The underground city of Derinkuyu

In 1963, a man in the Nevşehir Province of Turkey knocked down a wall of his home. Behind it, he discovered a mysterious room. The man continued digging and soon discovered a complex tunnel system with additional cave-like rooms. What he had discovered was the ancient Derinkuyu underground city, part of the Cappadocia region in central Anatolia, Turkey. It was one of dozens of underground cities carved from the rock in Cappadocia thousands of years ago. Hidden for centuries, Derinkuyu‘s underground city is the deepest.

The Cappadocia region of Anatolia is rich in volcanic history and sits on a plateau around 3,300 feet (1,000m) tall. The area was under ash for millions of years, creating the lava domes and rough pyramids seen today. Volcanic ash deposits consist of a softer rock – something the Hittites of Cappadocia discovered thousands of years ago when they began carving out rooms from the rock. It began with storage; they used these underground food lockers to keep a constant temperature, protecting the contents from harsh weather conditions. The underground tunneling would also serve a bigger purpose: Protect the Hittites from attack.

Derinkuyu is the deepest of the discovered underground cities with eight floors – reaching depths of 280 feet (85m) – currently open to the public. Excavation is incomplete but archaeologists estimate Derinkuyu could contain up to 18 subterranean levels. Miles of tunnels were blackened from centuries of burning torches. The tunnels reach hundreds of caves large enough to shelter tens of thousands of people. The build-out of Derinkuyu accommodated for churches, food stores, livestock stalls, wine cellars, and schools. Over one hundred unique entrances to Derinkuyu are hidden behind bushes, walls, and courtyards of surface houses.

Authorities opened Derinkuyu to visitors in 1969, but only about 10% of the underground city is accessible to tourists today. The underground city is open to visitors daily during the summer from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. Winter hours are from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. 2014 entrance fees are 15 Turkish Lira (or about $7/£4/€5).