The Legend of the Lost City of Derinkuyu: The Subterranean Cities of Cappadocia, the Giant Stone Doors, and the Shelter of the Ancient World
The Subterranean World of Cappadocia In the central highlands of Anatolia, Turkey, in the historical region of Cappadocia, lies one of the most spectacular engineering wonders of the ancient world. Derinkuyu (meaning "Deep Well") is a colosal subterranean city carved into the soft volcanic tuff rock, extending to a depth of over 250 feet and consisting of eighteen distinct levels of tunnels, chambers, and shafts. The city was designed to shelter a population of up to twenty thousand people, along with their livestock, food reserves, oil presses, stables, wine cellars, schools, and chapels, allowing them to live in absolute isolation from the surface world for months. The legend of Derinkuyu is the mystery of the subterranean shelter . While the civilizations of the surface built their fortresses of stone blocks to defend against invaders, the inhabitants of Cappadocia carved their fortress into the depths of the earth. The origin of the city is ancient and debated: while...