Dim Mağarası

Cave's Evolution

Dim Cave is at a distance of 145 Km. to the touristic city of Antalya and 11 Km. to the touristic center Alanya, which is mostly attracted by the European tourists, on Mediterranean coast of TÜRKİYE. The Cave is at a high of 232 metres from the sea level and is at the western slope of 1691 metres high Cebel Reis mountain. The Dim Cave is reachable both from Kestel and Tosmur Towns and also from Dim Stream Valley by asphalted roads.

Dim Cave was known by the surrounding villagers previously. Some parts of the Cave were used as shelter by hunters and sheperds. This cave has first been investigated and measured by professional speleologists in 1986. After several years, it was brought to the show cave conditions by MAGTUR S.A. and was leased to Magtur joint stock Co. by the Government in 1996 and was open for visits in 1998. Dim Cave , in this case, is the first cave business enterprise operated by private sector in TÜRKİYE.

The Geological, Geomorphogical Formation and Evolution (Summary)
Dim Cave is a natural and karstic cave. It was formed by the carbonic acid rich rain and snow waters running through the faults and joints disolving the limestone rocks. Tectonic is also effective on formation and evolution of the cave.
Dim Cave had been developed along a major fault zone, running in the NW - SE direction on Cebel Reis mountain in the Middle Taurus Mountains. Lower part of the limestones are intercalated by shists. At the end of this intercalation, at lowest part of the formation, (oldest strata) is shist, which is thin bedded, plate like, not solvable an not porous.

The Taurus Mountains are in the young Alpine mountain zone and they reached at their present body frame during plio-pleistocene of the second half of the fourth geologic time period as a result of the great tectonic movements.

Contrary to this young tectonic activities the Dim Stream carved it's bed down, producing a " V " shaped valley. The water which produce the Dim Cave sunk into the ground had been disappeared by the time. However 150 metres below the Cave the underground water which spring out of the ground and join the Dim Stream might have been the Dim Cave water.

The Dim Cave is 360 metres long and approximately has 10-15 metres width and height. The interior of the cave is covered by many kinds of dripstone (stalagtites and stalagmites) formations and at present the dripstone formation is still continued from place to place.

At the end of the Cave there is a small lake which is 17 metres deep then the entrance level and aproximately 200 m² at surface. Occurance of the lake depends to the shist level (impermeable) which takes place at the buttom.

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