Quick Info
Between 2007 and 2009, a night watchman in Turkey filmed something that still has UFO researchers arguing today. Over several nights he captured clear video of strange objects hovering over the Sea of Marmara near Kumburgaz. Some of the shots even show what look like beings inside the craft.
The footage is unusually sharp and steady for that era. It was shot with a simple camcorder but the zoom quality is excellent. Multiple independent analyses have been done and many experts still say the videos are genuine and unexplained.
Who Filmed It?
The man behind the camera is Yalçın Yalman, a retired security guard who worked nights at the beautiful seaside resort in Kumburgaz. Yalçin ws just a regular normal dude, he wasn’t a UFO hunter or someone looking for fame. He was just doing his job when he started noticing bright objects hovering over the water so he decided to capture them on his video camera.
How It All Started
In 2007 Yalçin first spotted the lights. He grabbed his small Sony camcorder and started filming. Over the years what he caught was not just distant lights that could of been many mundane things, Yalçin's footage was VERY different. When he zoomed in he saw structured objects with bright windows or openings. Over the next two years he kept filming whenever they appeared.
What the Videos Actually Show
The footage is shot from the shoreline at night, looking out over the calm dark water of the Sea of Marmara. Yalçin’s camcorder captures several different objects that appear at various distances and heights. Some are small bright lights that hover perfectly still for long periods. Others are larger, clearly disc or oval shaped, with a metallic sheen that reflects the moonlight.
When he zooms in tight, you can see fine structural details. The craft have distinct edges, sometimes with rows of lights or glowing sections that look like windows. In several clips from 2008 and 2009, the objects are close enough that you can make out what appear to be humanoid figures moving inside. The beings are visible as dark silhouettes or faint shapes behind the transparent parts of the craft. They seem to be walking around or working at consoles. One particularly clear sequence shows a figure turning its head and raising an arm.
The objects don’t dart around like typical UFO videos. They hover almost motionless for minutes at a time, then slowly rotate or drift sideways with incredible smoothness. There is no sound on the recordings except for the waves and Yalman’s own excited breathing and occasional comments about the sights he is witnessing in Turkish.
“There are beings inside. You can see them moving.”
That’s how Yalçin described it when he first showed the tapes to researchers, and that is indeed exactly what it looks like. The way the figures move looks deliberate and purposeful, not like random shadows or reflections.
The 2008 and 2009 Sightings
The strongest and clearest footage comes from 2008 and 2009. On multiple different nights the objects returned to the same general area. Yalman managed to film them from the same spot, sometimes for many minutes at a time. The craft appear at different distances and angles, which makes the footage even more convincing because it shows consistent behavior over time.
The footage Yalçin captures is all fantastic, but sweet baby Jesus, the 2008 footage of the craft and the beings inside it is spectacular. Check it out in the video below.
Official Analysis in Turkey
The videos were examined by the Sirius UFO Space Sciences Research Center in Turkey. They ran detailed frame analysis and even brought in video experts. Their conclusion was that the footage is authentic and does not show any known aircraft, balloons, or conventional lights. A few Turkish Air Force officers quietly looked at the material too and reportedly could not identify the objects. Looking at it today you still get a creepy feeling that it is 100% legit.
The Skeptical View
Not everyone is convinced, of course. Some say the lights could be boats or reflections on the water. Others point out that the camera was handheld and the zoom can create odd visual effects. Still, the consistent shape, the way the objects hover, and the visible movement inside have been very hard for skeptics to fully explain away.
Great video on this event (and more!) from @TurkeyUFOIncident on YouTube
More videos from @TurkeyUFOIncident on YouTube
What Yalçın Yalman Has Been Up To
After the videos became famous, Yalçın’s life changed quite a bit. He left his job at the resort and moved away from Kumburgaz to live a much quieter life. For many years he stayed completely out of the spotlight and refused most interview requests. He never once tried to make money from the footage and has never sold the original tapes.
In recent years Yalçin has started speaking a little more openly again. In 2024 he gave a couple of interviews where he calmly repeated that everything he filmed was real and that he still sees strange lights from time to time. He says he has no interest in becoming a celebrity and just wants to live peacefully. He is now in his late sixties and appears to be in good health.
“I still see them sometimes. They come back. I know what I saw and I know what I filmed. I have no reason to lie.”
When asked why he never tried to profit from the videos, he simply said:
“This is not something for money. This is something much bigger than me.”
Yalçin is now in his late sixties and appears to be in good health. Most people who have met him recently describe him as humble, sincere, and still genuinely puzzled by what he captured on those nights. I hope he lives a long healthy life and some day soon the answers can finally come into the open for Yalçın and the rest of us.
Why This Footage Still Matters
What makes the Kumburgaz videos special is the combination of length, clarity, and the visible occupants. Most UFO footage is either too far away or too blurry. This one gives you a real sense that you are looking at something intelligently controlled with beings inside. After all these years it remains one of the strongest pieces of visual evidence we have. When Yalçın is talking about what he is seeing and the excitment in his voice it just makes you smile.
What Do You Think?
So what’s your take on the Kumburgaz footage? Do you think Yalçin really captured craft with living beings inside, or is there a more ordinary explanation? I believe him. If those shapes really are occupants, what do you think they were doing hovering there night after night? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this one.
