Ayvalık & Cunda Islands · Turkey · Pinnacle · Reef
Deli Mehmet
Twin hills ringed with red coral between Kız Adası and Burhaniye
Deli Mehmet is a pair of underwater hills midway between Kız Adası and Burhaniye, named after a local fisherman called Mehmet. Both hills are ringed with red coral, which makes this a site advanced divers in Ayvalık rarely pass up.
Also known as Deli Mehmet 1, Deli Mehmet 2.
Where it is and how deep
39.4500° N, 26.8300° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The site is two hills rising from about 45 m. One peaks at 19 m and the other at 24 m, and red coral wraps around the flanks of both. Lobster and groupers are frequent encounters on the rock, and moray eels move among the coral with a variety of colourful fish. The first of the pair, Deli Mehmet 1, reaches from 18 m all the way down to 70 m.
Marine life and season
- Groupers
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Ayvalık & Cunda Islands: The high season ends in September, and boats keep diving until the end of October.
Dive videos
Deli Mehmet Dalış Noktası - Ayvalık İda Dalış Merkezi · Mehmet Yılmaz Tabanlı on YouTube
Questions divers ask
What level of diver is Deli Mehmet for?+
Advanced divers. The two peaks sit at 19 and 24 m and the hills fall away to 45 m, with the red coral on their flanks.
Sources
- Ayvalık 3 Sea dive sites — Ayvalık 3 Sea dive centre
- Aegean diving - GoTürkiye — Türkiye tourism board
- OpenStreetMap — OpenStreetMap
More dive sites in Ayvalık & Cunda Islands
Sea bunny nudibranchs on a wall that gives way to eelgrass meadows
Reef
Unbroken amphorae and an old iron anchor from a lost wreck
Pinnacle
Red coral and a gorgonian forest found nowhere else in Turkey
Reef
Ayvalık's biggest groupers on an island face divable in any weather
Similar dives elsewhere
Rock spires off a 45 m plateau, the tallest topping out at 9 m
An outcropping rock with an Open Water north side and a ridge sinking to 50 m
A shoal off Fetovaia beach rising from 50 m to 10 m with large red gorgonians
A rock spine with a crest at 12 m and groupers along its length