Turkey is full of incredible places and one of them is the region of Cappadocia.
Cappadocia is well known for its valleys with unique rock formations, numerous fresco-adorned
rock-cut churches, outstanding landscapes and even the hot air balloon rides.
But one of most interesting cultural assets of the Cappadocia Region are the underground
cities which consist of hundreds of rooms, connected to each other through long galleries
and labyrinth-like tunnels.
In today’s video explore with us Derinkuyu, the largest underground city discovered in
the region.
This underground city is found in Derinkuyu district in Nevşehir Province, Turkey in
Cappadocia region.
By car, is about 35 minutes away from Göreme, the most touristic place in the region.
It was opened to visitors in 1965 but so far less than half of it can be visited today.
The depth of the Derinkuyu Underground City is approximately 85 meters and is considered
as the deepest one.
It is said that about 20,000 people could live here.
The excavation is still incomplete and most of it hasn’t even been explored yet but
archaeologists estimate Derinkuyu could contain up to 18 subterranean levels.
This underground city has sections such as stables, cellars, dining halls, churches,
and stum shops.
There is also a missionary school on the 2nd floor.
Another fascinating thing in Derinkuyu, is that we can also see moving stone doors, resembling mill stones
which were used to quickly block the corridors in case of an attack.
These doors operated from one side only.
The oldest floors of the underground cities are generally the entrance floors, which were
mostly used as stables.
This is due to the difficulty of getting the animals to lower floors.
The passages and tunnels connect family rooms and communal spaces where people would meet,
work and worship.
The 55 meters deep ventilation shaft, which is connected to the surface, is also used
as water well.
Derinkuyu contains at least 15,000 ventilation ducts that provide fresh air within the underground
city.
This city literally has everything to live for some time, we can find chimneys for air
circulation, niches for oil lamps, stores, wells, water tanks and even areas where the
dead could be placed until the conditions on the surface would allow their proper disposal.
These underground cities hide a fascinating mystery that even in present times it’s
still difficult to understand how they were built, since they didn’t have the advanced
tools that are available today.
What are your opinions about this place?
We’d love to read them in comments below.
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