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Avcılar Cave in Kaz Mountains (Edremit - Balikesir) and Its Tourism Potential

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1

Tourism, Environment and

Sustainability

Editors Prof. Dr. Cevdet AVCIKURT

Prof. Dr. Mihaela DINU Prof. Dr. Necdet HACIOĞLU

Prof. Dr. Recep EFE Prof. Dr. Abdullah SOYKAN

ISBN 978-954-07-4021-8

ST. KLIMENT OHRIDSKI UNIVERSITY PRESS SOFIA 2015

Tourism, Environment and Sustainability

2

Editors

Prof. Dr. Cevdet Avcıkurt Balikesir University Faculty of Tourism 10145-Çagış-Balıkesir-Tukey

Prof. Dr. Mihaela S. Dinu Romanian American University Romanian-American University, School of Domestic and International Tourism Economic 012101-Bucharest, Romania

Prof. Dr. Necdet Hacıoğlu Balikesir University Faculty of Tourism 10145-Çagış-Balıkesir-Tukey

Prof. Dr. Recep Efe Balikesir University Faculty of Arts and Sciences Department of Geography 10145-Çağış, Balıkesir-Tukey

Prof. Dr. Abdullah Soykan Balikesir University Faculty of Arts and Sciences Department of Geography 10145-Çağış, Balıkesir-Tukey

St. Kliment Ohridski University Press ISBN 978-954-07-4021-8 The contents of papers are the sole responsibility of the authors, and publication shall not imply the concurrence of the Editors or Publisher. © 2105 Mihaela Dinu, Necdet Hacıoğlu, Cevdet Avcıkurt, Recep Efe, Abdullah Soykan

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the editors and authors

Tourism, Environment and Sustainability 

5

CHAPTER 11 ........................................................................................................... 138 

Social Tourism and Intercultural Interaction 

Cüneyt TOKMAK 

CHAPTER 12 ........................................................................................................... 147 

Modern and Post-Modern Holiday Tendency 

Düriye BOZOK 

CHAPTER 13 ........................................................................................................... 160 

Halal Tourism (Halal Tourism and Halal Food)  

Eda GÜNEŞ, Ümit SORMAZ and Mustafa YILMAZ 

CHAPTER 14 ........................................................................................................... 167 

Rural Tourism: A Conceptual Approach 

Gökhan AYAZLAR & Reyhan A. AYAZLAR 

CHAPTER 15 ........................................................................................................... 185 

Reasons Why The Consumers Choose Ethnic Restaurants 

Gülhan CEVİZKAYA & Cevdet AVCIKURT 

CHAPTER 16 ........................................................................................................... 193 

General Profiles and Reasons to Visit Wine Regions of Wine Tourists: A Comparison of Bozcaada, Elazığ and Cappadocia Regions 

Gürkan AKDAĞ & Kamil YAĞCI 

CHAPTER 17 ........................................................................................................... 202 

Global Trends for Thermal Tourism Branding and Current Situation Analysis in Turkey 

Kudret GÜL & Melike GÜL 

CHAPTER 18 ........................................................................................................... 219 

Analysis of Sustainable Tourism and Cittaslow Potential of Ulubey (Uşak)  

Mehmet DENİZ 

CHAPTER 19 ........................................................................................................... 239 

Gastronomy Tourism 

Ümit SORMAZ, Eda GÜNEŞ and Mustafa YILMAZ 

CHAPTER 20 ........................................................................................................... 255 

Avcılar Cave in Kaz Mountains (Edremit - Balikesir) and Its Tourism Potential 

Kadir TUNCER, Lütfi NAZIK, Abdullah SOYKAN and Murat POYRAZ 

CHAPTER 21 ........................................................................................................... 268 

“Dark Tourism” As Special Interest Tourism 

Volkan ALTINTAŞ & Yağmur ASLAN 

CHAPTER 22 ........................................................................................................... 278 

Festivals as Cultural Attractions in Tourism: Case of Slovenia 

Sabriye ÇELİK UĞUZ & Aleš GAČNIK 

Tourism, Environment and Sustainability 

3

Preface

Tourism has become one of the most remarkable industries in the contemporary world and it is a key driver for the economies of many countries worldwide. Therefore, it is not surprising that the number of tourism related studies has an increasing trend in recent years.

