Antalya's second underwater museum opens in Kemer

A number of diving spots in Antalya are intriguing tourists with submerged warplanes and battleships, and the second local underwater museum will soon draw more amateur and professional divers.

After Side Underwater Museum, which was established over an eight-month period, a second underwater museum is being constructed in Kemer, a popular coastal town near Antalya. The construction of the new museum will be done by the end of 2016, in less time than the first, thanks to initiatives by Antalya's Chamber of Shipping (DTO). "The Side Underwater Museum brings a new tourist dynamic. Daily diving tours are organized at three different spots. I have dived there myself, and believe the area will be a source of excitement for divers," said DTO Chairman İnanç Kendiroğlu. Kendiroğlu said that locals are now aware of what diving tourism can offer to the area. "Divers enthusiastically explore the underwater world. Because the area is forbidden to water transportation, the marine world can be better preserved. The museum doesn't merely feature architectural structures, but also myriad fish."

The Side Underwater Museum was constructed with the support of the Western Mediterranean Development Agency (BAKA). After the second underwater museum, a third is planned for the Demre area. "For the Kemer Underwater Museum, there will be different diving spots from Kiriş, Tekirova, Üç Adalar [Three Islands] and Ay Işığı Beach," Kendiroğlu said. Antalya has a number of diving spots, some of which have shipwrecks, such as the Demre area. The Sky Cave in Finike is another freshwater body that attracts cave divers. Another is the Gelidonya antique wreck lying at the bottom of the sea, which famously dates back to the early Bronze Age.