The Ballica Cave is in Tokat province, Turkey. The cave started to form 3.5 million years ago. Its overall length is 680 meters, the height is 94 meters, and the total area is 10 thousand square meters. Leek and macaroni-shaped stalactites, columns, onion stalactites, stalagmites, pools, cave roses, cave pearls, and marbling can be seen in the cave. It is the only cave in Turkey with onion stalactites. The cave also has high oxygen levels, which is good for asthma patients. That’s why many asthma patients visit the cave for long hours. There is an old man-made structure inside which means some people used the cave long before it was discovered by the public.
This cave is so dear to me because it is the first cave I visited in my life. Since most parts of the cave are not yet discovered, I feel like I was in a secret place with lots of mysteries. Also, I saw the bats around the walls inside of the cave when I visited there. The most interesting part of the cave for me was that you needed to climb a mountain with stairs to enter the cave, and when you entered the cave and walked further, you could cross to the other mountain from the inside. It is
worth seeing what happens when you direct your flashlight to the rocks inside the cave. They become like a ball of light because of their structure of minerals.
A.Safa Cakar
04/15/2022