Coğrafya Öğretmeni/Yazar Doğu ATEŞ

        D. Doğu ATES Geography Teacher     As the MTA Cave Research Unit’s four-wheel-drive Land Rover jeep climbed the slope, a sense of fear enveloped us. We were about to enter the “Black Hell” cave, a place we had heard about from various people and in different locations multiple times, and we would be mapping it for the first time. From a distance, on a gently sloping hillside where the Obruk Plateau descends into the Konya Plain, a clean container was visible. The scout said, “Here it is. The cave is just over there.” When you reach the right side of the container, you’ll notice a hole about four or five meters in the ground. That’s the cave’s entrance.” In the top right corner of the photo, I am standing. I am wearing an orange jumpsuit. The tall person in front of me (on the left), wearing a yellow jumpsuit, is Emrullah ÖZEL, a geographer and geomorphologist. I don’t remember the other friends individually. However, I do recall that someone from the Biology Department of Ankara University joined us in entering the cave.     Emrullah ÖZEL, a geomorphologist, actually drove the jeep in that direction….

As the four-wheel-drive Land Rover jeep from the MTA Cave Research Unit[1] climbed the slope, we were filled with fear. It was the first time we would enter the “Kara Cehennem (Black Hell)” cave, whose name we heard many times from different people and in different places, and we would map it. In the distance, a clean container was visible on a slightly sloping slope where the Obruk Plateau descended into the Konya Plain. The scout said “There, the cave is over there. When you go near the right side of the container, you will see a whole four-five meters deep. That’s the mouth of the cave.” I am standing in the upper right corner of the photo. I have an orange jumpsuit. The tall person in front of me (left) in yellow overalls is Emrullah ÖZEL, a geographer, geomorphologist. I don’t remember the other friends individually. I remember that someone from the Biology department of Ankara University entered the cave with us. Emrullah GÜNEY, who was actually a Geomorphologist, drove the jeep in that direction. When we reached the cave through the wheat fields on the edge of the plain, a citizen was waiting for us with a rifle…