An American researcher who spent 11 days stuck in a Turkish cave after falling ill said Thursday that he thought he would die there before a complex international rescue operation got him out. Mark Dickey, 40, appeared relaxed as he spoke to reporters at a hospital in Mersin, southern Turkey, where he is recovering from his ordeal. Dickey fell ill on Sept. 2 with stomach bleeding while mapping the Morca cave in southern Turkey’s Taurus Mountains.