Glass terrace draws visitors to İncekaya Canyon in Safranbolu

KARABÜK

Some 450,000 people visited the famous opaque glass terrace jutting out over the İncekaya Canyon in the historic town of Safranbolu in the Black Sea province of Karabük in the first 11 months of this year, state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Dec. 13.

The crystal terrace, which consists of a glass platform attached to a cliff edge 80 meters above the İncekaya Canyon, is one of the most visited places of Safranbolu.

The 11-meters-wide platform, Turkey’s first opaque canyon terrace, was built in 2012 using unbreakable glass.

The site is famous for providing wonderful views as visitors feel the depth of the canyon beneath their feet.

Both the glass platform and an adjacent cliff-top café are currently operated by a privately-owned company. The firm’s general manager Ömer Gülçimen told Anadolu Agency that the number of visitors to the site had been increasing every year.

“We are the second firm to manage this place. When we took over [the rights to operate] here, there were 100,000 tourists [per year], but we have increased this number threefold. In our second year [of operation], we have attracted 450,000 visitors,” Gülçimen said.

Indicating that the company aims to “stabilize” the number of visitors, Gülçimen said the winter season usually drew fewer tourists, while the months of June and July marked the high season.

Gülçimen also said the company had imposed a limitation on the number of tourists allowed to access the 100-square-meter terrace at any one time, especially on crowded days, as the platform can only carry up to 75 tons of weight.

Gülçimen stressed the role of the city of Safranbolu in attracting so many tourists to the glass terrace every year.

Safranbolu, an Anatolian town that brings history to life through its various mosques, markets, picturesque neighbourhoods, streets and unique houses, entered the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1994. It is home to some of the best examples of classic Ottoman architecture.

The town’s identity changed after gaining world heritage status, as its historical mansions became prominent once again through touristic developments, the restoration of disorganized cobblestone streets and monumental structures and the revival of neglected handicrafts.

Thanks to its success in protecting its historical structure dating back centuries, Safranbolu has become one of Turkey’s most popular domestic touristic sites.