The Dupnisa Cave (), aka Dupnisa Caves, is a

show cave A show cave—also called tourist cave, public cave, and, in the United States, commercial cave—is a cave which has been made accessible to the public for guided visits. Definition A show cave is a cave that has been made accessible to ...

located in

Kırklareli Province Kırklareli Province () is a Provinces of Turkey, province in northwestern Turkey on the west coast of the Black Sea. The province neighbours Bulgaria to the north along a long border. It borders the province of Edirne to the west and the provinc ...

, northwestern Turkey, close to Bulgarian-Turkish border. The cave itself, unlike what the original name suggests, is actually three, interconnected caves divided into two separate floors. Its name is derived from the Bulgarian word ''Dupnitsa'' (Дупница), related to the word for "hole".

Location

The cave is situated deep in the forest, along the

Strandzha Strandzha (, also transliterated as ''Strandja'', ; , or ) is a mountain massif in southeastern Bulgaria and East Thrace, the European part of Turkey. It is in the southeastern part of the Balkans between the plains of Thrace to the west, th ...

Mountain Range, southwest of Sarpdere village and southwest of Demirköy in Kırklareli Province. It is located at a distance of from the provincial seat of Kırklareli, and from the city of

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. The Dupnisa Cave is accessible via the

Kırklareli Kırklareli () is a city in the East Thrace, European part of Turkey. It is the seat of Kırklareli Province and Kırklareli District.Dereköy route (State Road D.555), from the Dereköy-Sarpdere or Kırklareli-

Üsküp Skopje ( , ; ; , sq-definite, Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It lies in the northern part of the country, in the Skopje Valley along the Vardar River, and is the political, economic, and cultural center of t ...

- Çukurpınar-Sarpdere routes from the north, and on the Vize- Poyralı D.020, Poyralı-Demirköy D.565 or the forementioned Demirköy-Sarpdere route from the south. In 1913, Lyubomir Miletich recorded the existence of a Bulgarian-populated

chiflik Chiflik, or chiftlik (Ottoman Turkish: ; ; , ''chiflik''; , ''čiflig''; , ''tsiflíki''; /''čitluk''), is a Turkish term for a system of land management in the Ottoman Empire. Before the chiflik system the Empire used a non-hereditary form o ...

of 15-20 houses named Dunnitsa (Дунница). It was located just south of the modern day Bulgarian-Turkish border, most likely within the immediate vicinity of the cave. The chiflik's inhabitants were transported to Bulgaria after the

Second Balkan War The Second Balkan War was a conflict that broke out when Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia and Kingdom of Greece, Greece, on 1 ...

Formation and geology

The cave was formed as a result of the marble formation's erosion during the

Toarcian The Toarcian is, in the International Commission on Stratigraphy, ICS' geologic timescale, an age (geology), age and stage (stratigraphy), stage in the Early Jurassic, Early or Lower Jurassic. It spans the time between 184.2 Megaannum, Ma (million ...

age Age or AGE may refer to: Time and its effects * Age, the amount of time someone has been alive or something has existed ** East Asian age reckoning, an Asian system of marking age starting at 1 * Ageing or aging, the process of becoming older ...

of the

Early Jurassic The Early Jurassic Epoch (geology), Epoch (in chronostratigraphy corresponding to the Lower Jurassic series (stratigraphy), Series) is the earliest of three epochs of the Jurassic Period. The Early Jurassic starts immediately after the Triassic� ...

epoch In chronology and periodization, an epoch or reference epoch is an instant in time chosen as the origin of a particular calendar era. The "epoch" serves as a reference point from which time is measured. The moment of epoch is usually decided b ...

, dating back to around 180 Ma. It consists of three interconnected caves and has three entrances, arranged into two separate floors. Each cave is different in

hydrologic Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and drainage basin sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is called a hydro ...

properties,

stalactite A stalactite (, ; , ) is a mineral formation that hangs from the ceiling of caves, hot springs, or man-made structures such as bridges and mines. Any material that is soluble and that can be deposited as a colloid, or is in suspension (chemistry ...

s and

stalagmite A stalagmite (, ; ; ) is a type of rock formation that rises from the floor of a cave due to the accumulation of material deposited on the floor from ceiling drippings. Stalagmites are typically composed of calcium carbonate, but may consist ...

s. The total length of the Dupnisa Cave is . Two caves, named "Kuru" ("Dry") and "Kız" ("Maiden"), are situated on the upper level running , of which the lower cave, called "Sulu" ("Wet"), is located underneath. The "Kuru" is extremely rich in terms of stalactites, stalagmites,

stalagnate A stalactite (, ; , ) is a mineral formation that hangs from the ceiling of caves, hot springs, or man-made structures such as bridges and mines. Any material that is soluble and that can be deposited as a colloid, or is in suspension, or is ca ...

s and wall dripstones, reaching massive proportions. It is the source of the spring water flowing into Rezve Creek, the frontier between Turkey and Bulgaria. In contrast, the lower cave contains subterranean streams and lakes with draperies and

boxwork In geology, boxwork is defined as a honeycomb-like structure that can form in some fractured or jointed sedimentary rocks. If the fractures in the host rock are mineralized, they can become more resistant to weathering than the surrounding rock, ...

s over the lakes. The lower cave is at an elevation of

AMSL Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level v ...

. The cave's exit is higher than the entrance.

Tourism

The total dissimilarity and variety of the caves make them an attractive tourist destination. The cave was opened to tourism in 2005, and it is the only show cave in

East Thrace East Thrace or Eastern Thrace, also known as Turkish Thrace or European Turkey, is the part of Turkey that is geographically in Southeast Europe. Turkish Thrace accounts for 3.03% of Turkey's land area and 15% of its population. The largest c ...

. The upper cave, "Kız", is not open to the public due to the approximate 60,000 total

bat Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...

s of eleven different species dwelling on the walls and ceilings of the cave. Only of "Kuru" Cave and of "Sulu" Cave are open as part of the show cave. The "Kuru" cave is open year-round. The main entrance enters "Sulu" Cave, which is followed by a paved gallery complete with handrails. The passage to the area beyond is permitted only to experienced cavers for exploring purposes. At the end of the show cave in "Sulu", a staircase leads up to "Kuru" Cave. The main exit is at the end of the gallery at ground level. Return to the entry point is by a marked trail through the woods, which takes around 15 minutes to reach. It was reported that the Dupnisa Cave was visited by over 17,000 domestic and foreign tourists within the first four months of 2012. The number of visitors reached 120,000 in 2013, according to the Deputy Director of Culture and Tourism in Kırklareli. In response to the periodical abundance of bats, the cave is now closed from November 15 until May 15.

References

External links

{{Caves of Turkey Show caves in Turkey Landforms of Kırklareli Province Tourist attractions in Kırklareli Province Demirköy District Strandzha