The glass-bottomed viewing terrace in Kocaeli’s Kartepe district hosted 363 thousand visitors in 2021. The operator Volkan Alioglu stated that they reached the highest number of visitors on a daily basis with 5,105 people on the third day of Eid al-Adha last year, and said, “If the pandemic allows us, our expectation is to reach 1 million visitors in 2022.”
In 2021, 363 thousand people, 55% of whom were foreign tourists, had the opportunity to watch the surroundings from the glass-bottomed viewing terrace in Kocaeli’s Kartepe district.
The viewing terrace with a view of Sapanca Lake, located within the C type recreation area belonging to the General Directorate of Forestry, is among the most important attraction centers of Kartepe.
The viewing terrace, which has a height of 185 meters from the ground and a glass floor area of 105 square meters, can be used throughout all four seasons.
The place where the seasonal changes in Kartepe’s unique nature are best watched, offers the opportunity to witness the snow-covered forests of the Samanli Mountains from a different perspective in winter.
“WE HAD APPROXIMATELY 1000 VISITORS EVERY DAY”
Operator Volkan Alioglu told Anadolu Agency (AA) that they opened the glass terrace to tourism on November 15, 2019, but the epidemic broke out about 4 months later.
Stating that they saw serious demand with the normalization during the epidemic period, Alioglu noted that 363 thousand 145 visitors used the glass terrace in 2021 to watch the surroundings.
Stating that there was not much activity in the first 6 months of the year and that they could only serve foreign guests due to restrictions, Alioglu said, “After the restrictions were lifted, we reached 326 thousand visitors in the second half of the year. We hosted about 1000 visitors a day.”
“55% OF VISITORS ARE FOREIGN”
Pointing out that 55% of the visitors to the facility are foreigners, Alioglu said, “They usually come from Middle East countries. We also have visitors from America, China, Turkic Republics, Russia and European countries.”
Alioglu underlined that they serve in a location that is a natural wonder and continued as follows:
“Kartepe is a place that can be visited in all four seasons. It is beautiful in summer and in winter. Spring is very different. There is no need to explain the autumn, people need to come and see it. The most beautiful views appear in autumn, but our visitor density is in July and August. The number of entries in these two months is approximately 150 thousand. This is a very busy area on the weekend. Parking can sometimes be insufficient. If our guests come on weekdays, they can experience this atmosphere more comfortably.”
Explaining that the steel on the viewing terrace has a lifting capacity of 60 tons, and when the glasses are included, this drops to 17 tons, Alioglu stated that they take 100 people at the same time to make the guests comfortable in the area with a capacity of 235 people.
Alioglu stated that people are happy when they go out on the glass terrace, experiencing adrenaline and watching nature, adding that he later did other activities such as skiing, ATV safari, zipline in Kartepe.
“WE ENJOY THE VIEW”
Gorkem Ozgur Ucar, who came from Balikesir, stated that the glass-bottomed terrace in Kartepe was very beautiful and said that he had this experience for the first time in his life.
Ayberk Serifcioglu, who came from Istanbul, explained that they came to visit Sakarya with his friends and stopped by Kartepe on the way back, adding, “We are enjoying the view. The scenery and weather are really beautiful. The height can be intimidating, but after a while you get used to it.”
Saudi Arabian university student Suruk Tayfur noted that he came to Kartepe to visit with his family and that the glass terrace is a place worth seeing.
Source: Sabah / Translated by Irem Yildiz