
Derinkuyu: Turkey’s Underground City - flannery
https://www.historicmysteries.com/derinkuyu-underground-city-cappadocia/
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latchkey
I've been. It is a truly impressive feat of human engineering and very fun to
explore. It is sad that politics prevent people from visiting it now.

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dbmikus
I wonder what system they had to keep things lit up. I imagine if you were
somewhere down there without lights you'd have a bad time.

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bklaasen
I've been in that situation, close to closing time. I was alone, many stories
down in the depths of the complex, when without warning the lights went out.
I've never experienced such utter, black-out darkness. I was instantly
paralysed with fear. The lights came on again after too many seconds of
blackness, and I dashed out into daylight as fast as I could. I had to pause
several times on the way out while the attendant switched off the lights a few
more times.

If you ever get a chance to visit, do so - there are several underground
cities in the region, all slightly different. They're fascinating.

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didsomeonesay
That sounds utterly terrifying. I'm surprised you still recommend the visit!

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contingencies
Worst case maximum wait for help <24H ... its not that bad.

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INTPenis
Lights, sewage are pretty easily answered but what about ventilation?

Apparently they had a large well that acted also as ventilation shaft.

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justincormack
I have been there years ago. There is another theory that these are Victorian
fakes. They show little sign of habitation, eg remains of stuff or lost
things. Which is also why dating them is hard.

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fabrika
Why would they dig a fake 18-level underground city?

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aaron695
People love to make things underground. There's the famous dude in England who
did it during a depression hiring people just cause.

Of course perhaps 2000 years ago people were bored and did it for fun too, it
could still be historic.

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mattkevan
Near to where I used to live in East London a mad old guy known as the 'Mole
Man of Hackney' dug so many tunnels under his house the pavement collapsed...

[https://www.theguardian.com/society/2006/aug/08/communities....](https://www.theguardian.com/society/2006/aug/08/communities.uknews)

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delidumrul
It's pathetic that the author has written Turks slaughtered Greeks in 1900s
and forced them to leave. An absolute ignorance of history. If Turks has
slaughtered any Christian population in their country, how had these people
been able to live for above 400 years under their ruling? Oh of course, by
hiding in underground cities in Cappadocia.

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y4mi
At least the wikipedia articles seems to agree with the author.

    
    
      These cities continued to be used by the Christian natives 
      as protection from the Mongolian incursions of Timur in 
      the 14th century.[7][8]
    
      After the region fell to the Ottomans, the cities were used 
      as refuges (Cappadocian Greek: καταφύγια) from the Turkish
      Muslim rulers.[9] As late as the 20th century the locals, 
      called Cappadocian Greeks, were still using the underground
      cities to escape periodic waves of Ottoman persecution.[9]
      R. M. Dawkins, a Cambridge linguist who conducted research
      on the Cappodocian Greek natives in the area from 1909-1911, 
      recorded that in 1909, "when the news came of the recent 
      massacres at Adana, a great part of the population at Axo took
      refuge in these underground chambers, and for some nights did 
      not venture to sleep above ground."

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delidumrul
Many books are written to shape the history in the benefits of some countries.
Linking them with other topics will attract more attention and will help to
exaggerate effects of their claims. The passage above from wikipedia is a nice
example of this propaganda technique. Underground cities are associated with
totally another political issue. The blog post, the situation is just inflated
and dramatized more: domino effect. It would be too long and unnecessary to
answer all accusations, though. Here is not a place for historical or
political discussions. Therefore, to sum up, as a local of Cappadocia, I can
say that these places are not really unknown places. In this area, there are
many underground cities inside the villages (since at least 1900s), not in
isolated places. People used these places as warehouses. If a crime existed,
then people could have been found there at most as hardly as in a normal
village. Hiding on mountains would be a more plausible option. In the early
centuries, against invasions, it may be safer than a regular village, because
they are generally inside valleys and not in a place where a popular road
passes. So, it can't be discovered from far points by eyes.

There are many churches in caves or as buildings. The ones as buildings are
from 1800s. Ones in the caves are more older apparently. Also, many historical
Greek houses exist. Majority of them contains caves as parts.

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m3kw9
How does sewage work in there?

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saalweachter
Pots, probably. You do your business in a chamber pot, and there was probably
someone whose job it was to collect it all. The solid wastes get composted,
the liquid gets processed for its ammonia, used in cleaning.

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Boothroid
Cappadocia is definitely worth a visit. I've seen these and they are awesome.
There is a vertical shaft that they think was for ventilation and emergencies
- a straight drop with holds cut into the rock - would have needed a good head
for heights!

I don't think Cappadocia is that risky to visit atm, but personally I wouldn't
want to visit while Erdogan is still in power. We shouldn't be rewarding
dictators.

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afsina
Wow. How is your visit is rewarding a political figure? I am sure local people
will appreciate your thoughtfulness.

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Boothroid
The majority of the population appear to support Erdogan. I'm not giving
Turkey a penny until they return to proper democracy.

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isr
Do "the majority of the population" have to run their preferences by you first
before they get to exercise their choice?

Is there some approved whitelist of candidates, compiled in Western capitals,
that needs to be circulated amongst Turks, so that they can exercise their
"democratic rights", as long as its only from that sheet of paper?

An amazing definition of "democracy" you have running in your head.

(I know I replied to you elsewhere, but this gem deserved its own response)

Silly Turks, voting for their own choice of leader, without first taking your
opinion on board and going along with that.

Someone needs to educate them about what true "Western sponsored" democracy
means, I guess.

Oh wait, thats what that attempted coup was for, right? Oops ...

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Boothroid
Most sane observers don't view Erdogan as positive for Turkey. I'm with them.
No visit to Turkey until things get a bit less fundamentalist.

