Information for

international
volunteers
Please pay attention to detail in your planning for your trip!
About Us
Cyprus Marinelife Center (CMC) was established under the umbrella organization Cyprus Wildlife Research
Institute when the Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation Center (WRRC) received a request from Near East
University Animal Hospital to rehabilitate a Loggerhead Turtle Caretta caretta in 2017. Since then -as of
January 2022- 36 sea turtles have been treated and rehabilitated by CMC.

CMC treats and rehabilitates sea turtles and conducts research and conservation projects on the globally
threatened Green and Loggerhead Turtles.

Our Team
Prof. Dr. Oğuz Türkozan has long been involved with conserving
chelonians in the Mediterranean, with the main focus on sea turtles. He
is an active member of the IUCN Marine Turtle Specialist Group and
Tortoise and Freshwater Specialist Group. Dr. Turkozan carried out and
completed many research projects in his area of expertise and published
many papers on the conservation and research of sea turtles and other
turtle species.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Wayne Fuller was born in the south coast town of
Hastings, United Kingdom. In 1997, he began my university education as
a mature student following a career in the civil service. After graduating
with a BSc in Zoology he worked at the Department of Zoology, the
University of Oxford, and as part of the UK government‘s operation to
deal with the Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak in Devon. His doctoral
research took place in North Cyprus and at Exeter Universities, Centre
for Ecology and Conservation. From 2008, he took up the position of
lecturer at the European University of Lefke and later received the title of Assistant Professor. He began
working at Near East Universities, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in September 2013, and in 2016, was
awarded the title of Associate Professor. He has published numerous academic papers both SCI ranked and
as proceedings at International Symposia. In 2008, he was a key expert zoologist on an EU project to
implement Nature 2000 in Northern Cyprus. In recent years he has led and participated in a number of
national and international research projects and from 2017, he was appointed as a member of the IUCN’s
Marine Turtle Specialist Group.

Itri Levent MSc., has been working on working on conservation projects

for more than 15 years. His research topics are management of RedList
Species, identification, and management of Key Biodiversity Areas. Erkol
has been working with the Cyprus Wildlife Research Institute for 2 years
as Conservation Expert. He is also continuing his Ph.D. education under
the supervision of Prof. Türkozan on the identification of the impacts of
climate change on turtle populations.

Insurance

It is your responsibility to arrange a fully comprehensive travel insurance which includes medical insurance. You must
email a copy of the policy document to the project leader to prove that you are covered and will be nagged to do so
prior to arrival. When you get your document, leave a photocopy with your home contact, and make an additional
copy to bring with you. This is very important! NOTE It is important that you make sure that your policy covers you for
NORTHERN Cyprus – double-check! These days a global policy is fairly cheap and probably the best option. Also if you
intend to go diving make sure that this is explicitly mentioned.

Passport/Visa/ Airport Tax

You will need a full valid passport for the duration of your stay. UK/European passport holders do not need to pay for
a visa as a free 30 day visa is issued on arrival. There are no airport taxes. If you are staying with us for more than 30
days it is easy to renew your 30 day visa, you will just have to take a little shopping trip across the border to the south
and return, or on arrival please give your passport to the supervisors to be extended. If you overstay your 30 day visa,
the daily fines are definitely worth avoiding, so don’t forget to do your visa run!

Money

The currency in Northern Cyprus is the Turkish Lira. We suggest that you bring at least £20- 30worth of Turkish Lira as
it may be several days before you get a chance to get cash upon your arrival. You will likely be charged around 2-3%
when you take cash out of an ATM which is a bit frustrating, but you will lose this amount on traveler’s cheques or any
other method. All shops in North Cyprus take cards with no minimum amounts. You could survive not spending
anything. But you might want money for soft drinks, alcoholic drinks, souvenirs, postcards, and occasional taxi rides
for recreational purposes such as getting back from somewhere on your night off, diving trips, etc.
Food and Hygiene

Part of the weekly rota includes cooking and cleaning and without exception, you will all be involved in this
minimum once per week. Bacteria multiply rapidly in a warm environment which is why it is crucial for food
to be bestowed in the fridge after use, for people to wash their hands whilst prepping food, for washing up
not to pile up in the sink, surfaces to be wiped down and to do a good job of allocated cleaning tasks.

Since we are all eating together, the risk of food poisoning can be quite high if the base is not kept clean a
lot of people can get ill at the same time, at which point everything can grind to a halt. Bad hygiene is
therefore considered as serious a health and safety issue and if you’re guilty of not being sensible with
hygiene and cleanliness, repeatedly not cleaning up after yourself or not taking hygiene seriously, you can
expect to come to blows with the Project Leader and Team Leaders. Fresh vegetables, watermelon, fruit,
bread, pasta, rice, all the herbs, tom puree, milk, cheese, cereals, potatoes, eggs, flour and other raw cooking
ingredients are all well stocked. So you’ll get a square 3 meals a day. People who make a lot of effort in
cooking are always very much appreciated by the group.

