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Derinkuyu: Turkey’s Underground City
- dbmikus 9y agoI wonder what system they had to keep things lit up. I imagine if you were somewhere down there without lights you'd have a bad time.
- bklaasen 9y agoI've been in that situation, close to closing time. I was alone, many stories down in the depths of the complex, when without warning the lights went out. I've never experienced such utter, black-out darkness. I was instantly paralysed with fear. The lights came on again after too many seconds of blackness, and I dashed out into daylight as fast as I could. I had to pause several times on the way out while the attendant switched off the lights a few more times. If you ever get a chance to visit, do so - there are several underground cities in the region, all slightly different. They're fascinating.
- didsomeonesay 9y agoThat sounds utterly terrifying. I'm surprised you still recommend the visit!
- contingencies 9y agoWorst case maximum wait for help <24H ... its not that bad.
- vesinisa 9y agoThey probably used oil lamps. This technology was already well-known when these tunnels were dug, and they certainly had access to olive oil.
- serguzest 9y agoThe guide told us they were using castor oil lamps.
- megamindbrian 9y agoToo bad it's in Turkey.
- serkanyersen 9y agoThis is such an upsetting comment :( besides politics, Turkey is an awesome place to visit, with amazing history and people. I hope you get to visit Turkey sometime in your life, I'm sure it will surprise you in a positive way.
- kkmnkhjn 9y agoNot looking forward to getting blown to bits dude.
- megamindbrian 9y agoPass. I refuse to travel to countries where the barbaric act of lopping off someone's head is still common practice. If you don't agree with the politics too bad. You were born in the wrong place. Leave, and find better places to visit. Don't get me wrong. It makes me sad too.
- serkanyersen 9y agoI'm sorry. can you provide a link, a source, that says "lopping off someone's head" is a common practice in Turkey? Why would you lie about something like this? What is your purpose?
- megamindbrian 9y agohttp://www.cnn.com/2017/07/15/europe/turkey-coup-attempt-anniversary/index.html http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/15/europe/turkey-coup-attempt-ann... Why would at least 3 news outlets lie about it? http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/turkish-soldier-beheaded-pro-government-8433319 http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/turkish-soldier-behe...
- dariusm5 9y ago
- justincormack 9y agoI have been there years ago. There is another theory that these are Victorian fakes. They show little sign of habitation, eg remains of stuff or lost things. Which is also why dating them is hard.
- 24gttghh 9y agoThey show little signs now, or they also used to show little sign? The pictures in the article are from what I am assuming are the open-to-the-public section, which is likely swept often.
- justincormack 9y agoNo, down the wells and things, in the cracks, where you expect to find things, not just lying around.
- fabrika 9y agoWhy would they dig a fake 18-level underground city?
- justincormack 9y agotourism seems the obvious answer.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- aaron695 9y agoPeople love to make things underground. There's the famous dude in England who did it during a depression hiring people just cause. Of course perhaps 2000 years ago people were bored and did it for fun too, it could still be historic.
- mattkevan 9y ago
- m3kw9 9y agoHow does sewage work in there?
- megamindbrian 9y agoIt doesn't.
- saalweachter 9y agoPots, probably. You do your business in a chamber pot, and there was probably someone whose job it was to collect it all. The solid wastes get composted, the liquid gets processed for its ammonia, used in cleaning.
- Boothroid 9y agoCappadocia is definitely worth a visit. I've seen these and they are awesome. There is a vertical shaft that they think was for ventilation and emergencies - a straight drop with holds cut into the rock - would have needed a good head for heights! I don't think Cappadocia is that risky to visit atm, but personally I wouldn't want to visit while Erdogan is still in power. We shouldn't be rewarding dictators.
- mtmail 9y agoI agree. I happened to have visitedCappadocia and Derinkuyu during the week of the (orchestrated?) coup last summer. It was safe. The tourism companies already took a huge hit, for example at one point we were the only guests in our hotel.
- afterburner 9y agoCappadocia is indeed beautiful, in a unique way. The underground "cities" (villages, really) weren't even my favourite part.
- Zaheer 9y agoI have friends that were in Turkey recently and they also mentioned its not as risky as it seems. Alternate-point: Decline in tourism hurts average people the most. Many people's live in regions especially like Cappadocia depend on the tourism industry. Enabling the people to enable their own prosperity may be another way to see it.
- afsina 9y agoWow. How is your visit is rewarding a political figure? I am sure local people will appreciate your thoughtfulness.
- Boothroid 9y agoThe majority of the population appear to support Erdogan. I'm not giving Turkey a penny until they return to proper democracy.
- 9y ago
- latchkey 9y agoI've been. It is a truly impressive feat of human engineering and very fun to explore. It is sad that politics prevent people from visiting it now.
- INTPenis 9y agoLights, sewage are pretty easily answered but what about ventilation? Apparently they had a large well that acted also as ventilation shaft.
- delidumrul 9y agoIt's pathetic that the author has written Turks slaughtered Greeks in 1900s and forced them to leave. An absolute ignorance of history. If Turks has slaughtered any Christian population in their country, how had these people been able to live for above 400 years under their ruling? Oh of course, by hiding in underground cities in Cappadocia.
- y4mi 9y agoAt least the wikipedia articles seems to agree with the author. These cities continued to be used by the Christian natives as protection from the Mongolian incursions of Timur in the 14th century.[7][8] After the region fell to the Ottomans, the cities were used as refuges (Cappadocian Greek: καταφύγια) from the Turkish Muslim rulers.[9] As late as the 20th century the locals, called Cappadocian Greeks, were still using the underground cities to escape periodic waves of Ottoman persecution.[9] R. M. Dawkins, a Cambridge linguist who conducted research on the Cappodocian Greek natives in the area from 1909-1911, recorded that in 1909, "when the news came of the recent massacres at Adana, a great part of the population at Axo took refuge in these underground chambers, and for some nights did not venture to sleep above ground."
- delidumrul 9y agoMany books are written to shape the history in the benefits of some countries. Linking them with other topics will attract more attention and will help to exaggerate effects of their claims. The passage above from wikipedia is a nice example of this propaganda technique. Underground cities are associated with totally another political issue. The blog post, the situation is just inflated and dramatized more: domino effect. It would be too long and unnecessary to answer all accusations, though. Here is not a place for historical or political discussions. Therefore, to sum up, as a local of Cappadocia, I can say that these places are not really unknown places. In this area, there are many underground cities inside the villages (since at least 1900s), not in isolated places. People used these places as warehouses. If a crime existed, then people could have been found there at most as hardly as in a normal village. Hiding on mountains would be a more plausible option. In the early centuries, against invasions, it may be safer than a regular village, because they are generally inside valleys and not in a place where a popular road passes. So, it can't be discovered from far points by eyes. There are many churches in caves or as buildings. The ones as buildings are from 1800s. Ones in the caves are more older apparently. Also, many historical Greek houses exist. Majority of them contains caves as parts.