Derinkuyu, the underground city

Derinkuyu/Provincia di Nev?ehir, Turchia
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Type
Siti Storici

Description

Derinkuyu is the largest underground city in Turkey and was discovered by a local inhabitant almost by accident, during the renovation of his house. It was in 1963 when he found himself in front of an underground labyrinth that soon revealed an ancient and intricate system of caves, tunnels and galleries divided into different levels. The underground city of Derinkuyu has over 600 doors, each of which led to huge chambers used for eating, sleeping and praying. To date, twenty underground levels have been discovered but it is only possible to visit eight of them. This was one of the places where the first Christians who fled from the religious persecution decreed by Constantinople and the incursions of the Muslim Arabs hid. The maximum depth is estimated to be around 85 meters. In this space there were also rooms used for food storage, kitchens, churches, stables, rooms for the preparation of wine and oil. In the underground city were also found tools and utensils for making wine, stables for animals and even a tree which brought water and air to the population. Derinkuyu is not the only underground city of Turkey. In total there are 36 underground cities in the country.