Cave houses at an altitude of 1,700 meters draw attention

In Malatya, one of the cities affected by earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş, interest in rural areas has increased. Prof. Dr. Zeki Boyraz, the Head of the Department of Geography at İnönü University, stated that the interest in natural environments due to the pandemic continued with earthquakes.

In Malatya, where earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş have an impact, significant interest has been observed in rural areas. In Malatya, where the city center suffered major damage, many citizens are buying land in rural areas to build detached houses. 77-year-old Şükrü Kurt, who has 18 children and 48 grandchildren, chose to live in a cave house built approximately 250 years ago at an altitude of 1700 meters in Akçadağ district.

“I prefer to stay in the region due to my illness”
77-year-old Şükrü Kurt, who spends certain days of the week in the cave houses inherited from his grandfather in Küçükkürne Neighborhood, said, “Cave houses were inherited from my grandfather to us. The area used to be a plateau, then houses were built. We did not witness the construction of the houses. Due to my illness, I stay here for some days and then go back to our house in the city center. I have been married three times, had 19 children, one of whom passed away, and I have 48 grandchildren,” he said.

“Pandemic and earthquakes increased interest in natural environments”
Prof. Dr. Zeki Boyraz, the Head of the Department of Geography at İnönü University, noted that the increased interest in natural environments due to the pandemic continued with earthquakes. He said, “Especially after the pandemic, there has been an increased interest in natural areas, and subsequent earthquakes have led people to turn towards rural areas through natural environments. Levent Valley is located in the Euphrates basin and is a candidate for a geopark with a valley known for its cave formations densely present on a horizontal structure. These caves, although naturally formed, are known to have been inhabited in many places. Even today, by slightly expanding the natural formations of these caves and differentiating them according to their uses, there are still people living in these cave houses. We are currently in the cave house where Şükrü Kurt lived. This is a living example of many lives still continuing in these cave houses.”