The Caves in Alanya

Dim Cave

It's the second biggest cave of Turkey. Its height above sea level is nearly same with the height of Alanya Castle (240m). Its distance to the city center is 12km. The road to the cave is asphalt-paved road. Officially the cave was opened to local and international tourism in 1999, but the cave must have given service to humanity in ancient times. I thought like this because the cave's real entrance was taken under control and protection by the committee to make investigations and observations. This entrance faces west and it's not being used now. First it has to be investigated and observed and the authorities opened a new entrance at the opposite direction of the old entrance. The old entrance is very spectacular with its old walls, its height and width.

The valley in front of this cave reaches to Kusyuvasi district and it's called Dim Valley. The village at the right and left of Dim Valley are called Dim Villages. After some investigations about the word "Dim" I found that a place in Russia where Kazan Turks are living today has the same name. At that place there is a river similar with Dim Stream which joins to another river called Bozkir. Kazan Turks have been tortured, they forced to migrate along their history, but they didn't give up. They still keep their autonomy. Sometimes I think that what would happen if they migrated to Turkey. I think this way, because citizens from Dim district are also brave and fighters like Kazan Turks and they use Dim as the name of this district. I would also like to mention some interesting words which come from the word "Dim". These words are "dimi" and "dimilemek". "Dimi" is a noun and means a kin of dress which is made from a thick fabric. And "dimileme" is a verb and means to hike the skirts of the dress called "dimi".

I would like to turn back to Dim Cave. Dim Cave was discovered in 1986 by Dr. Nuri Guldali and his friend. But in 1983 my friend Ali Cirenli came and told me that he had found a cave and he suggested to take photographs of the cave and introduce the cave to Alanya and then to the whole world. We went to the cave and took some photos. In 1984 I went to see Mayor Müstakbel Dim and explained the situation. Then I went to see the deputy from Alanya Ali Kale (Dizdaroglu) and explained the situation to him too. They both said to me not to worry and that they are going to do everything for this cave. In the local elections, which was made in March 1989 I was chosen as a member of the local council. I talked to Mayor Cengiz Aydogan about the cave and he said the same things as the others. While Müstakbel Dim was mayor and Ali Kale was deputy, a road to the cave was opened, though it was not a very good one. Iron fences have been put around the cave to prevent ingress and egress. In 1989 I published photos that I  ook with my son in Dim Cave in my book "Alanya, From Yesterday Till Today". In 1986 Nuri Guldali came to Alanya with a committee and made some investigations and researches in the cave. They established a company together with Kestel Municipality. They made internal arrangements, environmental arrangements, paved the way, bought powerful generators against power cuts and built a restaurant for visitors with spending big amounts of money. The cave was opened to public service in 1999 by the Minister of Tourism. How you can access to Dim Cave? With your own car first you need to drive 6 km to east till Dimcayi Bridge on D-400 highway and after the Dimcayi Bridge you need to turn to the left, pass by the Akrapol Hotel and drive 6km more till Dim cave. Also hourly bus services from the city center.

Now I would like to mention the characteristics of the cave. Alanya's soil is limy and calcareous. With the help of rain this kind of caves are formed under the ground. Stalactites and stalagmites are formed with dropping rain water. When stalactites and stalagmites get longer a vertical integration happens and columns are formed. I've explained how long it takes to form these structures. There is always 4QC or 5QC temperature difference between Damlata� and Dim Caves. In summer Dim Cave is always cooler than Damlata� Cave. In winter and spring, water drops continuously in the cave. These drops form stalactites, stalagmites and columns. The east entrance of the cave was opened by experts  with no damage. When you get there you are welcomed by a charging person who knows Turkish, English and German. You buy your ticket from him and enter the cave. First you go and see the smaller part which is at your right. The structures in this part are look like travertine in Pamukkale. The real entrance that I've mentioned before opens directly to this part. After you see this part you stroll into the bigger part of the cave which is 350 or 360m long and 10 or 15m high. There are lots of different and interesting structures. You can stroll here safely because there are concrete or iron stairs and enough illumination. In the cave you feel like you're in a dreamland. There are thick ropes and iron fences around the stairs and passageways for your safety. There are different parts in the cave. For example there is a Niagara part because of its resemblance to the Niagara Falls. There is a chandelier part because there are chandeliers like the ones you can see in most of the mosques. At the end of the cave is the lake part. The lake here never desiccates even in the summer. When you look at the cracks on the ceiling you can see that they are filled with a solution which is caused by rain. This solution makes cracks safer than ever. Alanya isn't in an earthquake area. Because of this reason all of these stalactites and stalagmites and columns are still standing erect. Don't leave the place without going to Seyrantepe and watch the beautiful view of Alanya Castle. There are lots of different caves in Alanya. We all wish that these caves will be opened to public and tourists who come here will be able to go and see those beauties also. As an example of these caves I can say Gol Cave in Kuzyaka Village, Uzun Cave in Fakircali summer meadow.

