Underground Cities

Cappodocia region, Urgup, Turkey

May 15, 2010

Underground Cities

Imagine going deeper and deeper in to the earth through cave rooms dug out of solid rock connected by passages barely wider than your shoulders and low enough that you have to bend over to make your way through them (even our nine year old, Ben, had to bend over).

Over 137 cities were built in the region reaching up to twelve levels down - like upside down skyscrapers. As we got lower and lower in the underground city of Kaymakli we learned more about the air shafts used to get oxygen and how sometimes shafts had collapsed in earthquakes. The guide even showed us one tunnel blocked by huge rubble in a 3rd Century earthquake.

Starting in the 6th Century Christians in the region cut and dug hidden tunnels and whole underground cities deep into the earth out of rock to serve as places of refuge from the Persians, Arabs, other Christian sects and Romans. When armies started to march toward the area beacons of fire or mirror signals would be sent and could give the people of the region warning of the impending armies - enough time to move everyone to the underground cities to hide where they stayed for months at a time if necessary to avoid death.

As you can guess the rooms were very small - a families underground 'home' might be 8' x 6' and just tall enough to stand. From what we learned the cities had air shafts disguised as wells and light in the caves would be flickering candles or oil lamps. Since they had to be able to survive for months there were cave rooms dug for livestock, churches, schools, kitchens and homes. Food, including bread, might be cooked only every other week to reduce the need for fires (smoke would go up air shafts and be partially absorbed in to the rock and dissipate by the time it reached the surface).

It was such an amazing experience to think that people lived underground with no sunlight in these tiny spaces for months. It gives you a real appreciation of the danger they must have lived under to be willing to live in essentially a dark prison for months. I am so glad we went there to see such an amazing human achievement but after creeping through the passages and seeing the blocked tunnels I was ready to get out of there.

Paul and Ben braved another underground city, Derinkuyu, with an awesome guide named Ramanzan (who toured us around the region for two days) and new friends we made along the way. In the Cappadocia region we also saw fairy chimneys and cave homes that are what the people lived in above ground. You can stay in cave hotels and we stayed in one, the Gamirasu Hotel (great hostess and they set up super tours http://www.gamirasu.com/) and then as it was full we stayed at another small pension with only 4 rooms (we were in two of them) called Urgup Konak hotel with views of cave dwellings and more wonderful hosts. The whole area is magical and looks like it was inhabited by fairies and hobbits. It's a beautiful part of Turkey and we highly recommend it.

Today we are taking a bus to Konya, Turkey and may go see some Whirling Dervishes.


Gule Gule (goodbye in Turkish),

Jackie