19.07.2026 13:20
In the İnegöl district of Bursa, writings were sprayed on the walls of the 3-million-year-old Oylat Cave. The operator stated that scraping cannot be done for cleaning in the protected area, and they are trying to cover the damage with original mud, expressing that the destruction is saddening.
It was detected that writings were sprayed on the walls of Oylat Cave, which hosts thousands of domestic and foreign tourists every year in the İnegöl district of Bursa. Stating that the area is under protection, operator Nurcan Yılmaz said, "We are prohibited from scraping the wall for cleaning. We try to cover this bad appearance by plastering it with the cave's own original mud. What happened is very sad."
TURKEY'S SECOND LARGEST CAVE AS A TOURIST AREA
Located on the western bank of Oylat Creek in İnegöl, the 3-million-year-old Oylat Cave is known for its length of 750 meters and height of 95 meters, and is Turkey's second largest cave as a tourist area. With its constant temperature ranging between 15 and 18 degrees Celsius, unchanged throughout the four seasons, the cave attracts tourists and hosts between 100,000 and 350,000 visitors annually. It is noted that the recent spray-painted writings inside the cave have drawn the reaction of visitors.
"A VERY SERIOUS CRIME"
Operator Nurcan Yılmaz said, "What happened is truly very sad. From our cave camera system, we see that unfortunately a considerable number of our visitors damage the unique formations formed over millions of years, write on them, and try to break and destroy them. Since this area is accepted as a natural asset, it is under special protection. Therefore, the destruction here is actually a very serious crime. I would have liked that we did not have to scare people by saying, 'There is such and such penalty for this.' It should not be necessary."
"DEVELOPMENT OF CIVIC AWARENESS IS VERY IMPORTANT"
Stating that there are also intentional writings, breakings, and demolitions inside the cave, Yılmaz said, "Also, littering is a problem we suffer from throughout the area. Compared to other destructions, this seems almost trivial now. The development of civic awareness is, of course, very important. We understand this once again here. Because this place, as I said, is a unique and irreparable area. We cannot scrape these wall writings to clean them. To remove the writings, we need to scrape them, but that is also forbidden because it would mean further damage. Therefore, we cannot scrape. Instead, we try to tolerate this destruction by plastering over them with the cave's own original mud, but this is truly a sad situation. We especially ask our citizens to show this sensitivity again and again. Because this place has no equivalent, it is irreplaceable. There is no second Oylat Cave. One should admire this unique work, not damage it."