Proposal for Transitioning From Traditional Tourism to Geotourism: İnceğiz Caves (Çatalca/Istanbul/Turkey)

Abstract The İnceğiz Caves, located within the boundaries of İnceğiz village in the Çatalca district of Istanbul and formed within the Eocene-aged Soğucak Limestone, consist of three settlement blocks with three to four storeys in the Karasu Valley. The first settlements in the caves likely began in small karstic cavities. The enlargement of these small cavities by human intervention began around 1200 BC. Of these three man-made cave settlements, the first four-storey cave block at the entrance of the valley began to be used as a monastery around AD 400. This use continued for approximately 1,000 years. The discovery of Paleolithic artefacts in surface surveys conducted around İnceğiz suggests that the people who used these tools may also have used the İnceğiz Caves as shelters. The approximately 20-hectare area where the three cave settlements are located has been arranged as a picnic area through landscaping. These caves, which are important anthropogenic geosites, are natural monuments of geological/geomorphological, architectural, and archaeological significance. With conservation–use-oriented arrangements and geoeducation programs to be implemented in the İnceğiz Caves, it is possible for the cave settlements and their surroundings to become an important geotourism destination. The aim of this article is to propose strategies for initiating a geotourism-based sustainable economic development process in and around the İnceğiz Caves. Through conservation–use-focused geotourism planning and geoeducation programs to be implemented in the İnceğiz Caves, it is aimed that both the residents of İnceğiz and visitors become aware of the importance of these natural and cultural monuments.