Damlata� Cave

This cave was found by accident by a dynamite explosion which was done to open a stone quarry during the building of the harbour. People entered from that hole and were amazed by what they have seen. They closed the hole immediately and moved the explosions to another place. While all these were happening one of the deceased citizens of Alanya, Galip Dere, called all interested authorities to do their duties. One day he saw interesting news in one of the newspapers. This was the news: On one of the horrible days of II World War German soldiers hid in a cave to protect their-selves from bombs. Among these soldiers, the ones who had asthma healed in the cave. When he read this news he remembered the cave that was found. He took the newspaper and went to see deputy of Alanya, Ahmet Tokus. He showed the news paper and said: "If this could happen in Germany, it can happen in Alanya too." Ahmet Tokus helped him and made authorities come to Alanya. First investigation was made by geologist Dr. Timuçin Aygen and geologist Dr. Süleyman Turkunal. They gave us good news and another group came after them. This group consisted of doctors and chemists. They made investigations and decided that this cave is of the same kind with the cave in Germany.

Galip Dere had Alanya Municipality to confiscate the cave and its district and with an iron gate to prevent people to enter the cave for a while. In the same time he made the arrangements of this district. He took photographs and sent them to newspapers. Newspapers transmitted news about the cave with this title: "The cave found in Alanya heals people with asthma." After these news a great tourism activity started in Alanya. When the hotels in Alanya couldn't meet the demand, citizens of Alanya started to host tourist in their homes. Some of the citizens profited from this opportunity. The ones who had a house with two storeys turned one of the floors into a hotel. The ones who had two houses turned one of the houses into a hotel. Thus they laid the foundation of tourism in Alanya. Sevki Turktas, Ibrahim Aga, Mehmet Aga Agaoglu turned their houses into hotels and gave them very intere-seting and unforgettable names. Another citizen of Alanya Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Sipahioglu (from Nesibe Gevher Faculty of Medicine) made inverstigations on patients who came to visit the cave. Damlata� CaveHe got very satisfying results. With these investigations he contributed to make Alanya known in all over Turkey. When people came to visit this cave Galip Dere welcomed them. They found him sitting under the shadow of the walls overgrown with ivy and smoking water pipe. According to your willing he told the story of the cave himself or made you listen from tape while you were wandering inside the cave.

The explorer of the cave, Alanya's master of comedy and conductor of music bands in wedding ceremonies Galip Dere managed Damlata� Cave till his death. May Allah rest his soul in peace. We shouldn't forget to commemorate Galip Dere's best friend, his colleague Sait Dogruyol and Russian Ismail Selah and his friends who made great contributions in the opening of Damlata� Cave and Castle road. May Allah rest his soul in peace.
 

THE FORMATION AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CAVE

The cave is composed of layers that were formed in the 6th and last parts of the first era. After investigations it's assumed that the cave was formed in 10 or 15 thousands years. The big amount of rain that falls to Alanya had a big role in the formation of the cave too. Because rain contains an amount of gas and carbonic acid it dissolves limestones and other similar stones. It makes cavities in layers consisting of limestone. While dissolution continues big cavities come into existence. Small drops leak inside. Some of these drops freeze and form stalactites and stalagmites. When stalactites and stalagmites get longer they can join each other and form columns of the cave. Because of this dropping characteristic we call it Damlata� Cave. Damlata� means drop stone or dropping stone in Turkish.

After the entrance door of the cave there are a 20-30m-long pass way, a cylindrical cavity with 13-14m diameter and 15m height and colorful stalactites, stalagmites and columns which were formed in 15 000 years. The cave has 2500m3 air. Its temperature is 23.3 °C both in winter and summer. Absolute humidity is 19.6° and relative humidity is 98 %. At this point I would like to digress from the topic and remind you of something. If you enter the cave with your camera do not take photographs immediately. The lens of your camera will moist over. You need to clean it. Especially in winter this happens more often. The cave is away from outside influences. In its air there is big amount of carbonic acid. Although it's a little bit lower than sea level its air pressure is 760mm. Whole cavity of the cave is 180-200 m2. There is no possibility of collapse because all over the cave the thickness of the walls is 10m. Its

best proof was in 1948 (the year the cave was found). In spite of lots of dynamite explosions there was no harm. Water drops in the cave for 5 or 6 months of a year but if you visit in the summer you may not see this dropping.

