*EDIT* to fix link https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/28/i-live-in-constant-fear-surge-in-giant-sinkholes-threatens-turkeys-farmers
egads.
‘I live in constant fear’: surge in giant sinkholes threatens Turkey’s farmers
Falling groundwater, extreme heat and water-intensive farming are accelerating land collapse, forcing a rethink in agricultural practices
Fatih Sik was drinking tea with friends at home when he heard a rumbling sound outside that grew to a loud boom, like a volcano had erupted nearby. From the window, he saw water and mud shoot into the sky, as high as the tallest trees, less than 100 metres away.
The 47-year-old knew what it was, because it is common in Karapınar, Konya, a vast agricultural province known as Turkey’s breadbasket. A giant sinkhole had opened up on his land. Fifty metres wide and 40 metres deep, it had appeared almost a year to the day after a previous one had formed. It was August – the hottest month of the year.
Sik was born on the farm he now owns, which his father ran before him, yet he says scientists have told local people the area is no longer livable. One house nearby has collapsed into a sinkhole. “Every night I pray before I go to bed and when I wake up I pray again,” said Sik. “I live in constant fear that a sinkhole will take my house.”
Konya, part of the once-fertile Central Anatolia region, gave life to ancient civilisations, including what is believed to be the world’s first agricultural society, at Çatalhöyük, in about 8,000BC. It is dotted with the remnants of water cults, Hittite sacred springs and Roman aqueducts, and once offered vital watering holes to traders on the Silk Road. Now, though, the land is drying up. Turkey is on the brink of a major drought crisis, with almost 90% of the country at risk of becoming desert.
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