Recently I published Polish article:
https://ufonapowaznie.pl/ufo-z-kumburgaz-w-turcji-problematyczny-przypadek/ about this case (there is option in menu for translate). It doesn't really help with identifying the objects. It focuses on manipulations, and fantasies of the involved people. It's not easy to write a summary of it, because the article is basically a summary, so sorry if the narrative is a bit shallow.
I think that the main reason this case keeps popping up again and again on places like r/UFOs is because of the popular belief: a random, ordinary hotel night guard accidentally filmed a UFO, and a scientific analysis confirmed it's genuine and nothing prosaic explains it - but this is all wrong. Overall, the case is much more problematic than it is usually presented. After I posted my article on Polish Digg, people who were somewhat familiar with the case had no clue who Yalcin Yalman actually is and how he recorded those videos.
Yalcin Yalman - The Cameraman
Yalman is far from an "ordinary guy". Between 2007 and 2009 he recorded nearly 30 videos (about 2.5 hours of footage) of UFO's. What often gets left out is that he claims he was being guided by the Grays from Zeta Reticuli, who were also protecting him from Reptilians that wanted to destroy him. He claims the Grays told him about aliens living on the dark side of the Moon, ancient spaceships under Mount Nemrut, that UFOs feeding on contrails and lighting bolts from thunderstorms. He has a long history full of extraordinary personal claims since childhood, including astral travels, alien implants, etc..
Ufologist Haktan Akdogan
Kumburgaz case was heavily promoted and declared "authentic" by Turkish ufologist Haktan Akdogan. However, Akdogan is not a credible or objective researcher. For example in 2015 he analyzed photo of an alleged "extraterrestrial fairy" and claimed it was authentic, only for it to be identified as a crafted figurine photo from DeviantArt. He also collaborated closely with Jaime Maussan, who is known for promoting similar hoaxes.
The "20 Witnesses" Myth
When we look closely at the witness, the direct testimonies come down to just two local witnesses who reported seeing "lights" over the water. The third supposed witness was ufologist Dr. Roger Leir (known for his claims of surgically removing "alien implants"), who have seen object on Yalman's camera screen during recording. The rest of the testimonies are second-hand stories relayed by ufologists involved in this case.
TÜBİTAK Report and manipulations
The TÜBİTAK Report is the most important document in this case. But ufologists, and the main blog promoting this case (turkeyufocase.blogspot.com), misquote or twist the translation. For example on the main page, they quote non-existent passages from the second page of the report:
"The objects observed on the images have a structure made of a specific material and definitely are not any kind of CGI animation or in any means a type of special effects used for simulation in a studio or for video effects. "So the conclusion of this report is that the observations are not a model, mock up, or a fraud". At the last part of the report, it's concluded that the objects observed have a physical structure and are made of materials that do not belong to any category (airplanes, helicopters, meteors, Venus, Mars, Satellites, artificial lights, or Chinese lanterns etc.)" 2 Page TUBITAK Report
This fake quote circulates on UFO websites, the claims about 'specific material', 'materials that do not belong to any category (...)', and 'not a model, mock-up, or fraud' - are either heavily manipulated or completely made up.
Also their translation adds information that does not exist in the original report.
- [TÜBİTAK Report] 2) Görüntüler üzerindeki zaman kodlanından çekimlerin genellikle 2007 yılının yaz aylarında yapıldığı görülmektedir.
- [turkeyufocase.blogspot.com translation] The date on the video indicates that the recordings were made during 2007, 2008, and 2009.
- [Translation AI] The date codes on the images indicate that the shots were generally filmed during the summer months of 2007.
- [TÜBİTAK Report] 3) Çekimlerde görünen belirli yapıya sahip görüntüler bir bilgisayar animasyonu, özel bir video etkisi veya stüdyoda canlandırma şeklinde oluşturulmuş görüntüler değildir.
- [turkeyufocase.blogspot.com translation] The footage images of the object which visibly have a certain configuration are not computer animations, special video effects or studio re-created images or models. The footage is genuine.
- [Translation AI] The objects with defined structure seen in the footage are not computer animations, special video effects, or studio staging.
The "Alien Crew" and Pareidolia
So the "analysis" was done by Mario Valdes Santiago from Chile. At first, he wanted to debunk the videos, but he ended up finding "faces" instead. People who dismiss pareidolia as an explanation should ask themselves why Santiago finds a different-looking "aliens" every time. But if anyone still wants to believe, that he found aliens, then you have to believe in devils as well, because I think that I found one, and there is also a spooky face on the object as well.
Santiago support his "finds" with drawings (however, he honestly notes that this is his subjective interpretation) that resemble a Rorschach inkblot test more than any image analysis. His results are not repeatable, each time he finds a different face in the pixel noise after adjusting brightness/contrast, and zooming in. Speaking of Rorschach test, I'd give it a try and do my own subjective interpretation of the pixel noise on frames he found. Even though it doesn't look serious, I'd like to illustrate how absurd the interpretation of pixel noise can become:
Did this little green man overdo botox?
Or maybe it's an octopus or a humphead wrasse, or maybe alien in a toy car?
Two Greys, Insectoid, and a patient?
Maybe a Spider-Man and dying uncle Ben?
