Loch Ness - is this a valid sighting of the Loch Ness Monster?

Robert L Fielding
G/8, East Campus,
Bilkent University
Ankara 06533
Turkiye



(below is a letter I received from one of my students.  The original piece was handwritten)

  ......you are knowing, my teacher, that I like go fishing.  I visit your country and I went fishing there.  I went fishing, and for visit your country with Mehmet, my good friend.  We went fishing on the big water is called Loch Ness.  We called it Ness Golu like in Turkish.  Ness Golu is a strange place, the water is very dark, but it is not so big as Van Golu I think, in Turkiye.
     We were in a small boat for fishing.  We floating to middle of Ness Golu.  I laugh at Mehmet, he can't swim.  He was afraid.
     We had been fishing in middle for about one hour, and we get cold.  Mehmet he wanted to go.  He is feeling ill. So, he is my friend so we go to beach at side of water.
     As we move boat to beach, boat move up and down quickly.  Mehmet started to shout, and I say to him, 'Be quiet', but the boat is still doing this same up and down moving.  Then I became frightening.  The boat is coming out of water and falling back into it.  I am thinking something is pushing boat out of water.  It was not rock or big stone, because it is moving up and down and going past our boat quickly.  Mehmet said could be a chain, and I agreed but then I saw it.  It has two metres thick, you call this diameter, don't you?  I saw it has big shiny cover, not like skin, more like skin of fish.  Then I think this is what you call it whale from the big sea but the big sea is not gol.  How did this get here, can't come by land.  Is too heavy and like a fish.  I told myself don't be silly.  It is some living fish animal or I don't know what.  We don't have this in Turkiye, even in Van Golu or even
     While I am thinking this or that, it comes up under little our boat and we fall into water.  Boat is turned over, and this comes up from water.  We were too frightening to see properly.  I could see only black side of this, but I see it reaching behind boat, is ten or maybe twenty metres one side of back of boat.  Mehmet is shouting, but he didn't see what I am seeing.  He is holding side of boat other from me.  You remember he can't swim, I told you already this.

     We swim with boat and not see big fish animal again.  We were thanked our God for that, and I say, 'al hamdulillah' when I get out of water.  Is so cold.
     We are fine now.  When we tell we saw big fish animal come to our boat, the men who help us laugh.  Can you tell me, my teacher, what fish animal is in name.  My father not want to send us again because he worry too much.
                                             I see you I tell you more.  
                                      
                                              Ramazan Turkoglu, your good student & friend.