Newsletters
In Demre, a district on Türkiye's Mediterranean coast in Antalya province, volunteer free diver Sercan Demirkaya has spent nearly five years crossing paths with the same green sea turtle.
He named her Mahmut. Their meetings, which began as chance encounters during underwater cleanups, have become a recurring part of his routine in the waters around Cayagzi Harbor.
For most of the year, Demirkaya sets out early in the morning in a yellow kayak, heading toward Cayagzi Harbor and the surrounding coastline.
He collects debris from the seabed during free dives, a volunteer effort he has carried out for years. During these outings, he most often meets Mahmut, who has come to recognize his kayak.
Reviewing his photo archive, Demirkaya traced his first documented encounter with Mahmut to roughly 11 years ago, though at the time he did not distinguish individual turtles by their features.
He said he observed turtles broadly rather than specifically, without registering that one animal kept reappearing.
Around 2021, Demirkaya began identifying Mahmut apart from other turtles in the area. He had previously dived regularly alongside three or four turtles, but they eventually stopped appearing.
Mahmut was the one who did not leave. This season marks their fifth year of continued encounters.
The turtle's name traces back to a sketch comedy program hosted by Tolga Cevik, which Demirkaya watched regularly.
In the sketches, characters asked for their names would often answer "Mahmut" in passing. When Demirkaya began noticing the same turtle again and again, the name carried over, and it remained even after he learned the turtle was female.
Demirkaya said Mahmut appears to distinguish him and his kayak from other divers and boats.
In one test with a friend, the turtle approached a nearby boat and circled it before breaking away and swimming directly toward Demirkaya once he entered the water a short distance from shore.
An accident once kept Demirkaya out of the water for a year. When he returned and took his first slow steps back into the sea, Mahmut appeared within two to three minutes.
Boat captains in the area also periodically report sightings to him when he has not seen her for several days.
Over time, Mahmut's physical contact has increased, including flipper touches and resting on Demirkaya during dives.
Each autumn, typically in the first week of October, the turtle leaves the area, a period Demirkaya said is difficult for him. Her return each year is now followed by an online audience that tracks the pair's story on social media.
Set as preferred source
1 min read
