Turkey is known for its stunning turquoise beaches Turkey became the third country to have the most blue flag beaches, closely following Spain and Greece and replacing France. The Blue Flag is a certification by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) that a beach or marina meets its stringent standards. FEE\'s Blue Flag criteria include standards for water quality, safety, environmental education and information, the provision of services and general environmental management criteria. The Blue Flag is sought for beaches and marinas as an indication of their high environmental and quality standards.
Foundation for Environmental Education gave blue flags to 383 beaches and 21 marines within the \"Blue Flag 2013\" working programme, Director Erol Gundor of Turkey\'s Environment Education Foundation (TURCEV), said on Wednesday.
\"When we applied for Blue Flag 20 years ago for the first time, we ranked the last among 10 countries which were selected only from Europe. Currently, there are 46 countries from all over the world and we rank the third,\" said Gungor.
Gungor added, \"Spain ranked the first with 552 blue flags, while Greece is the second with 393. France comes the fourth after Turkey with 365 blue flags.\"
Other countries in the ranking are Portugal with 280, Denmark with 243, Croatia with 102, Ireland with 70, the Netherlands with 58, Greek Cypriot administration with 57 and Britain with 55 blue flag beaches.
While southern Antalya continued to rank the first with 197 beaches, Istanbul increased the number of its blue flags from two to three this year.