Two weekends ago, the Bilkent University swim team participated in the Dalyan International Open Water Swimming Race. The event was scheduled to take place on April 17 at İztuzu beach near Dalyan in Muğla. Our team started to practice and exercise regularly well beforehand.
Our departure from Ankara was set for the afternoon of April 15. The entire trip took 10 hours, during which we chatted and also looked at the beautiful scenery on our way to Likya, Dalyan. We arrived safely at our hotel around midnight.
The next day, we woke to a beautiful Mediterranean morning; a delicious organic breakfast was waiting for us at the hotel. After breakfast, we started exploring Likya, beginning with the town’s touristic marketplace and continuing with the harbor, overlooked by the ancient kings’ tombs carved in the rocks.
The trip as a whole was not only a swimming event but also a valuable cultural experience for our team. In the afternoon, we traveled to İztuzu beach, where the race was going to take place the next day. İztuzu beach is 4.5 km long and rated as one of the best beaches in the world. For the month of April, the temperature of the sea was quite normal and warm. We returned to our hotel and took a rest in order to store up energy for the race.
The next morning, 400 swimmers of all ages and levels gathered at Likya’s main square. We embarked on boats from Likya’s harbor and sailed to İztuzu beach. All 400 participating swimmers started the race at the same time. As we swam into deep water, Caretta caretta—loggerhead sea turtles—became visible. It was such a magnificent feeling to swim along with these lovely creatures. In fact, the most worthwhile part of the race was in drawing attention to the turtles and the necessity of protecting them. The motto of the race was “Save the turtles, swim with us.” So it was an incredible experience.
After the race, an award ceremony took place. The Bilkent swimmers did well, winning three medals. Ekrem Selçuk Kangal came in third in the 19-24 age group and Tugay Güzel second in the 25-29 age group, while Hüseyin Onur Aydemir, the Bilkent swimming coach, took second in the 30-34 age group.
Though it was a long trip, it was filled with memorable moments and also reaffirmed our team spirit and solidarity. Our sincere thanks go to Coach Aydemir and our team captain Umut Müdüroğlu, who informed us about this event and motivated us to participate together as the Bilkent swim team.
By Asena Algan (BIM/1)