A man knocked down a wall in his basement. He found an abandoned underground city that was once home to 20,000 people.
Lydia Warren
- Derinkuyu is a subterranean city in Turkey stretching 280 feet below the Earth's surface.
- The ancient city was used for centuries before it was abandoned in the 1920s.
Stretching 280 feet below the Earth's surface in Cappadocia, Turkey, is a web of tunnels and cave-like dwellings that once housed 20,000 people.
The ancient city, Derinkuyu, lay abandoned for decades until, in the 1960s, a local man noticed his chickens were disappearing through a gap in his basement that had opened up during renovations, the BBC reported. After knocking down a wall, he found a tunnel — and accidentally rediscovered the sprawling, subterranean city.
Now part of a UNESCO World Heritage site, Derinkuyu is open to visitors, although they can only explore eight of its 18 levels. Here's a closer look at the remarkable city and its history.
Derinkuyu is an 18-level underground city in the Cappadocia region of Turkey. At its deepest point, it reaches 280 feet below the Earth's surface.
Source: BBC
Cappadocia is particularly suited to underground dwellings — its landscape is made of a volcanic-ash rock called tuff, which is pliable and dry, making it easy to carve with simple tools.
In 1963, a local man was remodeling his home and noticed his chickens were disappearing through a gap that had opened up. After he pulled back a wall, he found a tunnel that led to Derinkuyu.
Source: BBC
More than 600 entrances to the ancient city have since been found within people's homes, the BBC reported.
Source: BBC
According to Turkey's Department of Culture, it was built by the Phrygians in the 8th to 7th centuries BC. It was first referenced in a written text in 370 BC.
Source: Cappadocia Turkey, BBC
It was used for thousands of years — at first for storage, and then as a place for people to hide from invasions and conflict.
Source: BBC
Its dwellers were able to survive underground for months at a time. At its peak, it was home to 20,000 people.
Source: CNN
However, in the 1920s, it was abandoned by the Cappadocian Greeks when they fled to Greece during the Greco-Turkish War.
Source: BBC
After the city was rediscovered in the 1960s, excavators found rooms for many different purposes, including food storage, winemaking, oil pressing, and dining.
Source: Cappadocia Turkey
They also unearthed a chapel, pictured, and a religious school.
Source: Cappadocia Turkey
When the city was inhabited, livestock was kept on floors nearer the surface so their smells and gasses did not affect lower dwellings.
Source: BBC
A well provided clean water, and ventilation shafts allowed fresh air to circulate between the rooms and levels.
Source: BBC
There were also large, stone doors on every floor to stop intruders.
Source: Cappadocia Turkey,
A guide told BBC reporter Geena Truman that "life underground was probably very difficult. The residents relieved themselves in sealed clay jars, lived by torchlight, and disposed of dead bodies in [designated] areas."
![A guide told BBC reporter Geena Truman that "life underground was probably very difficult. The residents relieved themselves in sealed clay jars, lived by torchlight, and disposed of dead bodies in [designated] areas."](https://staticbiassets.in/thumb/msid-101000084,width-700,height-525,imgsize-680330/a-guide-told-bbc-reporter-geena-truman-that-quotlife-underground-was-probably-very-difficult-the-residents-relieved-themselves-in-sealed-clay-jars-lived-by-torchlight-and-disposed-of-dead-bodies-in-designated-areas-quot.jpg)
Source: BBC
In 1985, the region was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list.
Source: UNESCO
Today, Derinkuyu, which is now the largest excavated underground city in Turkey, is open to visitors.
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