Altan Ergene swam this summer’s 7.1-kilometer race from Meis to Kaþ in two hours, 19 minutes. “It’s very difficult,” he explains. “The long distance makes it impossible to know where you are.” Imagine pulling and kicking through salty water, exposed to the hot sun for two-plus hours, as you rise and fall with the waves. “It can be a little frightening,” says Ergene, “more so than the Bosporus swim.” Ergene, who started swimming twice a week at the Ýstanbul branch of the Turkish Sport Writers’ Association (TSYD) 10 years ago, has been competing in amateur swimming events since 2003. He won the 1,500-meter race in both the 2003 and 2004 Ýstanbul Corporate Games and has also won 200-meter events.

It takes discipline to get in shape for any competition, especially a 7,100-meter swimming contest.

“Many participants in the Meis-Kaþ event swim 30 kilometers each week in the three months before the event,” notes Ergene, who nonetheless limited his weekly distance to 15 kilometers, swimming 3,500-4,000 meters in each of four 75-minute sessions per week. This program enabled him to finish in 22nd place (out of 55 finishers). Ergene adds that “a swimmer should be able to swim at least two hours without stopping.” Race organizers require that contestants be able to swim 1,500 meters in less than 30 minutes.

More 

*************

Anyone joining this contest?

There´s too many jelly fish to dodge.............

Poor jelly fish !  Nobody seems to conider how they feel about strange creatures, ungracefully floating across Bosphorus, just to brag about it later.  Why cant they take the ferryboat, instead?

 poor jellyfish? .... they should think themselves lucky they are not floating around, minding their own business in Japan!!!

Japan Screams for Jellyfish Ice Cream

The situation has driven fisherman to find some way of deriving some economic benefit from the jellyfish, such as using them to make ice cream. It wouldn´t be the first time a seafood flavored ice cream has been foisted upon the palates of Japanese consumers who seemingly have seen it all. Crab, Clam, Eel, Fish and Octopus flavored ice creams have all appeared on store shelves at one time or another.

Hmm, where did the kids go?
This time though, manufacturers may have breached the limit of tolerance, and they know it: Jellyfish Ice Cream is being sold exclusively over the Internet by Rakuten in hopes of luring the novelty crowd. Another venue is the Kamo Aquarium in Yamagata Prefecture, where cooked Echizen Jellyfish is already on the menu. Guess they needed a dessert item - or something to threaten the kiddies with if they didn´t eat their vegetables. "More peas, please!"

http://inventorspot.com/articles/japan_jellyfish_ice_cream_5953

MMMmmmmm......delicious!  Main course and dessert all on one plate! 

Yummy jelly fish as it comes, eaten cold with a little soy sauce drizzled on the top, in Hong Kong or China.......... lovely!!!  (you really do need a strong stomach.......  )

 I re-iterate....

 Uhmmm I agree, I have never seen it served with a sprigg of basil garnish   

The country JAPAN is called YABAN in Arabic. A person from Japan is a YABANI.

Yabani is also used in Turkish, to mean a jelly fish eater...

 Really?  I always thought it meant ´bruta/savage´ or ´wild´ as in ´wild plants´ (or weeds).  Can´t believe there is a specific word for ´jelly-fish eater´ - not exactly a popular dish in Turkey is it? ´