16 October 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

The Old Fisherman Founded the Turkish Sea Creatures Museum

The sea gives another life to man, sometimes love, sometimes a disappointment, often a longing. The sea is reminiscent of a fairy tale. A tale of the undiscovered and magical a tale.

A Turkish fisherman in Istanbul recently founded a museum of sea creatures with 15,000 mummified items to inspire children.

Kenan Balcı was born in 1956 in the Arpaçay district of northeastern Kars province. His passion for sea and fish never left him alone. Now the room wants to pass on this passion to future generations.

Balcı established the Turkish Sea Creatures Museum, where he exhibits more than 15,000 sea creatures in the Beylikdüzü district of Istanbul, with students showing great interest in his works.

Balcı, known as fisherman Kenan, spent his childhood fishing in a stream with a fishing line he made using his mother’s quilting needle and thread.



📣 Our WhatsApp channel is now LIVE! Stay up-to-date with the latest news and updates, just click here to follow us on WhatsApp and never miss a thing!!



Kenan balcı
Kenan Balcı founded the Turkish Sea Creatures Museum. Photo: AA

“I used to take it without telling my mother. I heated that needle in the shape of a fishing line, and was fishing with the quilting needle and thread,” he said.

“As a 10-year-old child, I could catch 2-3 kilograms (4.4-6.6 pounds) of fish,” Balcı told Anadolu Agency (AA).

His passion for fish started in those early years and Balcı got acquainted with the sea and the Bosporus in the Turkish metropolis Istanbul when his family moved there in 1969.

Insisting on becoming a fisherman despite his family’s objections, Balcı used to rush to the shore after school to fish and make friends with other fishermen in the historical Kadıköy district, where they first settled.

Thornback ray, Turkish Sea Creatures Museum, İstanbul, Turkey. Photo: AA
Thornback ray, Turkish Sea Creatures Museum, İstanbul, Turkey. Photo: AA

His mother used to complain every day as his school uniform smelled of fish, he said, “But I still continued to go fishing every day.” He did not want to continue studying after elementary school and wanted to become a fisherman.

After heeding his father’s advice and trying jobs in different fields, Balcı was finally able to persuade his family to open a fish store and he started to cure fish with salt and mummify them with special mixtures.

Today, Balcı has a massive collection of mummified sea creatures, which he wants to use to instill a love for the sea and fish in the hearts of the next generation.

“I am 65 years old. I have enough of everything, but not the sea or fish,” Balcı cracked a smile.

Cover Photo: Anadolu Agency (AA)

Related Articles

Military Team Discovers Remarkable 2,000-Year-Old Celtic Artifacts, Including Chariot Parts and Bridle-Bit

4 February 2025

4 February 2025

Military personnel and veterans at RAF Valley in Anglesey on the island of Anglesey, Wales, have uncovered sensational Iron Age...

2,000-year-old Monumental Tomb of Roman Elite discovered in Apollon Smintheus sanctuary in Türkiye

2 January 2024

2 January 2024

A 2,000-year-old monumental tomb from the Roman era has been unearthed at the Apollon Smintheus Sanctuary in the village of...

Archaeologists made a remarkable discovery in Kosovo: Evidence that the great Byzantine Emperor was of Dardanian origin

19 August 2023

19 August 2023

A mixed team of international and local experts led by Professor Christophe J. Goddard has unearthed a monumental inscription of...

The Roman Imperial period, There was Less Waste in the Production of Marble Slabs than Today

17 May 2021

17 May 2021

When talking about the architecture of the ancient Roman Empire, most people usually think of the mental image of white...

3D Scans reveal details of ‘unusual’ Roman burial ritual

6 June 2023

6 June 2023

Archaeologists at the University of York, have used 3D scans to study the Roman burial practice of pouring liquid gypsum...

A Roman tomb where magical nails were used to fend off the ‘restless dead’ has been discovered in Türkiye

15 March 2023

15 March 2023

In the ancient city of Sagalassos in southwestern Türkiye, archaeologists have identified an unusual burial practice from the early Roman...

Hundreds of silver coins have been found near the castle of Lukov in Moravia

4 September 2021

4 September 2021

In the forest near the Southern Moravian Fortress Lukov, two members of the Society of Friends of the Lukov Fortress...

Metal signature of Roman 19th Legion identified at Teutoburg battle site that shook Rome in AD9

5 December 2022

5 December 2022

Researchers in Germany have identified the metallurgic signature of the Roman 19th Legion in artifacts recovered from the Battle of...

Astonishing Find in the Czech Republic: Hikers Discover a 3.7 Kilogram Serbian/Bosnian Gold Treasure

29 April 2025

29 April 2025

A leisurely hike on the slopes of Zvičina Hill in the Czech Republic turned into an extraordinary discovery for two...

Archaeologists Uncover Unique 6th Century Mosaic in Abandoned Byzantine Monastery

9 April 2025

9 April 2025

A recent excavation report from the Israel Antiquities Authority has revealed the discovery of a well-preserved Byzantine-period monastery and farmhouse...

7,000-year-old discovery in Umm Jirsan Cave

28 June 2021

28 June 2021

Archaeologists have made new discoveries in the Umm Jirsan cave in the Harrat Khaybar lava field in northern Saudi Arabia....

Germany: 700-year-old Causeway Found Under Central Berlin Street

19 February 2022

19 February 2022

Archaeologists from the Landesdenkmalamt Berlin (LDA) made a sensational find during their excavation at Molkenmarkt: about 2.50 m below Stralauer...

Archaeologists find a 5,000-year-old piece of wood in Orkney, which they describe as “astonishing”

10 August 2021

10 August 2021

Archaeologists continue to make surprising discoveries in Orkney. Although organic materials are quite difficult to find, archaeologists have found a...

Neolithic village discovered in northeastern France after 150 years of research

29 August 2023

29 August 2023

Archaeologists have uncovered traces of a permanent settlement in the vast Neolithic site of the Marais de Saint-Gond in northeastern...

Underfloor Heating System Discovered in 1,700-Year-Old Roman Bath

25 August 2025

25 August 2025

Archaeologists in eastern Türkiye have uncovered a 1,700-year-old Roman bathhouse equipped with an advanced underfloor heating system, shedding new light...