DIVE SITES

Descriptions of some dive sites that we visit:

Sariyarlar - Suitable for beginners and the most experienced diver. Apart from seeing seahorses at the grassy bottom of the bay, you can travel around a multitude of rocks finding sea cucumbers, brittle stars, shrimps, mullet, anemones, flying gurnards, damsel and clown fish. There are tunnels to be travelled through at depths of 3m, 5m, 7m and 12m and varying in length from 4m to 15m. At 23m there is a small cave in which shrimps live. Depending on your choice of entry point your maximum depth can be anything from 10m to 40m. The duration of the dive will depend on how quickly you can use your air or sometimes how quickly you can find a seahorse!

The Arch - Entering from the boat you can descend to take in the wonderful views of The Arch and its surroundings. The clarity of colour is beautiful. After passing though `The Arch' a tunnel can be entered, in which you'll feel the cold as the fresh water enters from the mountain. Many seamice are found here.

Balaban Adasi - The island offers dives for all abilities. With its graduating walls novices are safe, yet experienced divers can descend further and follow the huge groupers. Barracudas are seen without fail, along with all other local sea life.

Coral Cave & Turkish Bath - We start the dive at Coral Cave, the entrance to which can be seen above the water. A spectacular wall awaits you as you descend within the cave. You may see the numerous varieties of anemones, lettuce coral, sea aubergine and many forms of lace coral. This is not a site for the beginner as the bottom of the cave is 45m and the vertical wall that you follow is 65m. Leaving the cave and following the wall, where groupers are often seen resting upon the large sponges, you reach the Turkish Bath. This is an open cavern, where beautiful scenery above and below the sea awaits you.

Kizilada - Suitable for the experienced diver. A good entry point at 7m descending to a sloping seabed. Descending, you pass very large groupers and many sponges whose colours can be enhanced by torchlight. Many ancient stones here appear to have come from an amphitheatre.

Zoe's Cave - Entry to this cave is at 17m. As you travel down inside the cave you are surrounded by beautiful lace corals, and beautiful colours. At 33m you pass through a tunnel and leave the cave between two colourful walls, then, should the dive plan take you to the right, you pass several small caverns, many of which have fresh water entering them; or, if you follow the wall to the left, large groupers can be seen swimming at the bottom, while damsel fish fill the waters above.

Nar Adasi - This island never fails to give an excellent dive. All types of fish surround you and the visibility is astounding. The walls provide wonderful colours. Turtles are often seen having sleep on the rocks. Seahorses can also be seen here. Suitable for the novice and the most experienced. Depth of the dive is up to you. Sometimes there is a current.

Peksimet Adasi - Come face to face with lots of moray eels as you travel a colourful wall. For the experienced diver a cave can be reached at 40m, which is always full of hundreds of shrimp. The visibility leaves you speechless.

Buyuk Reef - The top of this reef is at 20m. Octopus, eels and many small fish can be seen. The dive, often with a current, is more suitable for the experienced diver. The drop off descends to 50m. Moray eels "the size of Nessie" can be seen, as huge groupers, barracudas and many other varieties of marine life.

Amphora Bay - For the historians and the archaeologists among us, the seabed at the dive site is littered with amphora which date back to 300BC. The entry is at 6m, the wall slopes down to 60m. There are two large rock formations which provide homes for crayfish, clown fish, octopus, sponges and groupers.

Sam's Cave - Entry is at 17m and the exit is at 8m. You travel through a mountain 70m long by 25m wide at the entrance and 10m at the exit. You can surface at two points in the cave and study the rock formations or have a sing song, as the air here is fresh. A large ray is often seen at the exit to the cave.

Kucuk Reef - This reef is the home of many octopus, small colourful fish, sea slugs and sponges. It also offers three tunnels for the more experienced diver to travel through. These are found at 14 - 18m and vary from 14 - 29m in length. They are dimly lit so torches are essential. Only one or two divers can enter at a time due to the narrow passage ways and the coral walls.