The salt mine in Turda

Being afraid of heights means automatically that you are afraid of depths. So I was on “red alert” going into the salt mine at Turdo (Romania). I had no idea what surprises to expect. Just a picture in a guide of something deep down in the mine that to me looked a bit “alien”.  A nice hide out for the Martians. 

At the entrance there is a staircase with (around) 100 steps. Long corridors that shine in the light of the lamps. 

When you touch the walls they feel smooth and wet. In the upper part of the mine (Franz Joseph) there is the altar for the miners that prayed there before going down. 

There is also an old machine to extract the salt and some other rests from the mining times.

An old wooden staircase is covered in salt. 

To go further down you can choose between wooden stairs and two elevators. The first elevator is busy. This means waiting for some time on a wooden platform (partly metal). 

The view was killing. It takes some time, but then you adapt a bit. The urge for taking pictures starts to equal the fear…..  Then you notice that you can walk around the mine on wooden platforms along the walls…..

Finally you get into the “safe” elevator. Don’t think of the depth of about 40 meters underneath this thin metal floor you are standing on. Down at last in the Rudolf mine you discover that there is another elevator….  There is a wonderful view of the Martian space station (some 90 meters below) in the Theresia mine from there. There is the balustrade to lean over……

Yes, after the second elevator you arrive at the space station. It is almost a surrealist experience. A sort of fun park in a mine. 

The lake is 10 meters deep. The view up is astonishing.

Some people complained that there were no salt statues cut out in the mine, "like in Poland"…..  But sure Romania is Romania! I like the mine as it comes. It is fun being there. So different from what I expected. This fantasy space station for the Martians……..