Cappadocia's Underground Cities

We spent our last day in Goreme on a tour to see one of their underground cities as well as some of the better rock carved churches and monasteries.

There are 36 underground cities in Cappadocia and the deepest one is Derinkuyu underground city which is the one we went to.

It was discovered in the 1960’s and excavated over the next 4 years. Some of it has collapsed due to erosion/earthquakes and some of the hundreds of tunnels that once ran up to all the above ground houses, as their secret getaway routes, have been purposely blocked by the government.
Approx. 1/5th of it is open to the public.

The underground cities were never intended for permanent dwelling, or even long stays, but they were built to withstand Roman attacks on Christians and could support large numbers of people and their domestic animals, for extended periods of time. The urban organization was very complex, and there was probably always work in progress.

The extensive networks of passages, tunnels, stepped pits and inclined corridors link family rooms and communal spaces where people would meet, work and worship. The cities were complete with wells, chimneys for air circulation, niches for oil lamps, stores, water tanks, stables and areas where the dead could be placed until such time as conditions on the surface would allow their proper disposal.

Most importantly, carefully balanced moving stone doors, resembling mill stones, were devised to quickly block the corridors in the event of an attack. These doors operated from one side only!

It is 60 meters deep and can hold 20 000 people including their livestock and food stores!

We also visited some really well preserved cave monasteries and cave churches.