Salt of the earth: Stunning 5,000-year-old mines inside caves and tunnels in Turkey which are still in use today
From the surface there is nothing special about the hilly countryside around the city of Cankiri in Turkey.
However 1,300ft below ground is a stunning salt mine which was first dug by primitive humans around 5,000 years ago.
Despite
its incredible age the mine is still in use today and produces more
then 500 tonnes of salt each year which is used in cooking and for a
range of souvenirs.
According to a 1971-79 survey there is
still more than 1billion tonnes of ore left in the mine, which is
extracted using machines and underground blasting.
These
pictures were taken by Melih Sular, 32, who was guided through the
caves by Murat Danaci as part of the National Geographic photography
contest.
He said: 'When I first entered the salt cave I was afraid. I thought to myself: "What happens if it collapses?"
He added: 'I've never
seen anything like it before. The most striking part of the caves is the
old gallery, which were dug by Hittites.
'It's interesting because they dug this gallery with simple tools and their own hands, unlike today's methods.'
While temperatures in the city
regularly reach 92 Fahrenheit (33C), the mercury never strays much above
59 degrees (15C) inside the ancient caves.
The Hitties were an ancient
race who built an empire in the Middle East which covered most of
modern-day central Turkey, northern Syria and Iraq and flourished
between 1,400 and 1,200BC.
They were famous for their skill in building and making chariots and wrote in a hieroglyphic-type language called cuneiform.
They were eventually destroyed after
several costly wars, particularly a defeat to the army of Ramses II,
pharaoh of the Egyptians. Competition for succession of the throne also
drained their resources.
Today the mine has 16 workers and contains a small canteen, a mosque, repair room, workshop and a first aid room.
All the ore extracted from the mine, which measures in at around 90 per cent purity, is taken by diggers to nearby railway tracks where it is transported to a factory for processing.
There
is so much salt contained in the ground around the mine that it appears
around the edge of a nearby lake after being dissolved into the water.
- Salt mine is located outside of Cankiri city in northern Turkey
- It was first mined by ancient race called Hittites in 3000BC
- Despite its age it still produces 500 tonnes of salt a year
- Photographs were taken for National Geographic contest
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