There is very strict connection between tourism and environment since tourism depends on the quality of the environment. The quality of an environment is the primary attraction for tourists. Today, most of the tourists are sensitive to polluted or environmentally degraded conditions.

Sustainability could be defined as an ability or capacity of something to be maintained or to sustain itself. Sustainability is the collection of policies and strategies employed by institutions and companies to minimize their environmental impact on future generations.

As a living system, tourism has changed continuously. This change has affected tourism and quite diverse approaches have emerged accordingly. Some of these new approaches are social responsibility, health, sustainability of resources, tourism alternatives, new touristic attractions etc. This book has a key focus on assessing such tourism related topics from different perspectives.

The book reflects the highlights of tourism by including trend topics such as skiing tourism, Islamic tourism, cultural tourism, gastronomy tourism, health tourism, social tourism, halal tourism, rural tourism, thermal tourism, birdwatching tourism, dark tourism, ecotourism and nature tourism. In addition, it includes wine tourists, ethnic restaurants, national parks, festivals, sustainability, green solutions and environmental awareness issues. In this sense, the book supports the interrelated structure of tourism and other disciplines.

It is obvious that, there will be other new issues related to tourism in the near future. Cultural, environmental, technological and behavioral changes will affect the needs and expectations of tourists who are the consumer of tourism phenomenon. In this changing environment, keeping up with recent trends can provide advantages.

This book covers the topics on tourism, environment and related subject. The main purpose of this book is to ensure better scientific interaction and academic cooperation between academics in different countries. Another goal is to give young scientists who have been unable to publish their work abroad a chance to make their researches known, boosting their self-confidence and offering scientific satisfaction. This book contains 49 chapters and it reflects various academics’ scientific level in terms of tourism and environment.

Consequently, we believe this book will be helpful for decision makers, students as well as academic studies. We would like to thank to all contributors of the book, which covers a broad range of issues related to tourism and environment.

The Editors 

 

255

Chapter 20

Avcılar Cave in Kaz Mountains (Edremit - Balikesir) and Its Tourism Potential

Kadir TUNCER, Lütfi NAZIK, Abdullah SOYKAN and Murat POYRAZ

INTRODUCTION

Many caves were formed in Turkey, which is, in a large part, composed of carbonate, sulphate and chlorinated rocks suitable for dissolving. These interesting underground shapes, which vary from region to region and differ in their frequency distribution are estimated to be more than twenty thousand. The caves, which are especially denser around Toros Mountains, have more than 5 kilometers lengths in places and 1000 metres depths. Caves have shapes and structures that characterize the geological, geo-morphological, hydrological, anthropological and climactic properties of the regions in which they are situated, create an immense ecosystem with the entirety of living and non-living entities they include. The caves that form in ten thousands, even millions of years and that need to be conserved and hand down to next generations with the rich inner content that stretch human imagination are utilized for various purposes based on physico-chemical formation and development properties. These mysterious gaps of the underground that have become an economic sector on its own in many countries and in Turkey may be used for various purposes such as tourism, storage, shelter, military logistics area, cave therapy, mushroom cultivation, maturation of animal products and production of underground water and placer mineral. This way, caves immensely contribute to the socio-economic development of the region in which they are located (Nazik and Tuncer, 2010)

The cave is situated in the southern foothills of Kaz Mountains that lay in W-E direction in the immediate north from the coast along Edremit bay in Edremit (Balıkesir) located in Western Anatolia Stress Region in tectonic terms and in Western Anatolia Karst Region in Karst Morphology. Avcılar Cave, situated in a region topped by rocks that are suitable for dissolving and where cave formation is not dense, does not have sufficient dimensions either in depth or length to be listed in the ranking of caves in Turkey. However, since the benefits of even the smallest caves are comprehended based on the contributions to the socio-economic development of the region in which they are located, the significance of caves have increased. Hence, local governments have embarked on a quest to investigate the existing caves.

