This award is given during Kemer International Underwater Days every May. The purposes of awards  are to announce people to public and encourage them . These people are important for underwater archaeology. This  idea was found in 2001 by that period’s board  of underwater  archaeological research . And this idea has being  activated in 2002.

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Why the awards called “ Metin Pehlivan”?

 Metin Pehlivan is the founder of Mediterranean Archaeological Underwater Research Center. He was director of Antalya Museum. He was an archaeologist . He presented a secondary  corporation to Turkey in underwater archaeology area. While  these proccess  he defeated all the adversity legal actions and became a leader of most studies that was  done by the center. In Turkey , the acceptance of new foundations is hard.

It is an important step for Turkish underwater archaeology to create a new center , however domestics and foreigns hidrances and  underwater archaeology is difficult and expensive.The main reason for creating the center was to grow new underwater archaeologists.So museum presented its all oppurtunities and motivated both  archaeologist and students. Farseeing , honest, idealist and cultured scientists are not growing too much in Turkey.

Archaeologist Metin Pehlivaner lost his life in 2006 because of heart attack that caught him while he was going to his job to Afyon Museum. First award of underwater labor awards was given to him. In order to memorialize  him , his name given to these awards.

We remember Metin Pehlivaner with respect and love.