Over the last five years, there has been a paradigm shift in the perception of UFOs. Assigned to the dark realm of conspiracy theories for decades, UFO enthusiasts have made gigantic strides in terms of public acknowledgement and credibility – thanks to maverick figures like Ryan Graves,[i] Luis Elizondo,[ii] and David Grusch.[iii] All three are American former security officials with impeccable credentials who have produced meaningful and credible testimony about the UFO phenomenon. Elizondo frames the UFO discussion in terms of national security in his book “Imminent,” arguing that the United States government should take extraterrestrial life seriously --- perhaps even as a threat. Grusch is on record for saying that the United States government is, or was, in possession of biological material retrieved from UFOs. Ryan Graves is an Air Force pilot who has witnessed in person a UFO causing turbulence over the sea, capable of technological feats (such as nigh-instantaneous acceleration, lack of jet plumes and sonic booms, underwater travel, and invisibility at will) that are clearly beyond the capacity of human craft. The public debate focuses on American phenomena for the most part, as well as Chinese and Western European phenomena occasionally. There is seldom a word from the rest of the world.

Perhaps that might change. It does seem that the skies of western Turkey are roiling with UFOs, even if the traffic is only visible to keen observers. I am an eclectic human rights advocate who has also become an avid UFO enthusiast over the last three years. I enjoy long treks in the wild, sometimes after midnight, where I have been lucky enough to capture anomalous phenomena in the skies. The photos and videos (original, timestamped) were captured in multiple locations, mostly in western Turkey: Balcova (Izmir), Uludag (Bursa), Polonezkoy (Istanbul), Ankara, Kirikkale.

My first encounter with a UFO happened in Polonezkoy: a forest-covered and sparsely populated province of Istanbul. The spaceship, which I nicknamed “Selene Minor,”[iv] was hovering about a hundred and fifty meters above me – hiding inside a cloud. The ship had three spotlights, which were initially separate – eventually merging to focus on me, the human observer below. The ship was capable of generating artificial mist, descending in waves, despite the otherwise clear weather.

Months passed. I was lucky enough to capture images and videos of UFOs again, this time in a mountainous trekking path in Balcova (a province of Izmir) over a period of eight days. The first photo, which I nicknamed “Retro UFO,” seems to capture a trapezoidal UFO with apparent cloaking technology (2 February 2024).

Image 1: “Retro UFO.” This image seems to capture an alien ship capable of cloaking, trapezoidal in shape.

A week later, I captured two more UFO videos: a video of a rotating flying disc with multicolor lights[v] and a video of a black triangle.[vi] The first was flying in low altitude and away from the city center, while the second was a triangular ship flying at a steep angle that is not possible for known human aircraft. The second video, which portrays a black triangular craft, is consistent with many similar photos and videos[vii] captured in North America and elsewhere.

Image 2: “Ocularid.” I believe this image captures a flying drone of extraterrestrial origin.

The next day, I captured a vivid photograph (nicknamed “Ocularid”) of what seems to be a very bright orb of light hovering over a shallow stream. The water in the stream was heating up and producing mist thanks to either the bright orb, or some unknown technology, despite the chill winter weather in February. The bright orb, seemingly some kind of alien or secret military drone, became invisible immediately after I snapped a photograph of it – implying a level of intelligence.

The third location where I was able to capture anomalous aerial phenomena was the winter resort town of Uludag. The first photo (nicknamed “Vimana”) that I captured in Uludag was that of an object in the sky that is too small to be either the moon or the sun, yet bright enough to light up the sky around 4:30 am (26 February 2024). The next day, I also captured a photo of an object that is too big to be a star yet too small to be the moon, visible from behind a rectangular aperture in the clouds and casting a circular shadow (nicknamed “Selene Major”).

Image 3: “Vimana.” This photo captures a UFO that is too small and too bright to be the Moon, around 4:30 am. I also caught on camera what seems to be a similar UFO,[viii] again too small and too bright to be the moon, in Ankara. The UFO seemed to follow me around for some time before disappearing.

Image 4: “Selene Majoris.” This photo captures a bright blue point that is too big to be a star and too small to be the moon, creating a rectangular aperture across the clouds.

Image 5, “Sol.” I captured this UFO in Kirikkale. The UFO was too small and too bright be the setting sun (it was already dark at that time, as visible in the photo --- the sun had already set) and had an irregular halo around it.

I have reason to believe that these ships, which demonstrate aptitude of technologies that are not currently available, must be alien ships. They seem to imitate routine celestial objects like the moon and the sun for cloaking purposes and they seem capable of switching their invisibility on and off. They can generate artificial mist, hover in the sky without any visible methods of propulsion, and become invisible at will. They may also be vessels hailing from covert military programs, perhaps from USA and China, but this is a weaker possibility. Meanwhile, an airport in Turkey has been shut down because of a UFO sighting[ix] --- implying that there may be other human observers of similar events across Turkey. As more and more UFO witnesses come forward and share their experiences, I believe the stigma around UFOs will diminish further and we will be closer to knowing the truth behind these mysterious vessels.

About the Author. Kursat Jonathan Pekgoz has a Bs.C. in Genetics from Bilkent University, an M.A. in English Literature from Bosphorus University, and another M.A. in English from the University of Southern California. He is an eclectic human rights activist who has become interested in UFOs over the last several years.

[i]https://www.foxnews.com/media/ex-navy-pilot-ufos-flight-calls-investigations-aerial-phenomena-curious

[ii]https://apnews.com/article/imminent-ufos-luis-elizondo-book-review-2d55255f6c8ce730a62040c9529258a0

[iii]https://www.npr.org/2023/07/27/1190390376/ufo-hearing-non-human-biologics-uaps

[iv]https://www.youtube.com/shorts/FRmlWnXrGyk

[v]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axAnY8rL7FE

[vi]https://www.youtube.com/shorts/e6Jt_jCp7g0

[vii]https://www.history.com/articles/black-triangle-ufos-facts

[viii]https://www.youtube.com/shorts/2bhpEO3XkRw

[ix]https://www.turkiyetoday.com/turkiye/ufo-alert-in-turkiyes-gaziantep-flights-halted-120856/