species of birds.

Nature-lovers in Turkey are welcoming back some of the country’s ecological treasures thanks to new projects that are designed to regain some of the country’s biodiversity, particularly in wetlands.

“The wetland areas are like open-air museums,” Natural Preservation and National Park Association General Manager Ahmet Özyanık recently told Anatolia news agency. “Turkey is now one of the richest countries in terms of wetland areas.”

The Natural Preservation and National Park Association’s projects will support the habitats of water birds, botanic gardens, rare plants and other natural areas.

“Turkey is very rich country in terms of botanic life. Turkey has a lot of ecological richness,” Özyanık said. “Wetland areas are important because they have a lot of biological diversity,” he said. “The wetlands are also valuable in terms of economic growth.”

There are more than 300 wetland areas in Turkey. “We need to protect and develop these sites,” the official said, adding that there were some usage criteria for the areas.

Bird sanctuary project

A project titled “The Bird Sanctuary Project” aims to protect and develop wetlands. “We first started this project in 2005, and we aim to share these rare wetlands with the public,” said Özkaynak, adding that the team conducting the project also aimed to develop ecotourism in such wetlands. “The project also aims to support the scientific research being conducted in those areas. These [activities] will help us preserve these areas,” Özyanık said.

Noting that there were many bird and plant species in the wetlands, Özkaynak said: “We can see white pelicans, other species of pelicans, cormorants and its species, flamingos, storks and many more species. These are exclusive areas in terms of biological diversity.”

The bird sanctuaries host many rare species of birds. The association has so far organized 13 projects in 13 wetlands in supporting the rare bird species in those areas.

“The projects were conducted in Balıkesir’s Manyas, Bolu’s Yeniçağa Lake, Adıyaman’s Gölbaşı Lake, Bursa’s Uluabat Lake, Konya’s Kozanlı, Sivas’ Tödürge Lake, Osmaniye’s Kirmitli, Muğla’s Dalyan Lake and Tuzla Lake, Izmir’s Gediz Tuzla Lake, İzmir’s Gediz Lake, Burdur’s Burdur Lake, Tokat’s Kaz Lake and Samsun’s Kızılırmak Lake,” he said.

The listed areas now have bird sanctuaries in marshy lands.

Six new projects on the way

Manyas Bird Paradise National Park has received an A-Level Bird Sanctuary Diploma from the European Union, Özyanık said.

New projects will continue in 2012, the official said, adding that they were planning to begin protecting habitats in the Afyonkarahisar Karakuyu wetlands, Eğirdir Lake, Kars Kuyucuk Lake, Osmaniye Kastabala Valley, Ardahan Putka and Çıldır Lake.

A total of 460 bird species are found currently in those wetlands. “Those wetlands are vital for those birds,” said Özyanık.

“During the migration time of birds, they need to rest in some places, and we support them and the environment and also nature by providing those wetlands to them for them to stay during the migration periods,” the official said.