A local diver's map of memory
Çandarlı's underwater landscape has a history recorded not only in maps but also in dive logs, photographs and instructors' recollections. In a June 2013 interview, local instructor Sırrı Özşen spoke of approximately twenty dive locations around Çandarlı. He named Kız Kulesi, Kara Ada, two banks between Karadağ and Kız Kulesi, and Maltepe Cape near Denizköy. Those names are valuable historical clues, not a current list of twenty operational dive routes.
Explore the recorded names
Kız Kulesi is a local Çandarlı dive name and must not be confused with Istanbul's Maiden's Tower. Kara Ada is another name explicitly mentioned in the 2013 account. İki Banko, or “two banks,” invites a closer look at seafloor formations, but its precise site boundaries still need to be mapped with the instructor. Maltepe Burnu was described in relation to Denizköy. Küçük Ada / Taksi appears in diving and photography narratives; its local naming and exact mapping remain to be checked.
Nature is more than an underwater checklist
A 2014 scientific study documented sixty fish species from historical bottom-trawl samples in Çandarlı Bay. This does not mean sixty species can be spotted on a particular recreational dive. We make the same distinction between regional seagrass records and verified observations at individual locations.
Responsible site information
Current accessibility depends on permissions, weather, sea conditions, diver qualifications and the dive team’s judgment. We do not publish unverified depths or navigational instructions. The atlas will gradually add dated, licensed photographs and observations validated by the local team.
Learn more: Dive sites · Sırrı Özşen · Contact us
Sources: 2013 interview · Scientific fish survey