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In Konya's Ilgin district, a cave on the edge of Gokceyurt Neighborhood is used to preserve tulum cheese, yogurt, and butter brought in from surrounding areas.
Residents have used the cave, located approximately 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) from Gokceyurt Neighborhood, to preserve dairy products for years.
The cave, which is protected by an iron door, has a lighting system installed inside. After descending a set of concrete steps, the cave splits into two branches after a short section.
Barrels, animal-skin casings known as tulum, and containers used to preserve dairy products can be seen among the walls and rocky sections.
Thanks to the cave's natural coolness, tulum cheese, which is traditionally pressed into goat skin casings, is matured there in particular.
Beyond serving as a storage area for cheese, the cave also functions as a natural "cold storage facility" that helps preserve traditional production methods passed down from generation to generation.
Mukremin Ozdemir, the neighborhood headman of Gokceyurt, said that the cave is also known in surrounding neighborhoods. Ozdemir explained that residents who go up to the highland pastures in the spring graze their livestock there, milk them, boil the milk, and press it into tulum casings.
He said the cave is opened in May, when everyone brings their cheese and places it inside, and that it remains open until the 11th month.
At that point, an announcement is made, and within a day or two, everyone comes to collect their cheese, since the cave needs to be completely emptied before winter, when the cheeses could otherwise be damaged.
Ozdemir said it is not exactly known how deep the cave is, noting that while residents leave cheese as far as approximately 300 meters inside, the cave continues even further beyond that point.
Ozdemir noted that the cave allows dairy products to be preserved without the need for electrical energy. He described it as a natural cold storage facility that requires no energy consumption, calling it a blessing that has been given to those who use it. He added that anyone familiar with the cave brings their cheese to store there, and that the cheese turns out very tasty as a result.
Fatma Kozlu, a resident of the neighborhood, said the cave has been used to preserve dairy products since her childhood.
Kozlu said keeping the cheese in the cave has a positive effect on its flavor. She said the cheese turns out great, adding that residents get excited when they take it out in the 11th month, open it up and take a look, and that it usually turns out really good.
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