Cameron Highlands Tea Plantation, Malaysia

Saturday, November 20, 2010

The Underground city of Derinkuyu, Turkey

The Underground city of Derinkuyu was one of our stops before arriving in Ihlara Valley. Being the largest excavated underground city in Turkey, the early Christians used this city to escape from persecution from the Roman Empire and later from the Arabs.


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Derinkuyu is 11 stories deep though many floors have not been excavated. It has several tunnels connecting it to other underground cities, and large enough to accommodate between 35,000- 50,000 people together with their livestock and food stores. I find it so hard to imagine that large numbers of people could live in these narrow passageways for such long periods.


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This is one of the many passageways in which we venture with the charred ceilings in view. As you descend towards the depths of the city, you come across many different rooms such as kitchens, chapels, living quarters, bedrooms, eating areas, churches and even wineries. The whole trip takes around 2 hours.


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Taking sharp pictures are quite difficult as the only sources of light are the light bulbs they placed along the wall. I was glad I was able to get a few good shots in low light conditions.


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The city is full of incredibly small hallways and requires a lot of crouching and crawling over. If you are claustrophobic, I strongly don't recommend going down there as you are climbing underground through sometimes small and tight spaces.



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Aside from that, some of the tunnels are often narrow with very low ceilings and quite dark and eerie at times. It works pretty well for me but I have avoided the deepest levels and the narrowest spaces.


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I find it amazing that there are huge ventilation shafts which works incredibly well. The ventilation shaft plunges 80 meters into the earth with access points on all levels to keep the fresh air circulating.


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Just a word of caution. It is an enormous underground structure so it is easy to get totally lost and confused, although there are arrows pointing towards different directions. Trust me, you do not want to lose sight of your guide.


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It's truly remarkable that people during its heyday were able to build such structures so reliably that they never collapsed and that the ventilation systems were so wonderful that they still work today. The air seemed refreshing cool the entire time we were underground.




Scenic Sunday

30 comments:

  1. So cool! An underground city! I would love to visit it.

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  2. Very interesting pictures.Greetings Andrzej.

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  3. Those are awesome photos... I'm SO impressed... Can you imagine them building these tunnels --how long it must have taken and how they could actually do it???... Woooooo--unbelievable... Thanks so much for sharing. It's amazing that the tunnels are still in such good shape after all of these years.
    Betsy

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  4. Lovely post with nice pictures and interesting info. Thanks for sharing.

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  5. this is a fascinating place. i've never heard of it before. thanks for sharing.

    Ewok

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  6. I only knew these piece of history now...thanks for sharing and your photos are crisps and clear, all details you wished to take were captured so well!

    Thanks for sharing this beautiful piece of history!

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  7. This place is very beautiful and very impressive !!!!!!!!! Thanks for showing.

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  8. Amazing pictures and I loved to see them - thanks a lot for sharing!

    http://foto.rudenius.se/post/2010/11/20/Scenic-Sundaye28093Kraka-in-the-snowy-rain.aspx

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  9. wow this is very impressive..nice pics too LR! :)

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  10. What a fantastic 'hole in the ground' - did you feel threatened (claustraphobic) at all during your time down there?
    Thank you for sharing them with us
    Cathy

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  11. Mind blowing. I wonder how long it took them to excavate. I can imagine how claustrophobic this could be. I can't imagine living there for long periods. Great post!

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  12. I've been on tour in abandoned coal and gold mines and i found them very cold and some so small that i have to crawl through because i'm just a little under six feet tall. Great photos of this underground city which looks like i could walk through without bumping my head no problem at all.

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  13. Yes, I am impressed by the photos and story! Great! Thanks!
    Regards from Romania!
    Photographis

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  14. I have also visited one underground city on September this year. It's incredible what a huge effort to prepare them (with technical means of those ages) for hidding women and children in war times. Usually one priest was with them, the other men have been fighting the enemy outside. These were only temporary shelters but still are very well built. Interesting reportage, Life Ramblings!

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  15. Wow amazing tunnel those people must have divine guidance to 'build/dig' it. tQ

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  16. Fantastic shots of this underground city. It must be very interesting to tour. Thanks for sharing.

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  17. Imagine spending your life so deep underground! o.O

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  18. Really amazing photography and what an unusual place to visit.

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  19. you got some great pictures.
    I wonder how fresh the air felt with several thousand people living there at one time!

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  20. This is the first I've heard of this underground city, although I have heard of the catacombs in Rome. I found this city to be absolutely fascinating, and you did a great job of getting pictures to go along with your commentary. Thank you for a very interesting post.

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  21. This was a great photo series. Fascinating. Think of those who have built this ...

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  22. That is a fascinating spot and one that I would love to explores however my sense of direction is not good so I would get lost. Great photos and information. Thanks for sharing this with us.

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  23. Fascinating. I love any kind of subterranea, whether natural or man-made.

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  24. This is fascinating. It's almost impossible to believe that such a think could be built. I think your pictures are really great and really give us a good look into this remarkable place.

    Kat
    http://inmydreamssfk.blogspot.com/

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  25. This is amazing to fit so many people in such a confined area. I can't imagine never to see sunlight

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  26. Fascinating. I had not idea this existed, and your photos and description are marvelous. I'm not one to visit these kinds of places but am extremely thankful that you did and are sharing. Found you on Scenic Sunday and shall return!

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  27. Saratli Kirkiroz was the name of the underground city I visited. And there are many of them in Cappadocia.

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  28. you definitely got good shots, very clear!

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  29. Wow, these photos are incredible!!! You are definitely making me want to go back to Turkey now!!! This underground city looks like such an adventure.

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