Freediver forms bond with female sea turtle ‘Mahmut’

ANTALYA

‘Mahmut’ often approaches when she sees his canoe, swims around him and touches him with her flippers. (AA Photo)

For five years, a freediver cleaning up the Mediterranean off Antalya’s Demre district has shared an unusual bond with an unlikely companion: A female green sea turtle he named “Mahmut.”

Sercan Demirkaya heads out to sea in his yellow canoe, usually early in the morning, and collects waste from the waters around Çayağzı Harbor. Mahmut often approaches when she sees his canoe, swims around him and sometimes touches him with her flippers.

Demirkaya, who has lived in Demre for about 19 years and works in underwater photography and video, said his passion for the sea began when he was a child.

“Whenever I want to get away from the stress or boredom of life on land, the first place I go is underwater. My passion for diving started when I was in elementary school,” he said.

Although he first encountered Mahmut years earlier, Demirkaya said he began recognizing her as an individual turtle in 2021.

“We used to dive with three or four turtles all the time. After a while, they left. I still see some of them from time to time, but Mahmut was the only one who never left me and never moved away from my side. This is now our fifth year,” he said.

Demirkaya said he named the turtle Mahmut after a character frequently used in sketches by Turkish comedian Tolga Çevik. Although Mahmut is female, he said he has no intention of changing her name.

“I realized I was seeing the same turtle again and again. We started meeting regularly, and the name Mahmut just stuck,” he said.

He believes Mahmut recognizes him and his canoe. On one occasion, he said, the turtle was swimming around a canoe carrying his friends when he entered the water from the shore. Mahmut then left the canoe and quickly swam toward him.

One of their most memorable encounters came after an accident forced Demirkaya to stay away from the sea for about a year. When he was finally able to enter the water again, he returned to the harbor and, just two or three minutes after getting into the sea, saw Mahmut swimming toward him.

“I didn’t expect her to be there at all. Was it a coincidence, or does the animal really come when I want her to? I have no idea, but I prefer to believe that she somehow senses me and comes,” he said.

Demirkaya said he generally avoids touching Mahmut unless necessary, but the turtle has increasingly initiated physical contact herself.

During the summer, Demirkaya gets up around sunrise and searches the waters while collecting waste in his canoe. Mahmut often appears while he is working.

“She probably finds me, or I find her. Somehow, we find each other. She follows behind me almost like a pet, as if she is curious about what I’ve found,” he said.

Demirkaya estimates that Mahmut leaves the area during the first week of October. Her departure and return have also become something followed by thousands of people on social media.

“I just want her to take care of herself. That’s all I want. I want her to leave safely and come back safely,” he said.