Karain cave in Turkey, Antalya resort
Rating: 7,5/10 (100 votes)  Today, Karain Cave is the largest natural cave in Turkey, as well as one of the most interesting archaeological and historical monuments. The cave is located near the village of Yagja, on the eastern slope of Mount Chan, 27 kilometers from Antalya. According to scientists, due to its convenience and favorable location, the cave was inhabited by people in the Paleolithic era, that is, about 25 thousand years back. A huge number of objects and things were found here, proving this fact. The cave was first discovered in 1946. In the same year, the first scientific expedition, led by Ismail Kilich Kokten, was sent to the labyrinths of the cave. However, soon the excavations had to be suspended due to the crisis that erupted after the war. In 1985, excavations were resumed again, but under the leadership of Ishin Yalchinkaya. Since 1996, the cave began to be studied most thoroughly, after the department of the University of Liege was engaged in excavations. The cave was divided into seven rooms, each of which was named in the form of a Latin letter from A to G. Today, tourists are most interested in represents Hall E, where the bones of a Neanderthal man were discovered, whose age is more than 2 thousand years. There were also discovered tools of the Mousterian, Acheulean and Aurignacian eras, made of stone. There is only one entrance to the cave. He takes tourists to three halls and a museum of Anatolian civilizations, where artifacts found during excavations in the cave are kept. A remarkable fact is that it was in Karain, on the territory of modern Turkey, that the remains of an ancient man were discovered, as well as arrowheads, fragments of ancient weapons, bones of prehistoric animals and tools. Two teeth were found in the Mousterian layer, one of which belonged to a Neanderthal man and the other to an older man. The walls of the cave are decorated with numerous inscriptions, judging by which the cave was used in antiquity not only for housing, but also as well as cult place. There is an opinion that it is possible that rituals of sacrifice and worship were held here. It is also believed that Karain served as a burial place in different periods. Today, observation platforms for tourists were equipped in the halls. The cave also features stalactite and stalagmitic formations.  
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