3 – Derinkuyu Underground City
On the surface at least, there appears to be nothing special about the district of Derinkuyu in Turkey’s Nevsehir Province. However, beneath the town lies one of the most remarkable structures of all time. An underground city, possibly built in the 7th and 8th centuries AD, lies up to 280 feet below the surface. At its peak, the city was home to approximately 20,000 people and also contained food stores and livestock. The level of planning that went into the city is incredible as it features above-ground doors, passages, tunnels, cellars and ventilation ducts!
The city remained undiscovered until a Turkish man found it completely by chance in 1963. He was making some improvements to his home when he made one of the most fascinating discoveries of the 20th century. The man knocked down a wall in his basement and found a secret room. Further investigation revealed an underground tunnel which led to a hidden ancient city.
According to National Geographic, the city consists of 11 levels with an area of over 4 square miles. As well as including chambers such as living quarters, tombs, shops, temples and livestock pens, it has approximately 15,000 air shafts. Also, there are passages that connect it to local underground networks along with underground water systems, a security system, and wineries! The security measures were intriguing and ingenious. They included rolling stone doors capable of sealing the city from the outside, and each level could be sealed off from another level using this system.
There are various theories as to who built the city under Derinkuyu and why. Archaeologists find it difficult to put a precise date on the structure since it is carved out of stone. Also, there are no records of the city’s construction. Some historians believe the Phrygian people created it in 800 BC while others believe the Hittites built it in the 14th century BC. Recently, there has been a suggestion that it was built by the Byzantines during the 8th and 9th centuries AD as a means of providing protection during the empire’s wars with the Arabs. Certainly, the security doors suggest the city was built to keep the inhabitants safe from invaders.
It is unlikely that the underground complex was designed for long-term living, but it was capable of sustaining a large population for a reasonable length of time. It’s likely that various groups of people lived there and construction was ongoing as each population added their own chambers and improvements.
The complex was used in the 20th century by the Cappadocian Greeks as a means of escaping the wrath of the Ottomans. In 1923, Christians in the region were expelled, and the tunnels were abandoned. They were rediscovered in 1963 and made open to the public six years later. Unfortunately, less than half of the complex is currently open to tourists, but there is a host of travel companies that offer private tours to this wonder of the ancient world.