It is believed that speleotourism will contribute to the efforts to diversify tourism and disseminate it in the whole district in Edremit-Altınoluk region where coastal and nature tourism are developing rapidly. In this context, this study was undertaken to identify the tourism potential of Avcılar cave located in the immediate north of Avcılar Village of Altınoluk town.

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GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION AND ACCESS

Location Province: Balıkesir, District: Edremit, Village: Avcılar Map Section and Cadaster No: AYVALIK- İ17-c4/1 Coordinates (UTM 50): X : 04 83 558 E, Y : 43 83 401 N, Z : 373 m Total Length: 145 m In terms of the entrance; main branch depth: -22.5 m according to the surface;

deepest point: -22.5 m. Cave Type: with a strait position, Avcılar is a fossil cave with semi horizontal

semi vertical development. Avcılar Cave is located near Avcılar village in Edremit district in the western

Anatolia (Fig. 1 and 2).

Figure 1: Location map of Avcılar Cave

It is 2 km to Edremit-Altınoluk highway. In the 4th km of Altınoluk-Edremit highway, one takes a turn a left to Avcılar village in the direction of Kaz Mountain

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and arrives to the village after 2 km. The cave is located on the east of between Avcılar and Kızılçukur village. About 1 km stabilized road that climbs to Kaz Mountain before one arrives 300-400 m closer to the cave by vehicle located in the upper slope of Tavşanalanı stream valley. Here, walking is required to access the cave (Fig. 3 and 4).

Geology of the area Immediate surroundings of Avcılar Cave are composed of Kazdağ

metamorphites of Sakarya Zone, Oligo-Miocene volcanic rocks that appear discordantly on Kazdağ metamorphites and Pliocene clastic sediments at the very top (Duru, 2007). The oldest rocks of the cave area are the Tertiary metamorphic gneiss, schist and marble in Fındıklı Formation (Triassic) (Fig. 5, 6 and 7). Marble bands of 6-7 levels between 5-150 m are included in the Fındıklı Formation gneiss. The highest of these marble series, Babadağ Marble Member (Trfb) and Altınoluk Marble Member (Trfa) possess the lithological properties against karstification. Although the fact that these marbles are not thick and not continuous enough and appear as interim bands hinders the formation of deeper caves. It is white-light pink colored, fine sugary textured and thin-medium thick.

Figure 2: Elevation model of the area of Avcılar Cave.

Figure 3: Slopes of Kaz Mountains in which the cave is located and the stabilized road that leads to the cave.

Figure 4: The entrance of Avcılar Cave

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Figure 5: Triassic Fındıklı Formation.

Figure 6: Triassic Altınoluk Marble on which Avcılar Cave developed.

Figure 7: Geological map of Avcılar Cave area and geological cross-section from Avcılar Cave area

Altınoluk Marble Member and white colored Babadağ Marble Member with large crystalline and weak foliation are the rocks in the region with lithological characteristics for karstification (Fig. 4 and 6). Edremit Fault Zone, the continuation of North Anatolian Fault Zone lays in an arc to the east in NE-SW direction in the immediate south of Avcılar Cave. This fault borders the Kazdağ metamorphites from the south.

The normal slip faults in the zone with W-E and SW-NE directions played effective roles in the formation Oligo-Miocene volcanic rocks. In addition, they caused the heave of Kazdağ Massif that is located between the fault zone and SW-NE directional Avcılar Fault passing in the north of Kaz Mountain as well as the formation of a multi-period and heterogeneous karstic development.

