Hotel in resort town Bodrum covers beach with marble powder, claims it's 'white sand'
A hotel in the western Turkish beach town of Bodrum tried to cover a beach with marble shavings, trying to pass it off as white sand. While Mayor Ahmet Aras said they'd sent the white powder off to a lab for analysis, he added that similar fraudulent attempts had been stopped around the district recently.
Duvar English
A hotel in the touristic southern district of Bodrum covered a beach with marble shavings, saying it was "white sand," but had their construction halted as it didn't have a permit from the municipality.
While municipal officials sent a sample of the white powder to a lab to get analyzed, Bodrum City Council Chairman Arif Yılmaz said that they believe the substance is marble powder.
"This will ruin the shore's fauna in the long run. It will pollute the sea, deprive it of oxygen and even cause landslides," Yılmaz said.
While the hotel's construction was seized, the management was also fined 345,000 Turkish Liras.
Meanwhile, Bodrum Mayor Ahmet Aras noted that similar fraudulent practices were prevented in other locations in the province, and that similar fines were issued.
"This type of sand will completely cover the sea floor like concrete, and not allow for any life to exist down there," Aras said.