One of the purest salts in the world: "Çankırı Salt"

Çankırı rock salt, which turned out to be one of the purest salts in the world in the academic research, is among the healthiest salts because it does not contain any heavy metals. The Underground Salt City from the Hittites period, visited by thousands of people every year in Çankırı, acts as a salt therapy.

Çankırı is one of the most important salt production centers in Turkey with its mines. Çankırı salt, which makes a name for itself with its purity, draws attention as it is among the few salts in the world that do not contain heavy metals. Çankırı Karatekin University Faculty of Engineering Department of Food Engineering Lecturer Assoc. Dr. In the comparison made by Hüdayi Ercoşkun with salts from different countries, it was determined that Çankırı salt is among the purest salts in the world and does not contain any heavy metals. In Çankırı, which came to the fore with its purity, the Çankırı Underground Salt City, which dates back to the Hittite period, also started to attract attention. The Salt City, 150 meters below the ground, with a size of 18 decares, started to attract great attention from the citizens. Salt City, which acts as a health therapy thanks to the microns it contains, has been visited by more than 700 thousand people in the last year.

“We could not detect any harmful component in Çankırı salt”
Providing information about his research on Çankırı salt, Assoc. Dr. Hüdayi Ercoşkun said, “Çankırı is a very important salt center for Turkey. 5-6 of the few salt mines in our country are located in Çankırı. We have two salt factories. Salt is important for Çankırı. As Çankırı Karatekin University Food Engineering Lecturer, I wanted to discover the properties of Çankırı salt and compare it with world salts. For this purpose, we have procured salts from dozens of different foreign sources. We performed elemental analyzes on all of these salts. As a result of the skin irritation test performed by Hacettepe University, it has been proven that it does not cause skin irritation (0 percent). According to our research, we have discovered heavy metals, microplastics and radioactive substances in many salts. However, we could not detect any harmful component in Çankırı salt. Cankiri salt is pure salt. No salt contains minerals. The minerals we need are not found in any salt in terms of both quantity and variety. The quality criterion of salt is its purity. It has been proven that rock salt, which has antibacterial properties, is 99.5 percent effective against different types of bacteria. In addition, it also helps to remove toxin minerals and other reduced salts accumulated in the body.

The quality criterion of salt is its purity. It has been proven that rock salt, which has antibacterial properties, is 99.5 percent effective against different types of bacteria.

Çankırı salt is important because it does not contain harmful components and has a high purity level. When the structure of the fabrics produced from salt is examined today, it has been determined that it has 35 percent less dust retention than single-layer fabrics and 80 percent less dust-retention rate than double-layered fabrics. Likewise, we know that rock salt is used in salt lamps, which have been used more recently," he said.

“Çankırı Underground Salt City, the locomotive of Çankırı tourism”
Çankırı Mayor İsmail Hakkı Esen, who gave information to the journalists about the works carried out in the Çankırı Underground Salt Cave, said that the Salt City, which has started to attract great attention from the citizens thanks to the works they have done in the last 3 years, will also contribute to health tourism. President Esen, who stated that they are working for Çankırı Underground Tourism to contribute to Turkey's tourism, said, "We now call Çankırı Rock Salt Cave, Çankırı Underground Salt City. A business dating back to the Hittites period. A business that was subsequently transferred to Tekel during the French, Ottoman and Turkish Republic periods. It was transferred to Çankırı Municipality in 2003. I have been trying my best since I took office. We are 150 meters under the ground in 18 acres of closed area. It is filled with salt mines up to 200 meters below the ground we are in. We are in the middle of Anatolia. It is a region that we want to bring to Çankırı, our country and the world in terms of alternative tourism. This is one of the most untouched areas in the world in terms of alternative tourism. Çankırı, with its districts and villages, is a must-see place in terms of alternative tourism. The locomotive of Çankırı tourism is Çankırı Underground Salt City”.

“This year, the number of visitors exceeded 700 thousand with the festival”
Noting that the Salt Cave was introduced to thousands of people with the festivals and organizations organized, Esen said, “About 150 thousand in 2019, 200 thousand in 2020, and the number of visitors approaching 300 thousand, excluding the festival we organized this year. When we took office, our goal was to reach 1 million visitors. We will achieve this in 5 years. In August, we organized a festival called International Salt Fest. During that festival, this place was flooded with visitors. We hosted 500 thousand visitors in 3 days. We organized a cooking competition, 120 international chefs participated. As part of our initiatives in terms of promoting our local products, many visitors who did not see our cave came. They toured in awe. I believe that next year we will attract 1 million visitors at the festival we will organize. This is going exponentially. We do studies and productions here from time to time. For this reason, there was excellent demand even though it was closed for a period. We haven't talked to tour companies yet. They also have demands. We said, 'Do not rush, we are not ready'. This year, with the festival, the number of visitors has exceeded 700 thousand.”

“We will open this place to health tourism”
Expressing that Çankırı Underground Salt City is an important area for health, Esen said, “Our National Boxing Team trained here with the Cuban National Team. They reported to us the progress of the camp process where they started and finished training. Hopefully, we will open this place to health tourism. We will do good events. In terms of tourism, we think that it will make a great contribution to the tourism of Turkey as well as Çankırı.”

'Çankırı can be a touristic facility where salt therapy can be done because it has a large salt mine'
Noting that Çankırı salt city can be an important salt therapy center with the benefits it provides, Ercoşkun said, “Salt therapy has been of great importance in recent years. Salt mine therapies are carried out in many countries against the pollution of the lungs, especially due to lung diseases, asthma and cigarette consumption. While breathing in the salt mine, micron particles enter our lungs with the air and draw water in the area they come into contact with, ensuring that that area is washed. Then, by coughing, we can get that scum out of our lungs. In order for this activity to be carried out effectively, we must do some exercises in the salt cave and ensure that more air enters our lungs. Such applications exist in many parts of the world. It is carried out in 2 mines in Poland, 1 mine in Ukraine, 1 mine in Pakistan and 1 mine in Nakhchivan. However, there is no tourist facility in our country where salt therapy can be done. In this sense, Çankırı is important because it has a large salt mine.”