Bad news about potential mining at the Turkish sport climbing paradise, Geyikbayiri:

Rock climbing at Geyikbayiri, one of biggest and the most famous sport climbing areas in Turkey, may be at risk due to a project that received official permission at the end of last year to explore the possibility of mining in the area. Should marble suitable for quarrying be found, this would affect circa 350 of the 1000 routes at Geyikbayiri, in the sectors Cesme, Sarkit, Mağara, Anatolia, Dragon, Güzel Manzara, Posaidon, Ottoman, Mevlana, Barbarossa, Akdeniz and Ekos. At present the mining research has not yet started and a grass-action climber’s protest has sprung up against this recent development.

You can sign the petition here.