Global Courant
Derinkuyu, the underground city of Turkey.Natalia Moroz/Getty Images
Derinkuyu is an underground city in Turkey that extends 85 meters below the earth’s surface.
The old town was used for centuries before being abandoned in the 1920s.
A local man rediscovered it in 1963 when he went behind a wall looking for his lost chickens.
80 meters below the surface of the earth in Cappadocia, Turkey, stretches a web of tunnels and cave-like homes that once housed 20,000 people.
The ancient city, Derinkuyu, lay abandoned for decades until in the 1960s a local man noticed his chickens disappearing through an opening in his basement created during renovations, reported the BBC. After tear down a wallhe found a tunnel – and accidentally rediscovered the vast, underground city.
Now part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Derinkuyu is open to visitors, although they can only explore eight of its 18 levels. Here’s a closer look at the remarkable city and its history.
Derinkuyu is an 18-storey underground city in the Cappadocia region of Turkey. At its deepest point, it reaches 280 feet below the Earth’s surface.
Cappadocia, Turkey.Zu Sanchez Photography/Getty Images
Source: BBC
Cappadocia is particularly suited to underground dwellings – the landscape is made of a rock of volcanic ash called tuff, which is pliable and dry, making it easy to work with simple tools.
Geological formations in Cappadocia, Turkey.Storm is me/Shutterstock
In 1963, a local man was renovating his house and noticed that his chickens were disappearing through a gap that had been created. After pulling back a wall, he found a tunnel leading to Derinkuyu.
An entrance to Derinkuyu.SVPhilon/Getty Images
Source: BBC
Since then, more than 600 entrances to the ancient city have been found in people’s homes, the BBC reported.
Derinkuyu, the underground city of Turkey.Pakhnyushchyy/Getty Images
Source: BBC
According to the Turkish Ministry of Culture, it was built by the Phrygians in the 8th to 7th centuries BC. It was first referred to in a written text in 370 BC.
Derinkuyu, the underground city of Turkey.maroznc/Getty Images
Source: Cappadocia Turkey, BBC
It was used for thousands of years – first for storage and then as a place for people to hide from invasion and conflict.
Derinkuyu, the underground city of Turkey.Raluca Hotupan/Getty Images
Source: BBC
The inhabitants could survive underground for months. At its peak, 20,000 people lived there.
Story continues
Derinkuyu, the underground city of Turkey.Parilov/Shutterstock
Source: CNN
However, in the 1920s it was abandoned by the Cappadocian Greeks when they fled to Greece during the Greco-Turkish War.
Derinkuyu, the underground city of Turkey.LiskaM/Shutterstock
Source: BBC
After the city was rediscovered in the 1960s, excavators found rooms for many different purposes, including food storage, winemaking, oil pressing, and dining.
Derinkuyu, the underground city of Turkey.Parilov/Shutterstock
Source: Cappadocia Turkey
They also excavated a chapel, pictured it, and a religious school.
A chapel in Derinkuyu.David Clapp/Getty Images
Source: Cappadocia Turkey
When the city was inhabited, cattle were kept on floors closer to the surface so that their smells and gases did not affect lower dwellings.
Derinkuyu, the underground city of Turkey.Pakhnyushchyy/Getty Images
Source: BBC
Well-supplied clean water and ventilation shafts allowed fresh air to circulate between the rooms and levels.
Derinkuyu, the underground city of Turkey.Pakhnyushchyy/Getty Images
Source: BBC
There were also large stone doors on each floor to keep out intruders.
Derinkuyu, the underground city of Turkey.Sailingstone Travel/Shutterstock
Source: Cappadocia Turkey,
One guide told BBC reporter Geena Truman that “life underground was probably very difficult. The inhabitants relieved themselves in sealed clay jars, lived by torchlight and disposed of dead bodies in (designated) areas.”
Derinkuyu, the underground city of Turkey.Wirestock Creators/Shutterstock
Source: BBC
In 1985, the region was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.
A man walks through a tunnel in Derinkuyu.OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images
Source: Unesco
Today, Derinkuyu, now the largest excavated underground city in Turkey, is open to visitors.
Tourists visit Derinkuyu, the underground city of Turkey, in 2020.OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images
Read the original article Insider
