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Channel / Source:
Newsbud
Published: 2019-02-23
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLpTuX6TaBo
as you can see is to the beach in Dalian Turkey is a rare sight to behold a five kilometer arc of shimmering golden sand stretching from the base of a pine-clad mountain to a river delta with not a single house shop or hotel in sight no ugly concrete rose here in is to the beach all you see the combination of magnificent green mountains rivers lakes and
a horseshoe golden beach a beach that is one of the main nesting places of a rare turtle species during the day in the summer season you'll see people swimming walking or lying in the Sun to the sound of the gentle waves but at night a barrier comes down and the beach is claimed back by nature in particular by hundreds of loggerhead turtles one of the oldest
surviving species in the world which lay their eggs there from May to September [Music] [Music] that's right Easter zoo is not only a stunning beach but the second most important site for endangered loggerhead in Turkey now I want you to picture this breathtaking site covered and polluted by blocks and blocks of ugly concrete commercial buildings rows of pools light poles and thousands of people holding plastic
cups and mugs filled with cocktail and beer I want you to imagine it with the noise and trash pollution that comes with all that and witted the pristine natural habitat peace and the loggerhead turtles and bird species all gone and destroyed forever can you picture it can you imagine that well in the 1980s that was the envision destiny for this jewel of a place called East
to the beach do you believe in the power of one I do in fact I have lived them built my entire life based on this belief one is a very powerful number whether one decision made that leads to a much larger impact or one person joining other ones that's how real positive changes happen well is to the beach as a natural beauty wonder and the rare
loggerhead turtles nesting habitat was famously saved from development in the late 1980s due to the relentless and persistent efforts of one woman a woman who true her will and determination managed to stop the profit-seeking plans to turn this unspoiled paradise and nesting site for loggerhead turtles into a resort with large-scale hotels a yacht marina and dozens of holiday villas a single determined woman who has become
a legend in a remarkable real-life story of how a handful of Turkish and European conservationists galvanized by the English turtle lady saved is to zoo from development June hey muff here in Dalian referred to as captain June is that remarkable lady who recently turned 96 in 1975 she and her partner bought a small boat and sailed for several years around the Greek and Turkish coast in
84 hey muff dropped anchor in Dalian Bay in Turkey and immediately fell in love with the Magnificent unspoiled East to the beach a 5 kilometer long millennia old birding ground for the endangered Coretta kureta Turtles she decided to call the place home and build a small Hut at the delta end of the beach a year later this beach paradise was torn down by local authorities to
make way for an 1800 bed holiday complex to be built by a German company which had struck a deal with the Turkish government Hema was outraged not only for herself the community and the beach but mainly for the threat posed to the Turtles by the massive development so she took on the adversary's from the profit-driven mega corporations and a cash hungry government to certain employment hungry
local groups and she pressed on and on and became one of the most fearless fearless environmental campaigners of the 20th century think about it this was in the 80s before the internet and social media era the only tools she had at her disposal were her pen her personality a paper petition and her power of persuasion her determination and persistence in the 80s there were very few
tourists visiting the little village of Dalian but hey moth convinced many to sign she wrote endless letters to the Turkish authorities and people in Britain she thought might help it was a slow and painful process all that painfully hard long and tedious work was marked by a victory the German construction work was literally stopped in its tracks even though a lagoon on the beach had already
been partially drained to accommodate the construction machinery concrete foundations for workers hearts had been cast and dozens of old pine trees had been sawed down yet deg pulled out and the beach was saved and was declared turkey's first ever special environmental protection area banning everybody from the beach between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. except nesting Turtles in 2008 it won the times most beautiful open space
in Europe award and it's featured in Trip Advisor's top 20 beaches in the world for 2015 all this due to the power of one daleon has been one of my most favorite places in turkey for years and yes I have known of Captain June's legends for over two decades after relocating to Fathead turkey only an hour scenic drive from Dalian and setting up my new office
and documentary crew here I contacted June Hema and requested an interview with her she graciously accepted I am truly honored to have this opportunity and to be able to share parts of the sincere discussion with you all [Music] you you I'm well-known in this country very kind to me I know yes you have been very kind to to this country as well because I have heard
people all over Turkey mentioning your project even people who haven't come yet to Dalian so even though you may not hear from them they do appreciate what you have done and the reason they appreciate they know it's not because it's not because you did it for publicity no money no money and they know I've lived 40 years in their country too they know my story they
call me captain captain Jun all over Turkey I never said I'm a captain though I did come here I'm on the boat originally I came as a sailor I had a boat on the Mediterranean all summer for 10 years so they knew this lady who came from the sea and that's why the Turks call me captain and well [Music] I'll Beach have you been yes you've
seen the beach beautiful many many times it's unique it is and it deserves to be protected and that's what I was fortunately able to begin I didn't actually do it but I began I said save this race don't put 20 hotels or 30 on it don't cover it in concrete let the turtles come at night lay their eggs would you say young and go back to
the sea and do that every year as they have done for perhaps a thousand years or more unfortunately some in the capital listened in Ankara they listened and they did make the beach protected because it was slated for very heavy development German Turkish two countries and it was big involving a great deal of running I think it was 40 million Deutschmarks about at that time because
when I came here like you or anybody with normal though I've been a sailor I sailed the net for 10 years on my boat that's sign on the moon it says Bouboulina that's off my boat it was on the side of my boat I sailed the night for 10 years so loving friends family yeah and so when I came to this penis and I heard the
turtles came at night to lay the eggs but I thought they come through that possessive the rope and people and machine ano so what I did was I tried I'm thankful this so listen so when people saying it wrong Toki's a very difficult country you know some day oh yeah well it's a tough country you can't just go and do what every right lot of discipline
and so on but I know because I tried and I suppose there so well she made me a bit eccentric but she means well and then tourists are going to go there if she thinks it's okay maybe more tourists will come perhaps they thought like that as a result we've done it all because thousands every year oh yes you do and you have made their world
and you together with people who supported you and who have been supporting it I was helped by many other people especially in the beginning by Turks the World Wildlife Fund helped me I met Mary she has gone a wonderful woman go and see her in Istanbul and their kiss came down here hearing the call help the Turtle Beach is going to be developed there came to
making sense calm a wonderful Turkish lady he actually younger than I I'm 95 finally and there this would be now 75 yes she came well what's happening what's going on how can I help and she was president of the World Wildlife Fund you see international so one just does it a little bit of trying believing and meeting other people who feel the same [Music] turkey is
something it's got everything you probably know because you've traveled here before we've got mountains see Lakes we've got ancient buildings we've got deserts we've got forests I've been I bought this house in 87 and I lived on the beach in the Hat yes did you go to the beach yet not today but they're going for your article please go to the beach and take a picture
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