After receiving her MA in Maritime Archaeology from Koç University, Zeynep Olgun started her MA in Medieval Studies at Central European University in 2020. Her thesis titled “A Sailor's Life for Me: The Middle Byzantine Sailor on Board and at Port” supervised by Dr. Baukje van den Berg was completed in 2022 and won the Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies Best Thesis Award. Zeynep is currently a PhD student at the Faculty of History, Newnham College, University of Cambridge, where she is focusing on Byzantine approaches to, perceptions of, and experiences with the sea. Her research interests are the maritime culture, materiality, and society of the Byzantine Empire: ships and shipbuilding, merchant and sailor communities, naval administration, and warfare.