Photo by Emily O’Dell
I’m surrounded by turtles these days–in all directions. The turtle above–who I named Fred–took up residence in my yard several months ago. Fred even tried moving into my house the day I was rushing off to the airport to work in Turkmenistan (maybe he didn’t want me to go). When I was swimming this week in the Mediterranean, I had the delight of finding a number of turtles congregating right under my feet–one even guided me underwater for a delightful, long swim (but, unlike him, I had to keep coming up for air).
Two species of large sea turtles nest in the Mediterranean, the loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and the green turtle (Chelonia mydas), which has been declared critically endangered by the World Conservation Union. These turtles can live for more than 100 years, taking 50 years and 30 years, respectively, to reach adulthood and start making eggs.
The center of turtle activity in Lebanon is the Orange House Project, a turtle sanctuary and nesting site on a beautiful beach in the south–which is dedicated to saving and preserving Lebanon’s turtles. To enjoy the beach while learning more about (baby!) turtles in Lebanon, you might consider staying at the Orange House Bed and Breakfast. Just one more good reason to travel to Lebanon–to swim with the turtles!