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Geomorphology

Immediate surroundings of Avcılar Cave are composed of landforms that belong to Miocene, Pliocene and Pleistocene relief systems. Landforms that belong to Miocene relief system occur between 1250-1775 meters. These Miocene period landforms are composed of karstic shapes such as erosion surfaces deeply cut by rivers, paleo valleys, dolines and caves. Surfaces that belong to Pliocene system lays between generally 350-1250 m throughout valleys and Miocene system found in the highest sections of Kaz Mountains. The most characteristics landforms of this system widely observed in the region are erosion surfaces, paleo and hanging valleys, nip valleys, inclined slope plateaus and perched karstic shapes (Fig. 8). Avcılar Cave is one of those caves. On the other hand, shapes such as boom plateaus of Pleistocene, young valleys and channels and river terraces are also observed at different levels at lower plateaus and with the fracturing of Edremit Fault Zone (Fig. 9).

Figure 8: Surfaces and terrace sets of Pleistocene right behind Avcılar Cave that experienced tectonic heaves.

Figure 9: Pleistocene under the influence of tectonic heaves.

Figure 10: Altınoluk marbles on the upper side, and the gneiss and schist of Fındıklı Formation that formed an impermeable surface on the bottom.

Figure 11: An image from Avcılar Cave which is a fossil cave.

Fındık brook, rises in the peaks of Kaz Mountains and located in a canyon valley that reaches a depth of 500 m at times till the region of Kavlaklar village and Küpönü stream (Deli stream) that joins Fındık brook from the west have been immensely influential in the development of Avcılar Cave. Avcılar Cave located in the western slope of the higher sections of Tavşanalanı stream and developed on Pliocene surfaces was shaped by the tectonic movements in the region. As a result of the rise of Fındık brook and Küpönü stream and Kazdağ Massif and having been incised in the canyon,

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the cave displayed semi horizantal-semi vertical development till the impermeable level at the bottom. The cave could not keep pace with regeneration due to the impermeable level at the bottom in the region where morphological regeneration continued due to tectonic movements and faulting in Pleistocene and was transformed into a fossil zone perched in vadose zone (Fig. 10 and 11).

Figure 12. Avcılar Cave plan and sections.

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Formation and Development Characteristics of the Cave

Avcılar Cave, which is a characteristic type of the Pliocene relief system and developed during Pleistocene started to develop as a strait and transformed into a multi later cave because of tectonic movements (Fig. 12). Entrance of the cave is 373 m a.s.l. is located 70 m higher than the valley floor of Tavşanalanı stream.

Avcılar Cave did not reach large dimensions due to low thickness and continuity of the Triassic marble in which it developed. The cave, which presented an initial rough NW-SE directional extent, is very close to the surface deepened as a result of subsequent tectonic movements and continued its development towards the bottom for 15 m in line with the extent of the upper floor (Fig. 13). This figure shows the total length of the cave composed of two layers as 145 m (Fig. 12). The upper floor generated horizontally with a low slope developed in NW-SE direction in accordance with the joint/fracture system on the surface is a very short and small section of 8-10 m (Fig. 14). Joint/fracture system on the ceiling at the entrance expanded at later periods and caused the ceiling to collapse. This collapse created two entrances side by side -7.5 and 9 each- on the upper floor (Fig. 15). A gallery of 1.5-2 m width and 1-1.5 m ceiling height is used to pass to the lower floor which is 15 m below from the upper floor with no dripstone formations whose base is covered with debris, bocks and soil and which is completely fossil (Fig. 16 and 17).

Figure 13: Entrance to Avcılar Cave.

Figure14: Upper Floor in the entrance section to Avcılar Cave.

Figure 15: The escarpment that provides entrance to Avcılar Cave.

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A 3.5 m escarpment at the end of the sloping strait gallery provides entrance to the high and wide saloon in the lower floor (Fig. 18). This section whose last stages are between -22.5 m and -0.5 m compared to the entrance and that lays in NW-SE direction is rich in terms of dripstone. Especially wall dripstones, stalactites, stalagmites and small dry dripstone pools decorate the narrow and low side branches in the NW section of the middle parts of this floor (Fig. 19, 20, 21 and 22).

Figure 16: The narrow and low gallery that allow entrance from the Upper Floor to the Lower Floor in Avcılar Cave.

Figure 17: The narrow and low gallery that allows entrance from the Upper Floor to the Lower Floor in Avcılar Cave.

