Derinkuyu Underground City Tour
Derinkuyu Underground City, located in the Cappadocia region of Turkey, is one of the most famous underground cities in the area. With a history spanning thousands of years, it boasts unique architectural and cultural value and is one of Turkey's most important historical sites. For visitors, touring Derinkuyu Underground City is not just a geographical exploration but a profound journey through history. Here, visitors can not only experience how ancient humans lived and thrived but also personally witness the design and mysteries of this underground city. Below are my insights on visiting Derinkuyu Underground City, elaborating on its history, architecture, culture, and tour experience.
1. Historical Background and Origins
Derinkuyu Underground City is located in the city of Derinkuyu in Cappadocia, Turkey, and is the largest of several underground cities in the region. According to archaeologists, the construction of Derinkuyu Underground City dates back to around the 8th century BC, initially built by the ancient Hittites or other ancient civilizations. Over time, these underground cities underwent various expansions and modifications, further developing during the early Christian and Byzantine periods.
The most famous use of the underground city was as a refuge. In ancient times, the Cappadocia region frequently faced external invasions, necessitating a concealed place for local residents to seek refuge. Derinkuyu Underground City was built in this context to protect residents from foreign invaders. These underground cities could accommodate thousands of people and provided all the necessary facilities for living, including water sources, storage rooms, kitchens, and even churches. This comprehensive design showcased the wisdom of ancient humans in survival and defense.
2. Architectural Structure of the Underground City
The architectural structure of Derinkuyu Underground City is very intricate, fully reflecting the construction techniques and survival wisdom of ancient residents. The underground city extends about 60 meters below ground and has multiple levels, each approximately 3 meters high. These levels are distributed in a complex manner and interconnected through narrow corridors and hidden passages. Visitors can explore a series of stone-built rooms, corridors, storage rooms, and multifunctional spaces within the underground city.
The most striking feature is the underground city's ventilation system. Given the importance of air circulation underground, Derinkuyu Underground City was designed with a complex ventilation system to ensure good air circulation on every level. These ventilation shafts run throughout the underground city, with some set in the walls and others as vertical channels, cleverly introducing outside air into the underground, preventing suffocation.
In addition to the ventilation system, the defensive design of the underground city is also one of its highlights. The entrances to the underground city are usually narrow and concealed to prevent enemy entry. Additionally, there are heavy doors on the passages between levels that can be quickly closed in emergencies to prevent enemy breakthroughs. The maze-like structure between the levels further enhances the defensive effect.
3. Culture and Living Facilities
Derinkuyu Underground City was not just a refuge; it also provided abundant living facilities to meet the basic needs of its residents. The underground city had multiple storage rooms specifically for storing food and water, ensuring that residents would not lack resources during long-term habitation. Additionally, the underground city had kitchens, dining rooms, and wells, providing the basic facilities needed for daily life.
Churches and prayer rooms were also found within the underground city, indicating that local residents maintained their religious beliefs even while seeking refuge. These churches were usually small and simply designed but fully reflected the residents' emphasis on spiritual life. Visitors can also see some murals and carvings in the underground city, which are expressions of the religious beliefs and lifestyles of the people at that time.
4. Tour Experience
As a visitor, touring Derinkuyu Underground City is a very awe-inspiring experience. When you enter this ancient underground city, you will first be amazed by its scale and intricate design. Every level of the underground city is filled with historical traces, from deep corridors to hidden rooms, each step feels like traveling through time, sharing moments with ancient residents.
Visitors usually tour with a professional guide, which helps better understand the historical background and architectural features of the underground city. The guide will explain the function of each level in detail and how people survived in this underground world. Due to the narrowness of some areas in the underground city, careful walking is required during the tour, sometimes needing to bend or squat, making the experience more immersive in the living difficulties and courage of the ancient residents.
Besides learning about history and architecture, the tour of Derinkuyu Underground City has a special allure: its sense of mystery. Since some areas of the underground city have not been fully excavated, many unsolved mysteries remain. These unresolved mysteries spark imagination about the stories and secrets this underground city once held.
5. Conclusion
Overall, Derinkuyu Underground City is a site of great historical significance and cultural value. It is not just an ancient refuge but a symbol of human wisdom and resilience. Here, we can learn about Turkey's history and culture and personally experience how ancient people survived and thrived in extreme environments. From historical, architectural, and cultural perspectives, Derinkuyu Underground City is a place worth exploring in depth. For history and adventure enthusiasts, it is undoubtedly a must-see marvel.
There are two underground cities in Cappadocia. Kaymakli Underground City is the larger one and is a must-see attraction when traveling to Cappadocia. It gives people a mysterious feeling and makes people linger.
Turkey's natural scenery is beautiful, and each city has its own unique charm. Exploring the infinite inspiration in the Kaymakli Underground City is a tourist destination that is worth visiting and will make you linger.
This is an eight-story underground city 40 meters deep, with each room connected by a winding tunnel. The underground city has a complex ventilation network, and the air is very well circulated, maintaining a constant temperature of 13-16 degrees. The underground city has complete facilities, and there are traces of people's cave life everywhere, including jars for storing oil, wine and water, troughs for making grapes, kitchens blackened by oil smoke, cow sheds and horse pens, and incredibly deep wells.
In addition to the shocking stone pillar forest caves in Cappadocia, Turkey, there are many underground cave cities, which existed in 400 BC, with orderly passages, vents, domestic water and drainage systems, in addition to teaching, classrooms, The bedroom, kitchen, warehouse and other functions of the cave, the huge underground city can accommodate 10,000 people at the same time. There are 37 underground cities in Cappadocia that have been opened to the outside world, and it is conservatively estimated that at least 100 underground cities have not been excavated. How large these underground shelters are in total may remain a mystery.
Kaimakle Dungeons, the largest underground city in Cappadocia, is a very worth visiting. It is best to ask a guide to take you to visit, you can introduce the history of the underground city, and this underground city is like a maze, and it will be much better to have a guide to lead the team. However, if you plan to go by yourself, you don't have to worry, there are guide signs below, you can always go out. In short, this is a very worth seeing attraction, recommended
Cappadocia There are 36 dungeons discovered so far, the largest of which is Kaymakler. The first was the underground city built by the Hittites, and then Christians hid in this underground city when they avoided the Roman massacre, and increased the construction scale. The whole underground city was 40 meters deep and had eight floors. It was said that it could accommodate 10,000 people at that time. This hidden and narrow underground urban and rural maze, there are many traces of past life, all kinds of living facilities are very complete, you can see the wisdom of the ancients.
To travel to Turkey, you must go to Cappadocia. To Cappadocia, three things must be done: hot air balloons, underground cities and cave hotels. There are many underground cities in Cappa, and the Kaymakler underground city is very well protected and developed. It is said that there are more than 10 floors underground, we just walked to the 8th floor underground, and we dare not go down again. The ventilation system is designed very scientifically and has no underground feeling at all.
The attractions that follow the red and green line, with the explanation, feel quite worth seeing. This underground city was used for refuge during the ancient war. It extends in all directions to rugged and rugged. Most places can only allow one person to pass. You can be a husband and a husband. It is very suitable for the enemy. There are 8 floors in it, and the facilities are all available. When we went, the explanation always emphasized that we should not look comfortable or not, because this is originally for war, and the important thing is to live. [Facilities] There are kitchens and living rooms in the kitchen, as well as special wine cellar churches, etc., which can accommodate many people to live in, although it is a small society. When I entered, some roads were more difficult to walk, but it felt worth seeing, a bit of Chinese authentic warfare.