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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
open 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.
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Derinkuyu
underground city |
The first
inhabitants of
Cappadocia area
have opened deep
cavities within the
volcanic rocks due
to escape from the
attacks of the wild
animals and hard
winter conditions
and then they have
enlarged these
cavities according
to their daily
needs, they opened
new cavities and
created the
underground cities
connecting these
cavities with tunnel
and labyrinths.
Later the
underground cities
were the place of
the hiding of the
first Christians who
escaped from the
persecution of the
Roman soldiers and
were enlarged to
able when were
necessary an entire
city to live and
every kind of
fixture necessary
for the living of
the people has been
attached. When there
wasn't any danger
the people living on
the ground in case
of the danger have
hidden in the
underground cities.
For this reason all
the homes at that
time were connected
to the underground
cities with a
tunnel. |
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In all of the
underground cities
there are
ventilation chimneys
reaching place by
place to a depth of
80 and until the
underground waters.
These chimneys were
opened due to meet
the need of both the
ventilation and
water. Within the
cities that are
tepid in winters and
cool in summers
there are kitchens,
cribs, wine houses,
depots for cereals,
meeting saloons,
toilets shortly
every kind of living
space necessary for
living. Within all
the cities there are
locking stones which
can be opened and
closed only from
inside against to
the threats which
may come from
outside. |
Tatlarin Underground
City |
The oldest written source
about underground cities is
the Anabasis named book of
Xenophon (Written around
B.C. 4). In the book is
mentioned that the people
living in Anatolia have
caved their houses
underground and that the
houses are connected to each
other with holes: "The
houses were built
underground; the entrances
were like wells but they
broadened out lower down.
There were tunnels dug in
the ground for the animals
wkile the men went down by
ladder. Inside the houses
there were goats, sheep,
cows and poultry with their
young..." |
