CAPPADOCIA UNDERGROUND CITIES

One of the characteristics of Cappadocia is having plenty of underground cities. It's known that there are more than a hundred of underground settlements in the region and many of them are not opened for visits.
The underground cities, which are guessed to be used since the Bronze Age, used to be a settlement mostly in Byzantine period, doubtless. In this period, increasing invasions forced local residents to build underground cities for protection and religious purposes.

Certainly the most interesting features of the Cappadocia areas are the underground cities founded within. Until now even that have been determined about 40 underground cities just six of them have been opened for visit. Nobody can know how many underground cities there are in the Cappadocia area. Some say that there is one for every village and settlement in the region but certainly not all of the sites can be described as cities. Well known underground cities of Cappadocia area are Tatlarin Underground city, Derinkuyu Underground City, Ozkonak Underground City, Mazi Village Underground City, Kaymakli Underground City and Gaziemir Underground City

Kaymakli underground city

Kaymakli underground city is on the Ihlara valley roadway and 20 km far from Nevsehir province. Ancient name was Enegup. Kaymakli people were built their homes around the underground city tunnels for security reason. Kaymakli underground city has 8 storey and 5000 peoples lived in it, 4 storey is open yet. The deepest point of the visit is under 20 meters. Kaymakli was built in around a main ventilation chimney. Ventilation system is so successful that they didn’t feel any problem even the fourth floor. There are all housing conditions for crowded group temporary housing. There are rooms and halls connecting to each other with narrow corridor, wine tanks, water cistern, kitchen and food stores, ventilation chimneys, water wells, churches and large lock stones for any danger from outside.

First floor is used for animal shelter. Usually first floor of underground cities was used as animal shelter for difficult to take animals the downstairs. Second floor has a church with two abscissas. There are baptism stones front of the abscissas and a cemetery for important persons near the church. Moreover this floor has a big lock stone for close passing. Lock stones are circular and has a hole in the middle, 55-60 cm thick, 170-175 cm length and 200-500 kg weight. Lock stones is used to close the entrance by rolling vertical position in the special section at the entrance of the tunnel. There are labyrinths, hasn't exit tunnels and so many ambushes and secret passages for escape. Third floor is larger and more spacious than the others and used as a food store, has so many sections for keep back wine, wheat and flour. Moreover there are winery and kitchen. There are big food stores in the fourth floor. This is show that underground city people has a regularly economy living.

Derinkuyu Underground City. There are eight floors and extend at a depth of approximately 85 m. The underground city at Derinkuyu has all the usual amenities found in other underground complexes across Cappadocia, such as wine and oil presses, stables, cellars, storage rooms, refectories, and chapels. Unique to the Derinkuyu undergorund city complex and located on the second floor is a spacious room with a barrel vaulted ceiling. It has been reported that this room was used as a religious school and the rooms to the left were studies. Between the third and fourth levels is a vertical staircase. This passage way leads to a cruciform church on the lowest level.

Derinkuyu underground city winery
The large 55 m ventilation shaft appears to have been used as well. The shaft also provided water to both the villagers above and, if the outside world was not accessible, to those in hiding. First built by the Phrygians in the 8th–7th centuries B.C according to the Turkish Department of Culture, the Derinkuyu underground city was enlarged in the Byzantine era. The city could be closed from inside with large stone doors. With storerooms and wells that made long stays possible, the city had air shafts which are up to 100 feet (30 m) deep. Derinkuyu is the largest excavated underground city in Turkey. The complex has total 11 floors, though many floors have not been excavated. It has an area of 2,000 square feet, with a possible total area of 7,000 square feet (650 m2). Each floor could be closed off separately. The city was connected with other underground cities through miles of long tunnels. The city could accommodate between 20,000 and 50,000 people.
 Derinkuyu is by no means the only such city you can visit here. There are actually 40 or so subterranean settlements in the area although only a few are open to the public. It is in Derinkuyu District that is almost 30 km to Nevsehir, on Nevsehir - Nigde road.

Ozkonak underground city

Ozkonak town of Nevsehir city which 14 km north of Avanos is located on the northern slopes of the Idis Mountain, there are supernormal underground structure of Ozkonak underground city. There is only a single main passage, and the whole city is built along it by cut volcanic granite. Ozkonak underground city has long, narrow connections, about 5cm in diameter, connect the different levels and neighboring chambers. They were used for communication between the levels and for ventilation. There are ten rooms, four big salons, eight water wells, four tombs, ventilation system, winery and closeable doors via circle stone like millstone for security reason. Additionally there are so many ambushes in the long narrow tunnels for to mislead enemy in the Ozkonak underground city.

Common among the underground cities are huge millstone doors. The millstones were rolled into narrow sections of the passage and wedged from behind. Here at Ozkonak, they have a special feature in front of the millstone doors on the ceiling are small holes. They are connected with a tunnel above, and were used to pour hot oil on the enemy or to spear them.

Mazi village underground city

Mazi Village which the ancient name "Mataza"" 18 km south from Urgup and 10 km east from kaymakli underground city. There are early Roman period king tombs both perpendicular slope of the valley. Plateau has so many Byzantium period.

Mazi underground city has been carved west perpendicular slope of the village into the valley. Detected in 4 different locations input, main entrance hall is built with irregular stones. Big circular stone in the short corridor for control input /output of the underground city.

Acroos the entrance space is barn, barns which spread to large areas of the underground city, is indifferent from others. However, there is a carved rock basin middle of a barn is the different speciality from the others. So many barns indicates that welfare level is so high because of the abundance of animal production.

Via a short corridor is reached to underground city church from barns. Entrance of this place can be closed with a circular stone. Church abscissa has been carved in the corner and the front is decorated with relief.A space between the barns were used as winery. There is a chimney top of the winery for grapes to fall down.

Gaziemir Underground City

One of the Cappadocia area underground cities is Gaziemir underground city. Gaziemir underground city, which was opened on June 23, 2007, has an entrance hall built with stone and is 10 mt in lenght. This hall is built with overlap technique that we see another example in Hattusha, the capital city of Hittites. At the end of the hall there is an open area to reach the other partsof the underground city. The other parts of the stracture is located around this area. This stracture has kept being unavailable because this area was full of mud that was carried by floods.
Gaziemir underground city
Many remains found during cleaning works indicate that the underground city was used during Byzantine period. Two churches, a winery, and many wine barrels are encountered in the underground city. Along with these remains, food stores, bams, tan door fireplaces. Turkish baths, and various living areas can be seen. Many of the corridors that link different areas are wide enough for a camel to pass through. Camel bones and animal tying places carved in walls, suggest that here was used as a public house, during following periods.