MAYBE NOT EVERYONE KNOWS THAT … …in Turkey there is a city called DERINKUYU (Deep Well), which is more than 2,800 years old and was able to accommodate around 20,000 people. This extraordinary city is located near the province of Nevsehir, in Cappadocia and was unearthed by pure chance in 1963 by a local inhabitant who, during the renovation of his house, found himself in front of a mysterious passage: an intricate labyrinth of caves and tunnels divided into several levels that wound over 60 meters deep into the bowels of the earth. The underground city of Derinkuyu is thought to have been first excavated by the Phrygians, an Indo-European population, between the 7th and 8th centuries BC Some theories, however, suggest that the city was even older. In fact, some argue that it was a hiding place dug by the Hittites of Anatolia, to escape their enemies. In the Christian era, some chapels were included in Derinkuyu. The underground city of Derinkuyu served to protect its inhabitants from wars and religious persecutions and was able to accommodate about 20,000 people. Equipped with large stone doors, to prevent access to invaders, and an ingenious ventilation system, as well as a well to ensure drinking water for all citizens, it included a multitude of rooms used as kitchens, bedrooms and warehouses for food storage. To guarantee the complete autonomy of the population, in addition to a school, a church and a cellar for the preparation of wine and oil, there was also room for an adequate number of livestock. As late as the 20th century locals used the underground city as a refuge from periodic waves of Ottoman persecution. When the Christian inhabitants were expelled from the region in 1923, the tunnels were permanently abandoned. Most of Derinkuyu’s entrances are hidden, and each of the five entrances can be hermetically sealed with huge stone doors. When the city was rediscovered, in that very casual way, it was practically forgotten. The civilization that built the city is still unknown and to this day, 60 years after this discovery, although about 20 underground levels have been explored, only eight can be visited. Taken from https://www.mybestplace.com/it/article/derinkuyu-la-straordinaria-citta-sotterranea-della-turchia (WorDrops)