Figure 18: The escarpment, which provides the entrance to Lower Floor from the Middle Floor in Avcılar Cave.

Figure 19: Pilars, stalactites and draperies formed at the Lower Floor of Avcılar Cave.

Figure 20: Stalagmites, stalactites and draperies formed at the Lower Floor of Avcılar Cave.

Figure 21: Pilars, stalactites and draperies formed at the Lower Floor of Avcılar Cave.

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The part of Lower Floor in the NW much closer to surface is composed of two parts. The rather sloping first part situated above composed of soil and small debris is 50 m long. Its ceiling height and width vary 1.5-3 m and 7-12 m respectively. Few bats live in the highest sections of this part whose floor is filled with guano and soil accumulation (Fig. 23 and 24). In addition, the roots of the trees that are on the surface dangle from the ceiling of this section (Fig. 25 and 26). The side wall developed in the middle part of the upper section with 1-2 m width and 1-1.5 m ceiling height and contains cave shapes such as wall dripstones, stalactites, stalagmites and small dry dripstone pools (Fig. 27 and 28).

The Lower Floor with 9 m width and 20 m length not only has ample amount of pillars, stalactites, stalagmites, curtain stalactites but also includes a small hall 2.5 m above the ceiling of the middle part with 8-9 m length, 0.5-1 m ceiling height (Fig. 29 and 30).Lower parts of the middle section have less sloping and its floor is covered by soil and debris. The cave ends with this section which is at -22.5 m elevation compared to the entrance (Fig. 31).

Figure 22: Stalagmites and draperies formed at the Lower Floor of Avcılar Cave.

Figure 23: Bats in the Lower Floor of Avcılar Cave.

Figure 24: Soil and guano in the Lower Floor of Avcılar Cave.

Environmental conditions in Pliocene and the tectonic uplifts in Pleistocene were the factors that affected the development of Avcılar Cave composed of two parts connected to one another with steps. The thickness of Triassic marbles, the joint system and the slope of their layers were the determinants in shaping the cave. The galleries of the cave, which generally developed inside a 50-150 m marble thickness, lay in the NW-SE direction based on the direction of the joint system in the marble. The thickness of marbles also affected the limited deepening of the cave. However,

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deepening was also affected by the regeneration of the region with the help of rivers in addition to marble thickness.

Hydrology of the area

Avcılar Cave with shapes and structures, which characterize multi period development, is a 2-floor cave. The Upper Floor, which initially developed with a strait position, was fossilized when it went into vadose zone through tectonic uplifts following the Pliocene and morphological regeneration the Lower Floor which acquired more length also continued to stay in the vadose zone (ventilation zone) because of the same reasons and was totally fossilized by completing its development. Therefore, Avcılar Cave was absolutely dry during pluvial periods other than the water that drips from the ceiling (Fig. 32).

Figure 25: Ceiling tree roots in the Lower Floor of Avcılar Cave.

Figure 26: Ceiling tree roots in the Lower Floor of Avcılar Cave.

Figure 27: Pillars, draperies, curtain stalactites, stalagmites, stalactites and small dry dripstone pools on the side branch of the Lower Floor in Avcılar Cave.

Figure 28: Dry dripstone pools in the Lower Floor in Avcılar Cave.

Figure 29: Pillars, stalactites and draperies in the Lower Floor in Avcılar Cave.

Figure 30: Stalactites in the Lower Floor in Avcılar Cave

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Meteorology of the Cave

Avcılar Cave with two (9 and 7.5 m) connected perpendicular entrances and a position that is very close to surface has a warm and humid temperature. During the studies conducted in August 2012, the temperature was measured as 13-14°C and relative humidity was measured to be 93-94% in the various sections of the Upper Floor in the Cave whereas the temperature was 14°C and humidity was 82% in the Upper Floor (Table 1). On the other hand, no lack or abundance of gas that could threaten human health was detected inside the cave.

Figure 31: The deepest section in the Lower Floor in Avcılar Cave.

Figure 32: Avcılar Cave is a fossil cave.

