The Dupnisa Cave ( tr, Dupnisa Mağarası), aka Dupnisa Caves, is a show cave located in

Kırklareli Province Kırklareli Province ( tr, ) is a 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 province of Tekirda ...

, 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 Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

word ''Dupnitsa'' (Дупница), related to the word for "hole".

Location

The cave is situated deep in the forest, along the Strandzha 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 ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

. The Dupnisa Cave is accessible via the

Kırklareli Kırklareli () is a city within Kırklareli Province in the European part of Turkey. Name It is not clearly known when the city was founded, nor under what name. The Byzantine Greeks called it Sarànta Ekklisiès (''Σαράντα Εκκλησι� ...

- Dereköy route (State Road D.555), from the Dereköy-Sarpdere or Kırklareli-

Üsküp Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; r ...

- Çukurpınar-Sarpdere routes from the north, and on the

Vize Vize ( el, Βιζύη, bg, Виза) is a town and district of Kırklareli Province in the Marmara region of Turkey. The district governor is Elif Canan Tuncer, and the mayor is Ercan Özalp ( CHP). According to the Turkish Statistical Institu ...

- Poyralı D.020, Poyralı-Demirköy D.565 or the forementioned Demirköy-Sarpdere route from the south. In 1913,

Lyubomir Miletich Lyubomir Miletich ( bg, Любомир Милетич) (14 January 1863 – 1 June 1937) was a leading Bulgarian linguist, ethnographer, dialectologist and historian, as well as the chairman of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences from 1926 to ...

recorded the existence of a Bulgarian-populated

chiflik Chiflik, or chiftlik (Ottoman Turkish: ; al, çiflig; bg, чифлик, ''chiflik''; mk, чифлиг, ''čiflig''; el, τσιφλίκι, ''tsiflíki''; sr, читлук/''čitluk''), is a Turkish term for a system of land management in th ...

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 which broke out when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Serbia and Greece, on 16 ( O.S.) / 29 (N.S.) June 1913. Serbian and Greek armies r ...

Formation and geology

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

Toarcian The Toarcian is, in the ICS' geologic timescale, an age and stage in the Early or Lower Jurassic. It spans the time between 182.7 Ma (million years ago) and 174.1 Ma. It follows the Pliensbachian and is followed by the Aalenian. The Toarcian ...

age Age or AGE may refer to: Time and its effects * Age, the amount of time someone or something has been alive or 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-J ...

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 by ...

, 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 environmental watershed sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is calle ...

properties, stalactites and stalagmites. 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 (, ; from the Greek 'stalaktos' ('dripping') via ''stalassein'' ('to drip') 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 an ...

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 boxworks over the lakes. The lower cave is at an elevation of AMSL. 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. The upper cave, "Kız", is not open to the public due to the approximate 60,000 total

bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". 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 ...

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