Cappadocia in Central Turkey is a popular tourist destination. The region is famous for its otherworldly landscape of “fairy chimneys”, remains of volcanic tuffs that have hardened over millions of years into standing pillars, some as high as 40 meters (130 feet).
But there is more to this intriguing region that meets the eye. Eighty five meters (279 feet) beneath the famous fairy chimneys lies a massive subterranean city that was in near-constant use for thousands of years. This is the ancient city of Derinkuyu.
According to locals, Derinkuyu was discovered by chance in 1963 by an anonymous local who kept losing his chickens; one by one they disappear into a small crevasse created while he was renovating his home, never to be seen again. Upon closer investigation and some digging, the Turk unearthed a dark passageway. It was the first of more than 600 entrances found within private homes leading to the subterrestrial city of Derinkuyu. Excavation began immediately, revealing a tangled network of underground dwellings, dry food storage, cattle stables, schools, wineries and even a chapel – in short, an entire civilization tucked underground. In 1985, the region was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list.
Building a city deep underground seems bizarre but when one considers the fact that Turks were living in a region prone to attacks from both Europe in the west and the Middle East in the west, it becomes understandable. The founders of Derinkuyu and neighboring cities are believed to be the Hittites, a premodern people who dominated the region three to four thousand years ago. After the Hittite Empire faded, Derinkuyu was re-discovered by a succession of other empires, including the Assyrians, the Persians and the Byzantines. The latter took control of the region around the 6th century and vastly expanded the network of underground tunnels as they dug ever deeper into the lower levels and even installed sophisticated traps to catch would-be invaders by surprise, allowing Derinkuyu’s residents to take refuge in the safety of their subterranean world for weeks, or even months.
Watch: The Underground City of Derinkuyu