Derinkuyu: The vast city that a man found beneath his house
Imagine you need to renovate your house. And would suddenly discover a mysterious room behind a wall, of the existence of which they had no idea. This is exactly what happened to a man in Turkey more than 50 years ago.
What he found apart from the room is beyond imagination – and is now a mega attraction.
It was 1963 when a resident of the small Turkish town of Derinkuyu in Cappadocia made the discovery while renovating his house that was to turn out to be a real sensation. When he tore down a wall in the basement, another room suddenly opened up behind it. The man, taken aback, continued digging there and shortly thereafter came across a narrow, dark passage that led into a branched tunnel system. The tunnels led to other rooms, some small, others as large as halls.
What the man had found beneath his house was nothing less than the vast underground city of Derinkuyu, the origins of which are said to date back thousands of years. The underground structure is gigantic. Eight floors have been uncovered since the tunnels were discovered; the deepest point accessible today is 55 meters below the surface. The rooms have a total area of 2500 square meters, but archaeologists estimate that only a quarter of the original structure has been uncovered so far.
Sophisticated construction system
The upper floors were used for sleeping and living quarters, while the lower floors were used for storing food and for meeting purposes. There is also said to have been a prison down there. On the seventh floor there is a room 25 meters long and 10 meters wide, in the shape of a cross – probably a church. There was also a wine cellar, stables where animals were kept, a dining room, several chapels and a school.
Thousands of ventilation shafts ensured sufficient air circulation. At the same time, the shafts were used to transport water, as they reached down to the groundwater at a depth of up to 85 meters. For centuries, residents of the above-ground city of Derinkuyu had used these wells for their own water supply, unaware that they were part of a vast, elaborate housing complex below. After its discovery in 1963, several heavy locking stones were found on the surface, with which the inhabitants of the underground city were once able to close the exits to the outside world in such a way that they could not be opened from the outside.
Who lived in the underground city?
Between 20,000 and 50,000 people are said to have found space in the underground city. Some researchers believe that ancient Derinkuyu was built by the Hittite people more than 4000 years ago. Others believe the caves were built by Christians as a place of refuge from persecution. This is indicated by the massive rolling stone doors, which were an insurmountable obstacle for intruders from outside. It is possible that the underground city was built simply to protect against the climate of Cappadocia, which is extremely hot and dry in summer and cold and snowy in winter.
Today, Derinkuyu, together with the underground city of Kaymaklı, is one of the most famous sights in Cappadocia. As early as 1969, Derinkuyu was opened to the public. About half of the uncovered rooms can be visited today. A tourist who has visited the underground city writes in his review on Tripadvisor: “The corridors and rooms are well preserved, as is the ventilation system, which provides fresh, dry air far below the ground. With a bit of climbing art and a thirst for adventure, you can also find passages that are not open to public.”
However, the facility is not for people with claustrophobia: some of the tunnels are narrow and low, so you have to bend over or even crawl. The idea that thousands of people once lived and worked here is all the more impressive.
Buses run to the underground city from Göreme and Nevşehir.
