A tunnel under construction between southern Turkey's Antalya and central Turkey's Konya will see drivers experiencing a sudden change in temperatures in just four minutes.
The Demirkapı Tunnel that passes through Akdağ in the province of Antalya to connect the province to Konya in central Turkey will be 5 kilometers long. Antalya is already in a unique location where temperatures are wildly differ in its north and south at any time of the year. Its south is home to popular beaches where warm temperatures prevail most of time throughout the year while tourists can ski in the higher grounds further to the north.
When completed, the tunnel will shorten the distance between the two provinces by some 90 kilometers.
Şenol Altıok, an official from the road authority overseeing the construction, said the difference in climates between the two entrances of the tunnel were very tangible. "For instance, while it is raining on the Konya side, the weather is sunny on the Antalya side. Once it was 20 degrees Celcius on the Konya side while it was 35 degrees Celsius on the Antalya side. Drivers can pass through the tunnel in four minutes with a speed of roughly 80 kilometers," he said.
Construction of the tunnel is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2016.