Table 1: Temperature, relative humidity, oxygen (O2), carbon monoxide (CO), methane (CH4) and hydrogen sulphur (H2S) values taken in August 2012 in Avcılar Cave.

Point of measurement

Tempera-ture (ºC)

Relative humidity (%)

O2

(%) CO

(% lel) CH4

(%lel) H2S

(%ppm)

Outside 32.4 31.3 20.4 008 003 0 Upper Floor 14 82.1 20.6 009 004 0 Lower Floor Upper Section

14.2 94 20.6 002 005 0

Lower Floor Upper Section

13 93,3 20.6 002 005 0

Lower Floor Middle Section

13 93.3 20.7 0 004 0

Lower Floor Lower Section

13 93.3 20.7 0 004 0

Flora and Fauna

No characteristic biomes have been observed in Avcılar Cave located very close to the surface. However, a small number of bats are observed in the Lower Floor (Fig. 34).

Tourism Potential of the Cave Avcılar Cave which has a semi-horizontal and semi-vertical extent is a fossil

cave which completed its development. The cave which is completely dry in rainy periods other than the water that drips form the ceiling is composed of two floors connected to one another. Various parts of Avcılar Cave, which is located very close to the surface, are covered with different dripstones (Fig. 27, 28, 29 and 30). These

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dripstones are clustered in the Lower Floor and the side branches of the Lower Floor. On the other hand, no dripstone formations exist on the Upper Floor (Fig. 14, 15, 16 and 31).

With these formational and developmental properties, Avcılar Cave is very suitable to be utilized for tourism purposes due to the dripstones it possesses, the density of tourism activities in the region, its proximity to the coast and the ease of transportation. The cave can be opened for tourism after the cave and its surroundings are taken care of and regulated.

Figure 33: Avcılar Cave which is perpetually warm is not affected from lack or abundance of gas that could threaten human health

Figure 34: Bats living in the Lower Floor of Avcılar Cave.

RESULTS

Avcılar Cave composed of two connected floors developed in Triassic Altınoluk marbles.

The direction of the marble joints (NW-SE) was effective in the extent of the cave. However, the thickness of the marble, the direction of the slope in the lower impermeable surface, tectonic uplifts and morphological regeneration were effective in cave deepening.

Avcılar with a -22.5 difference in elevation between the entrance and its end is a multi-layer cave with crucial developmental properties.

Avcılar Cave with a total length of 145 m, width of 1.5-3 m and ceiling height of 2-8 is a fossil cave with semi-horizontal, semi-vertical extent, with strait position and is located in the vadose zone.

Lower Floor of the cave has very elaborate and pretty dripstones of various dimensions.

The cave which is located very close to the surface has a temperature 13-14°C and relative humidity around 93-94% .

No lack or abundance of gas that can negatively affect human health has been detected inside the cave.

A few bats have been observed in the upper sections of the Lower Floor which is closer to the surface. No other characteristic biomes have been observed in the cave.

Avcılar Cave, located in a region, which is very close to the highway and settlements, is suitable for mass tourism due to its physical properties and dripstone formations, which are worth seeing. Therefore, with some arrangements in the

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Entrance Section and in the narrow and low connection gallery that provides passage from the Upper to Lower Floor, the cave can be opened for visitation.

REFERENCES

Duru, M., Pehlivan, Ş., Ilgar, A., Dönmez, M., ve Akçay, A.E., 2007, 1:100.000 ölçekli Türkiye Jeoloji Haritaları. Ayvalık – İ17 Paftası, No: 98, MTA, Ankara

Nazik, L., 2004, The Karst Regions of Turkey (According to the Morphologenesis and Morphometric Properties), Proceeding of International Symposium on Earth System Sciences 2004, s.77-82, Istanbul-Turkey

Nazik, L., Tuncer, K., 2010, Türkiye Karst Morfolojisinin Bölgesel Özellikleri, Türk Speleoloji Dergisi, Dokuz Eylül Üniv., Deprem Araştırma ve Uygulama Merkezi, s.7-19, İzmir


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