?Gold from the bottom of the ocean? could be the name of these valuable sponges. They are porous animals of geometric shape which grow between 10 and 70 metres deep on stones in the ocean. World-wide, there are known to be more than 5000 different sorts of sponge living in the salty waters of the oceans. Only a few are able to live in the fresh water of lakes and rivers. Sponges vary in size, growing up to one metre in diameter.
?The best sponges have big holes and, after being squeezed, return to their original shape and size?, explains Selim Dincer. He should know because he is a specialist in sponges working at the Bodrum Institute for Marine Biology.

A sponge diving team normally consists of five divers, one leader on the boat and a cook. They all belong to the team, living and working on a boat called a ?tirandil?, built in the Bodrum area with a framework of wood and about 10 metres in length. One session of diving normally lasts about two to three hours. The equipment consists of a diving suit, a mask and, most important of all, the pump. Below the water, the diver breathes through a pipe called a ?nargile? (water pipe) or ?hookah?. With the help of this equipment, divers can reach depths of 150 metres. But the deeper the diver goes, the bigger the risk to the diver, which can lead to long-term injury and even the death of a young diver. When someone is suffering from this problem, they need to be got into a decompression chamber within 24 hours.

Quite often sponge divers find wrecks of old ships or ancient amphoras. ?When they cut a living sponge, it looks more or less like a glued piece of leather, much different than the sponge we know in our bathroom.? So says an American author of books about marine biology when writing about animals without a spinal column. When freshly brought home from the sea, sponges look like stomach sacks. http://www.alaturka.info/Sponge-Divers.2306.0.html?&L=5