How a Turk tore down a wall during repairs and found a whole underground city (14 photos)

In 1963, a resident of the Nevsehir province in Turkey was doing home repairs and decided to tear down the wall. Behind it, he discovered a secret room with a narrow a corridor that led to a cave-like room. So he discovered abandoned underground city of Derinkuyu, the largest cave settlement Cappadocia.





These tunnels are believed to have been dug by hand around the 12th and 15th centuries BC. They sheltered people and their supplies from extreme climate above, and also served as a defense against enemy attack.



This small drawing shows what these underground cities. The earth is mostly ash and volcanic material, making it easy to dig, but very strong. No one knows for sure who first settled the underground city, however it is known that for several centuries many different groups have visited here of people.





With eleven floors available to visitors, the city reaches a depth of more than 85 meters below the surface. It is assumed that under 11 floors recognized as safe for tourists, there is another over 18 floors.



Kilometers and kilometers of tunnels turned black from the torches with which people have roamed them for centuries. Derinkuyu connects with other cities in area, which can simultaneously support tens of thousands of human.



Underground tunnels lead to gigantic chambers where there were schools, wine cellars, oil presses, churches, halls for assemblies, shops, tombs, arsenals, cattle pens, escape routes and wells separated from surface water.



More than 100 entrances lead to underground cities, but each of them hidden behind bushes or walls. Even the entrances to the yards were hidden, but with large enough for livestock to pass through.



Entrances and other important rooms were guarded by giant stone doors. They were carved by hand, and they weigh about 450 kilograms, while some reach a diameter of more than one and a half meters.



Residents of the city used underground water as a source of drinking. river systems to avoid surface water poisoning, accessible to enemies outside.



The size of the rooms is really impressive. It's hard to believe that this was all done by hand!



Currently, only 10% of the underground city is open to the public. visitors, but it was found only in 1963, so the researchers still Much remains to be excavated and documented.



This is one of the wells built in such a way as to prevent enemies on the surface from poisoning the water.



A vertical staircase leading to the floor below. These stairs lead to most floors and can be very dangerous.



The tunnels were dug very narrow so that one could pass through them. only one by one. This gave the inhabitants of underground cities an advantage before their enemies.