Karstdive Discovery
Article by Todd Kincaid
The Karstdive cave explorations in the Taurus mountains supported by ATLAS magazine resulted in repercussions of world-wide significance. Finike's Gök Magara (Sky Cave) was explored but not to its depths. Antalya's Kirkgöz (Forty Springs) cave system could not to be investigated in full. However, one of the world's greatest reservoirs has entered the records. The discoveries made under the leadership of two American cave divers have entered history. From this point forward, it reads: "Asia's largest cave is in Turkey..."
Before Karstdive Project began, a team of Yugoslavian divers was hired to carry out the first survey of Kirkgöz-Suluin but with their limited technology only reached a depth of 40m. In the same region, the Karstdive Project participants discovered a narrow fissure at 65m which led to a small tunnel that wound down to 80m and eventually up along a passage to an enormous room. The two Americans returned with scooters to explore Kirkgöz-Suluin and stumbled across the "Stadium", named for of its enormous size, (at least 100m in length by 60m and 50m in depth). The divers also managed to probe numerous side tunnels leading away from the "Stadium"...
(Photo: HAKAN GÖNENDIK )
In 1990, the French ADEKS team carried out two dives 63m into the Finike cave system, returning data and resulting in a rough mapping of the system. The Karstdive team entered the giant mouth of the cave and split at 45m. Gökhan Türe and Zafer Kizilkaya recorded details necessary for the project and Todd Kincaid and Jarrod Jablonski continued to a depth of 122m...
(Photo: ZAFER KIZILKAYA)
Prior to the Karstdive effort, the Finike system was known only as containing a deep cavern known as Incirli Gök Cave. Daylight streaming through the mouth of this cave located just above sea level between Kas and Finike give it an exceptional blue color. Algae floating on the surface at the cave mouth made entry difficult for the divers. At a depth of around 90m, Jarrod's scooter imploded from the excessive pressure. Apart from breaking the record on this difficult dive the team would later learn that they had investigated the deepest cave in Asia yet discovered.
(Photo: ZAFER KIZILKAYA)
The Americans made their first dive in Kirkgöz-Suluin without the aid of scooters, presuming it would be a shallow dive. Finding the contrary, they returned over an hour later, recording the following entry in their log: "This cave is endless. At 80m we found a going tunnel." It would have been risky to continue without underwater transport and the divers had to leave exploration of the "Stadium" to another day. In this photograph taken at the cave mouth the divers are preparing to submerge.
(Photo: HAKAN GÖNENDIK)
