Köşekbükü Mağarası

Astım Mağarası - Köşekbükü Astım Mağarası


Useful Information

Location: Ovabaşı, Anamur, Mersin. 9 km northwest of Anamur.
(36.128165, 32.759642)
Open:  
Fee: Adults TRL 5.
[2017]
Classification: SpeleologyKarst Cave
Light: LightIncandescent LightColoured Light
Dimension: L=500 m, T=18 °C, H=80%.
Guided tours: self guided, D=1 h.
Photography: allowed
Accessibility: no
Bibliography:  
Address: Köşekbükü Mağarası, Akdeniz, Alparslan Türkeş Blv. No:143, 33640 Anamur/Mersin Tel: +90-.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then.
Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

06-AUG-2012 show cave abandoned after destruction by a forest fire.
20-JUL-2017 cave reopened to the public after renovation.

Description

Köşekbükü Mağarası (Kosekbuku Cave) is located in the village Ovabaşı Mahallesi. It is an old show cave, open to the public for decades, but a forest fire on 06-AUG-2012 destroyed part of the wooden buildings. The cave was abandoned, the burned buildings were not cleaned up, and unfortunately the cave was not closed. The buildings crumbled further, people visited the cave unsupervised, and in short time the cave became a garbage heap and subject to vandalism. Finally, in 2017, the cave was completely renovated with funds from Çevresi Turizm Altyapı Hizmet Birliği’nin (Surrounding Tourism Infrastructure Service Association METAB) and the Mersin government. New trails and a new light system, unfortunately with coloured(!) light, were installed. The buildings were demolished and rebuilt, and a new restaurant opened at the entrance. Also, the road to the cave was improved, but it seems they forgot the parking lot.

The cave is also signposted as Astım Mağarası (Asthma Cave), because according to legend it heals respiratory diseases like asthma. There is a fairy tale that Anna, the daughter of Roman King Antiochus, cured her asthma in the cave. That's actually a legend (which is told in 90% of the Turkish show caves) because speleotherapy requires that patients visit the cave for many hours per day for at least three weeks. If you want to offer speleotherapy it is necessary to have a tunnel with deckchairs or other moisture-resistant furniture and blankets to prevent chilling. We think that's the minimum if you want to name your cave Asthma Cave, but as far as we know there is no cave in Turkey which offers this. Nevertheless, the owners placed signs with the barometric pressure in the cave, which is exceptionally stupid, as the pressure changes continually with the weather. And speleotherapy is not connected to the air pressure. And they even give the wrong values as sometimes it is 162 millibars and sometimes its 762 millibars.