Derinkuyu Underground City (Malakopi)
•Only 10 % of the city is accessible for tourists. Its 8 floors extend down to 85 m depth.
•It has all the usual amenities found in underground complexes such as wine and oil presses, stables, cellars, storage rooms, refectories and chapels. Unique to this complex:
•on the second floor is a spacious room with a barrel vaulted ceiling. Was used as a religious school. Between the 3rd & 4th levels is a vertical staircase. This passage way leads to a cruciform church on the lowest level. The large 55 m ventilation shaft appears to have been used as a well. The shaft also provided water to both villages above.
•Is the largest excavated underground city in Turkey. Had 11 floors although many floors not excavated. Each floor could be closed off separately. This city connected with other underground cities through miles of tunnels. Could accommodate between 3000 & 50,000 people.
•The church of Ayioi Theodoroi near the entrance.
•Picture of one of the heavy stone doors. They have a height of 1 – 1.5 m, 30-50cm in width, weighing 200 – 500 kg. The hole in the center can be used to open or close the millstone or to see who is outside.
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•Between 5th & 11th centuries Arab raids started in the 7th cent. The raiders tried to make the local people leave their shelters by poisoning their wells.
•More than 200 underground cities containing a minimum of 2 levels have been discovered in the area between Kayseri and Nevsehir. Some 40 of those contain a minimum of 3 levels or more. Kaymakli & Derinkuyu are two of the best examples.
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