HARABEŞEHİR CAVE HOUSES

In the surveys conducted in the district, it is stated that there are at least 500 caves in the neolithic age. The cave clusters, which are important in terms of cave tourism, are generally located in Harabeşehir and Madavans streams. These caves have been used for different purposes since ancient times and have reached today. Since Ahlat was one of the first settlements in Eastern Anatolia, these caves have een used since the Neolithic Age. Severe earthquakes in the region, the need to settle in the wetlands due to drought, destruction of settlements as a result of war and invasions, harsh climatic conditions have been effective in the emergence of cave settlements. Today, there are many caves in Harabeşehir districts. However, as a result of the destruction of the Old Ahlat Fortress from the west, dozens of caves have been destroyed.These caves were used as military ammunition depots and cold storage depots during the periods when the castle was intact. Although Ibrahim Kafesoglu writes that some of these caves have been attributed to sanctity and worship in them, this is due to the fact that some caves are used as places of worship rather than attributing sanctity to caves. Artificial caves, as they were carved in single and double storeys, some were created in the form of a gallery, and it has not been investigated where these galleries extend. Some of the caves consist of two to three rooms arranged side by side or back to back.