Damlataş_Cave
Damlataş Cave (Turkish: Damlataş Mağarası) is a cave in Alanya district of Antalya Province, in southern Turkey.
| Damlataş Cave | |
|---|---|
| Damlataş Mağarası | |
A view of Damlataş Cave. | |
| Location | Alanya, Antalya, Turkey |
| Coordinates | 36°22′31″N 31°59′19″E |
The cave is located west of Alanya Castle on the coast of Mediterranean Sea in the urban fabric of Alanya. Its distance to Alanya city center is 3 km (1.9 mi),[1] and to Antalya is 124 km (77 mi). The cave's entrance faces the beach.[2]
The cave was discovered accidentally during mining operations at a quarry used for the construction of Alanya Harbor in 1948.[1][3] After preliminary research by two geologists, it was opened to the public.[4]
A 45–50 m (148–164 ft)-long and 15 m (49 ft)-high cylindrical cavity leads to the basement of the cave. The cave is full of stalactites and stalagmites that are formed in fifteen thousand years.[3][5] The cave has an area of 180–200 m2 (1,900–2,200 sq ft) and a total volume about 2,500 m3 (88,000 cu ft) in two levels.[1][3][4]
The air in the cave contains relatively high percentage of carbondioxide, around 10 to 12 times more than in normal air, and has 95% humidity. The air temperature is 22–23 °C (72–73 °F) regardless of the season.[1][6]
The cave is popularly known as an "asthma-cure cave" due to the widespread belief in its capability of curing respiratory complaints,[7] and asthma. In fact, most of the early visitors were people, who suffered from asthma.[6] In 2010, the municipality of Alanya reported that the cave was visited within seven months by 114,000 tourists of which 2,100 suffered from asthma.[3] In 2014, the number of visitors suffering from asthma reached 4,000.[2]
Visitors, who come for asthma cure, stay 21 days long four hours a day in the cave. Between 6:00 and 10:00 hours local time in the early morning, the cave is open only for asthma-sick visitors.[5] While the entrance fee for tourists cost ₺ 4.50, the visitors for cure pay only ₺ 0.30.[2]
- "Damlataş Mağarası". Sabah (in Turkish). Retrieved 2015-06-07.
- "Damlataş Mağarası'nda 'astım' turizmi". Vatan (in Turkish). 2015-01-05. Retrieved 2015-06-07.
- "Damlataş mağarası astıma şifa". Hürriyet (in Turkish). 2010-08-02. Retrieved 2015-06-07.
- "Damlataş Mağarası". Alanya TV (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 2016-06-19. Retrieved 2015-06-07.
- "Alanya's magic is still intact". Hürriyet Daily News. 1996-12-03. Retrieved 2015-06-07.
- "Damlataş Cave". Alanya. Archived from the original on 2008-02-16. Retrieved 2015-06-07.
- "Alanya summer's last fling". Hürriyet Daily News. 1996-11-02. Retrieved 2015-06-07.
