Derinkuyu Underground City

Cappadocia holds an estimated 150 to 200 underground settlements, most of them cut by hand from soft volcanic tuff, and Derinkuyu is the best known. These cities were dug as refuges in times of danger and also because they stay cool in summer and warm in winter. Derinkuyu lies about 30 km from Nevşehir on the road to Niğde and reaches roughly 85 metres down over eight levels, though only a small part, around a tenth, is open to visitors. It opened to the public in 1965.

Local tradition links its earliest inhabitants to the Assyrian colonies, and early Christians fleeing Roman persecution from the second century are said to have settled here. Entrances were hard to spot, and long spells underground called for storerooms, ventilation shafts, wine presses, churches, wells, toilets and meeting rooms. Narrow tunnels link the rooms, and big stone discs could be rolled across them to seal off sections.

What makes Derinkuyu different from nearby Kaymaklı is its missionary school, a confessional, a baptismal pool and a deep well that also served as a ventilation shaft. The upper levels held stables, since animals were hard to bring lower, along with communal kitchens with tandoor ovens and wine and molasses presses.