The secret behind this delicacy lies 36 metres underground: It spends 6 months in a cave

Located about 1 kilometre east of the village, Divle Obruk Cave is home to the most important stage of this traditional production process.

The cave, which is approximately 36 metres deep and 250 metres long, provides a natural environment where the cheeses can mature for months.

THE STORY OF THE CHEESE BEGINS IN THE PASTURES
The story begins in spring, in the pastures surrounding Divle. In April and May, sheep and goats graze in the pastures, and their milk is used to make the cheese.
The cheeses prepared in the village are cleaned by local women and placed into traditional cheese skins made from lamb and kid goat hides. The cheese skins are then taken to the cave.
There, a waiting period of approximately five to six months begins.

THEY SPEND SIX MONTHS IN THE CAVE
This period of waiting changes not only the flavour of the cheese but also its appearance.
Over time, the cave's unique flora causes white, blue and red mould to form on the cheeses. When the cheese skins are removed from the cave in October and November, their outer surfaces have turned red.

Tacettin Durna, the headman of Divle village, says the cave's natural flora is one of the most important factors determining the character of the cheese.
"The flora in the cave gives the cheese skin its distinctive colour and adds flavour to the cheese," Durna said, explaining that the cheeses enter the cave in white skins and that microorganisms inside the cave cause the outer surfaces of the skins to turn red.
This natural transformation is one of the most distinctive characteristics of Divle obruk cheese.

A 45-TONNE CAVE FOR AGING CHEESE
However, the story of the cheese does not begin inside the cave. At the heart of its production are the sheep and goats that graze in the pastures around Divle in spring.
According to Durna, abundant rainfall also contributes to production. The milk obtained from animals grazing naturally in the surrounding landscape forms the basis of the cheese.

Divle Obruk Cave has a capacity of approximately 45 tonnes. This year, around 42 tonnes of cheese are being stored in the cave. The cheese skins that enter the cave in April and May are removed again in autumn.

THE CAVE OPENS WITH A CEREMONY
The removal of the cheeses from the cave is not only the final stage of the production process for the village, but also an annual tradition.

Every year, the opening of the cave is marked with a ceremony. The cheeses are then removed and put on sale, and they quickly sell out due to strong demand.

DEMAND IS VERY HIGH
Durna says orders begin to be taken during the summer, before the cave opens, and that the cheese sells out within approximately two months after the cave is opened.
Original Divle obruk cheese sells for 1,200 to 1,500 Turkish lira, while products sold online can reach 1,700 to 1,800 lira.