The cave, where salt has been extracted since the Hittite period, located 150 meters underground in Çankırı, plays a significant role in promoting the city.
The 11th part of the Anatolian Agency's (AA) file news on "Caves of Turkey" featured the Çankırı Salt Cave, also known as the "Underground Salt City."
The cave, covering an area of 18,000 square meters, is estimated to be 200 years old. Preserved without deterioration, it houses taxidermied various animals, including a donkey, and numerous sculptures and artworks, attracting tourists to Çankırı.
With the ongoing efforts by Çankırı Municipality, the cave is planned to host not only health tourism but also cultural, artistic, and sports activities.
Çankırı Mayor İsmail Hakkı Esen told AA reporter that salt production is still ongoing in the Çankırı Salt Cave.
Esen, emphasizing the significant importance they place on the cave, stated, "In terms of alternative tourism, it is a unique place not only in Çankırı but also in Turkey and the world. In 2022, we held our first festival under the name 'TuzFest,' and this year we organized the second one. When we took office in 2019, this place was attracting approximately 50,000 visitors annually, but with innovations each year, social facilities inside, and artistic structures, we have made this place more vibrant."
Esen pointed out that the salt cave has enough reserves to meet Turkey's salt needs for 400 years, stating, "In this sense, it is the biggest locomotive in terms of tourism in Çankırı. In our festival this year, we hosted 1 million visitors within 15 days. It is a very important mine. It's a mineral for which wars have been fought from the past to the present, and we understand its value. It is used in about 14,000 industries, but we are making efforts to enrich our salt cave more and make its interior more attractive day by day to turn Çankırı into a center of attraction in terms of tourism."
"It will appeal to health tourism"
Esen stated that work is ongoing on the social facilities, parking areas, and lighting of the cave, expressing that they will host even more people in the future.
"We call it the Underground Salt City. It's a very large area. In the future, the interior can cater to health tourism and provide healing to people. The air and atmosphere there are of great importance. We will create such a space. There are examples of this around the world. Areas where we can showcase our local products will be created, there will be conference halls, and we are creating spaces where we can organize various events. The projects for these are ready. Every day, we add something new to make it even more beautiful."
"In this sense, not only the salt cave but also the natural and cultural beauties of Çankırı, we hope to introduce to the whole world. We expect an even larger influx of tourists in 2024. Our target was 1 million, but we achieved it within a period of 2 years. I truly believe it is a place that everyone should come and see. Our city, our salt cave, our historical mansions, and our local products make Çankırı a place worth exploring."
Esen highlighted the significant contributions of the salt cave not only to Çankırı's tourism but also to its economy, stating, "Our biggest goal is for Çankırı to come to mind when people think of salt. We say we have our salt on every table. In terms of mineral values, we have the most precious salt. I can say that it has great importance for the development, economy, socialization of the city, and its introduction to the world."