Turkey's endangered sea turtles benefit from fewer tourists

ANKARA－The declining number of travelers to Turkey's golden beaches is a misfortune for the nation's economy but a relief for loggerhead sea turtles.

Loggerhead turtles are an endangered species that uses Turkey's western Mediterranean coast as one of their main nesting areas, laying eggs there before returning to the sea.

The shores and water are cleaner and safer today, since the global health crisis has prevented millions of tourists from traveling to Turkey this year. This enables the turtles to lay their eggs in peace on mostly empty beaches.