Driving

Driving is on the left of the road as per the UK with most vehicles having the driver seated on the right. A full
valid EC driving license is sufficient and you must carry it with you whenever driving. In general, you must be
at least 20 and have been driving regularly for at least 2 years to drive as part of the project. Safety is
paramount and the leadership retains the right to disallow individuals from driving.

We have a complete moratorium on drinking and driving on all occasions and no alcoholic drinks should be
consumed by passengers whilst in a project vehicle. Nominated drivers drink soft drinks on nights out and
are encouraged to take one for the team here! Also, be warned that no one should ever break the speed
limit. Not only is safety an issue but speed traps are common, and fines are on the spot and the responsibility
of the driver. A record will be kept of who is driving and when so that fines can be traced to the responsible
people should images from speed cameras are not sufficient for identification, although they usually are. If
you have a speeding fine, you will be required to pay it at customs upon leaving Northern Cyprus.

Code of Conduct

Cyprus is a large island with a small village mentality, and this should be borne in mind with regard to your
behaviour whilst working on the beaches, driving, or undertaking recreational activities. Northern Cyprus is
far from fundamentalist, people are relatively westernised and modern, but is still a Muslim society. This is
particularly noticeable in villages along the North Coast and in Karpaz peninsula, where migrants from
eastern Turkey have settled. This should be taken into consideration in the way both males and females
dress. Whilst you will occasionally see tourists behaving as they are in Aiya Napa (e.g. topless sunbathing in
females, males wearing no shirts in supermarkets or walking down the street), they attract a great deal of
disdain from local people and females attract an unhealthy interest from many male itinerant workers in
services, many of whom might immigrants from other Muslim countries.

We insist that volunteers avoid this by dressing and behaving appropriately, despite the heat. On the beach,
it is fine to wear swimwear of course but while moving to and from the beach a reasonable dress should be
worn i.e. T-shirt or vest. Whilst on the bases in Taskent/Karpaz where we deal with a constant stream of
visitors, all volunteers are expected to wear a t-shirt or vest and shorts unless they are involved in some kind
of physical work. We expect all volunteers to treat each other with respect and we will not tolerate any
repeated behaviour from anyone that is threatening the general morale of the team. Project Leaders are
sympathetic, open, friendly and approachable on any personal matters.

What do you need?

What do I bring stuff in?

Don't bring suitcases as they are too bulky for storage. Bring your gear in a soft holdall or rucksack.

Equipment for work:

1- small day rucksack

2- Head Torches. Head torches are essential for night work with turtles and your torch MUST HAVE BOTH
WHITE AND RED LIGHT MODES – red for working with turtles (they are less disturbed by red spectrum), white
for communicating by flash codes. Buy good torches as they last or one great one and one not so great one
a sa spare. Petzl are an extremely durable and reliable brand. This energizer one is also good and probably
best value.

2-Wristwatch. A reliable digital wristwatch with light for recording the times of various turtle activities. Spare
useful. Don’t rely on your phone as a clock as the light emitted by the screen is really annoying for turtles
and everyone else, plus you’ll lose it in the sand or sea.

3- Flask. Excellent for hot coffee. Best to invest in an unbreakable metal type by Thermos. Also small is crap,
get a medium-sized or large one and share, especially with the project leader who is often too busy to make
coffee

4-Camera. Please note that you won’t be running around like David Bailey and photos can only be taken of
adult turtles after dawn; this does happen, but we want everyone to realise that they are unlikely to come
back with a photo study of the Mediterranean marine turtle. Therefore, a small compact camera is probably
the best/iPhone is ample. SLR cameras are likely to get dusty or sandy. Waterproof/shockproof or Go Pros
are a good idea and opportunities for photographing turtles when you are snorkelling with them.

For bathroom

Full wash kit

Daypack

Water Bottle

Sandals/ Crocs

3-5 shorts/ light pants

5+ t-shirts/light shirts

3-5 pairs of socks/underwear

Light raincoat/wind-stopper

Sunglasses

Sunscreen/ After Sun Care

Medications (including antihistamine cream)

Insect Repellant / Bug Spray

Personal First Aid Kit

Personal Hygiene Kit

Hat/Cap/Buff-Bandana

Quick-dry Towel

Swimming suit

Diving mask/snorkel (optional)

Camera/Binoculars (optional)

Guidebook

Eating Set (mug/knife/fork/spoon)

Charger/adapter (UK or EU plug)

Bed sheets & Pillow