Derinkuyu Underground City of Cappadocia- History Mystery

Apart from the Seven Wonders of the World, many more bizarre and fascinated sites existed globally that can be acknowledged as a wonder of the world. However, one of the sites in Turkey requires special attention. Derinkuyu Underground City in Cappadocia, Turkey is such a charismatic city where tourists get captivated by the incredible view of rock and archeology.

This article will explore the incredible place of nature, the mysterious Underground City Turkey known as Derinkuyu and its ten undiscovered facts.

About the Underground City- Derinkuyu-

Derinkuyu Underground City in Cappadocia, Turkey, is the most famous and massive subterranean retreat engraved into soft volcanic rock in the 8th–7th centuries B.C. by the Phrygians. The city dealt as a dwelling from invasions. The city is 60 meters deep and is linked with other underground cities by tunnels for kilometers. The town has a chapel, a religious school, storage rooms, refectories. The moving stone doors blocked the access to the city and from outside left no evidence of a secret entrance. It provides enough shelter to over 20,000 people.

In 1963 while renovating a house in Cappadocia, a Turkish man took out a wall in his basement and was surprised to found an entire room behind it. After further digging, a complex network of spaces at hundred feet beneath the Earth was revealed. Later, it turned out to be the ancient multilevel underground city, carved into the same rock that grows in mesmerizing shapes above ground. Today most of it is welcoming for tourists.

How was Derinkuyu formed?

Ancient volcanic eruptions are the sole cause of the existence of Derinkuyu Underground City in Cappadocia, Turkey. Several million years ago, layers upon layers of ash, built up and eventually transform into a stable molten rock that's also capable of being sculptured. Long after the explosions, Cappadocia citizens understood that they could create their residences into the rock and underground.

Why was the Underground City Built?

The most famous underground city Turkey was constructed in the Byzantine era by its residents to prevent themselves from Muslim Arabs during the Arab-Byzantine Wars between 780 and 1180. Some historians suggest that the Phrygians first building the tunnels to carved their living spaces into the region’s soft volcanic rock between the 8th and 7th centuries BCE. 

 

After a while, the Phrygian language was replaced by Greek during the Roman era, and Christian residents keep working on the underground cities adding their own cultural and religious requirements such as churches and Greek inscriptions.

The city keeps on preventing their residents from the 14th century when again Christian required a secure place from Mongolians during the assaults on Timur. Once again, it prevents the residents during the Ottoman era, when security was obliged by the Turkish Muslim rules.

Moreover, during the 20th century, the caves were approved to preserve themselves from persecution administered during the Ottoman Empire. It was not until 1923 that the underground cities were totally surrendered after the population exchange between Greece and Turkey and then not rediscovered till 1963. Then a resident found a rare room behind a wall inside his house, and the rest is history!

What is the ten undiscovered Fact of the Underground City Turkey?

The massive subterranean retreat has protected thousands of people in times of crisis. Hence, it has also held several unusual and bizarre realities. So let’s find out ten significant facts of this subterranean city-

1. The city has an interface of 1500 airing channels that gave pure air to the city’s citizens. These 1500 air-conditioning channels are attached to a 55 meters long ventilation shaft used as a well. 
2. The city has a vast network of sloping corridors, stepped pits, shafts, and galleries that combine public areas and family apartments. 
3. Even tombs are found in the city that were probably used for placing dead until the conditions outside were suitable enough for suitable disposal. 
4. Turkish Department of Culture states that the caverns were initially built during the 7th – 8th B.C., but the town was ultimately completed during the Byzantine Era. This city was in use as late as the early 20th century by the local Cappadocia Greeks. This was reported by a Cambridge scholar identified as Dawkins, who examined between 1909 and 1911. Dawkins addressed: “when the news came of the recent massacres at Adana, a great part of the population at Axo took refuge in these underground chambers, and for some nights did not venture to sleep above ground.” 
5. The town has numerous large round stone doors that were carefully scaled and were meant for sealing entrances during attacks. 
6. Not every stage of the city had surface-connected pits to stop poisoning by invading armed forces. 
7. There are additional rooms that were reasonably used to the left of the school as a place of study. 
8. Staircases from the 3rd and 4th floor headed to the cruciform church established below the town. 
9. Of those 200 plus underground towns, the Derinkuyu underground city captivates the recognition because of its exceptional deepness. 
10. The most exciting fact about the town is that it has a supply of clean running water and fresh air yet at the deepest spot notwithstanding its great base.

Consequently, the structure holds a unique archeological design that is the cause of becoming a tourist attraction. If you find this article helpful, then share this on your social media handles!