KAYMAKLI UNDERGROUND CITY

kaymakli underground city cappadocia

The Cappadocia Underground Cities

Kaymakli, formerly known as Enegup, is a village whose residents have built their homes near the city’s network of 100 or more tunnels. Villagers still use these passageways and parts of the underground city as they were intended: as storage, stables, and cellars. Kaymakli’s underground city is unlike Derinkuyu in both design and construction. It has low, narrow, and sloping passages. Four levels have been discovered so far, and most of the rooms are clustered near the stairwells and elevators. Stables can be found on the ground level of the underground metropolis. The upper-level church is divided into a single nave and two apses. There is an altar in front of the apse, and there are raised platforms on either side for worshippers to sit on.

The third level of the underground city is where most of the action happens. This floor is notable for its interesting block of andesite with relief texture, as well as its many useful storage areas, wine cellars, and kitchen. The stone was originally a part of the andesite layer discovered during hollowing, rather than being brought in from elsewhere. A total of 57 holes were drilled into the stone so that it could be used for crushing and grinding in a pinch. Kaymakli is undeniably one of the largest underground settlements in the area, although only four floors have been uncovered so far. When compared to other Cappadocian underground settlements, this one is generally considered the largest. The sheer density of storage spaces in this relatively compact area is indicative of a large population having once called this place home.

 

Between 150 and 200 underground cities of varying sizes make up the most fascinating cultural wealth of the Cappadocia Region. The majority of these dwellings were built underground by cutting soft tuff rocks. The main reason underground cities are built is to protect the citizens from outside threats. Long galleries and winding tunnels link the hundreds of interconnected rooms that make up the underground cities. The goal of these long, low galleries is to impede the enemy’s movement.

 

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