Antalya will present itself at the COP31 UN climate conference in a 250-square-metre pavilion shaped like a loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta), the animal that has become the city’s symbol and the conference’s local mascot, the Demirören News Agency (DHA) reported on Saturday.
The Antalya Pavilion was built by the Antalya Governor’s Office together with the Mavi Akdeniz İnisiyatifi (Blue Mediterranean Initiative). Designer Ali Kıvrak provided the project design and technical support. COP31, the 31st Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, takes place in Antalya from 9 to 20 November, with pavilions where host cities, countries and organisations present their work.
Inside the turtle
The pavilion will showcase Antalya’s natural, cultural and economic assets, with a presentation area, workshops, photo spots and videos about the initiative’s work, according to DHA. Tree bark and wood waste were used in building the turtle’s head section, and after the conference the structure is planned to be turned into a kindergarten.
Project coordinator Ebru Şahin described the turtles as the true owners of these seas and said the aim was to make them visible to visitors, the agency reported.
Antalya Governor Hulusi Şahin inspected preparations at the conference congress centre, the "Antalya House" and the pavilion. The loggerhead turtle was also the mascot of the 77th International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2026), which Antalya hosted from 5 to 9 October.
Antalya’s nesting beaches
The province has several loggerhead nesting beaches, among them Patara, Kale, Kumluca, Çıralı, Tekirova, Belek, Kızılot, Demirtaş and Gazipaşa. In 2025, 9,160 nests were recorded in the province’s nesting areas and along the Lara-Kundu coast, and 429,616 hatchlings reached the sea, DHA said. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the loggerhead as "Vulnerable" on its Red List.
Busy weeks ahead
The pavilion is part of wider preparations for a conference that will bring large crowds to the city. Officials have said 26,000 security personnel will be deployed and up to 100,000 visitors a day are expected during COP31, and Antalya Airport has already passed 30 million passengers in the first nine months of the year. For an overview of the city’s districts, prices and services, see our guide to living in Antalya.
Sources
Photo: Michal B. / Unsplash License, via Unsplash