MEDICAL FUNCTION OF THE CAVE

As I first mentioned when Galip Dere learned that the cave in Germany healed soldiers with asthma, he got into action. As a result of the investigations it's found that there are four functions of the cave which heal asthma. The rate of carbon dioxide inside the cave is 8-10 times of the normal rate. There is a high rate of humidity inside the cave. These two are main functions in healing asthma. Tranquility and radioactivity are functions that help the main functions in the healing process. The rate of carbon dioxide and humidity in Damlata� Cave is more than the rates of the cave in Germany. So this prevents people's feeling cold inside the cave and I think this is an advantage for us. According to analysis of experts there are 25 % carbon dioxide, 71 % nitrogen, 20,5 % oxygen, some radioactivity and ions inside the cave. Patients who come here for treatment initially spend their times in upper floor and adjust themselves to the atmosphere. Then they go to the lower floor and sit on the benches which were prepared for them. Patients who have asthma for more than 10 years feel at ease temporarily. Especially patients who are between 40 and 60 years old and have asthma less than 10 years can heal totally. Patient whose asthma is chronic, feel at ease after a 21-day-treatment. Damlata� Cave is important for us from two aspects. First one is health and second one is tourism. Hope connects people to life. Even if a person is in pain and sorrow hope is the biggest power for him/her. It's true that when people abandon themselves into despair they find the solution in death. Patients, who come to Alanya for treatment, should be controlled by a doctor and take a permission paper from the doctor. They apply to the management of the cave with this paper. They pay the fee and take a treatment for 21 days. Both in winter and summer tourists visit Damlata� Cave by paying the entrance fee. So this makes Damlata� Cave an important source of income for Alanya.

Virtual Tour of Damlata� Cave

Damlata� Cave

Kad�ini Cave (Çatak)

This cave is one of the first homes of humanity in Alanya. This cave is in Catak district on the border between Oba Town (15km far from Alanya) and Bademagaci Village. When you go to this district you arrive to the entrance of the cave by walking from a steep but short way. While watching thousands of years old traces inside and outside of the cave, you can get lost in thoughts. After having a little rest you can enter and look over the cave as far as possible. I said as far as possible because it's really dark inside the cave. When I was a teacher I and my friends tried to go further inside the cave with torches. But even those torches couldn't illuminate the depths of the cave. So we decided to turn back. Even though it's not possible to go further inside the cave its entrance and the big cavity after the entrance are worth to see.

Pirates Cave

The boat that you have boarded at the harbour goes around the pier which is 500m long. It goes close to the land so that you can see the shipyard, Tophane Tower, Cavir harbour which is a small harbour for fishermen, Tophane vicinity, Esat Tower and walls of the castle. When we reach to the front end of the castle we move towards west and we reach to the entrance of Korsanlar Cave. Its entrance is towards southeast. If our boat is small enough to enter the cave you can either enter with the boat or you can enter by swimming. Inside the cave it looks like a wide hall and its ceiling is seven or eight meter high. If you want you can sit for a while and have a rest inside of the cave. In ancient times it was used as a depot for pirates' booties. They even used to hide the girls that they had kidnapped. According to a story there was a connection between the cave and the castle and with this passageway pirates used to send girls and booties to the castle. But it's said that the passageway collapsed and became closed.

The Lovers’ Cave

After Korsanlar Cave you move around the castle and reach to Asiklar Cave. It's not possible to enter this cave with a boat as the entrance of the cave is three or four meter high from the surface of the sea. People who are brave enough climb till the entrance and enter the cave. This cave is like a tunnel inside the Cilvarda Promontory. Alanya Castle is on Cilvarda Promontory. The cave is 50 or 60 meters long. At the end of the tunnel we reach to the exit of the cave which is higher than the entrance. You can feel the rising ground anyhow while you're walking inside of the cave. While you are walking inside the cave your boat goes around Cilvarda Promontory and when you exit from the cave you will see the boat waiting for you. To reach the boat you need to jump into the sea from the exit of the cave which is five or six meters high. Asiklar Cave used to host lovers in old times. The word "Asiklar" means lovers in Turkish. In 50's and 60's people used to look for the lovers who escaped from their families in this cave. After Asiklar Cave you go further towards north and while watching the castle you can see the small church, the mint and the hurling platform. While going further with a great excitement you'll come across a cave which is similar to Korsanlar Cave. You can enter this cave with your boat also.

Phosphorescent Cave

It's a sea cave on the side of Damlata� Cave in the peninsula. Little boats are able to enter the cave. Because of its geological construction the ground shines almost as if phosphorecently at nights due to the reflection of the moonlight. It's also possible to notice the glitter in the daytime. There are also the short swimming breaks in front of the cave as swimming here is an enjoyable experience.