The underground cities of Cappadocia are worthy of a visit. Let's take
Derinkuyu for example. The one time home of up to 20,000 people, it's 18
storeys descend into the Anatolian plateau 50 kms south of <A HREF="http://www.hitit.co.uk/tosee/cappy/goreme.html">Goreme</A>. Stop and
think about that for a while. A large, market town sized community digging a
settlement out to guarantee themselves a degree of protection.
There are 8 floors of tunnels open to the visitor and this is enough to give
you an idea of the sensation of living in a labyrinth like this. The
ventilation shafts, circular and descending from the surface to the lower
levels, bring home the scale of the enterprise while the massive circular
doors - which were rolled across the passages and sealed from the inside -
remind you of the motivation for moving underground in the first place.
Derinkuyu is by no means the only such city you can visit here. There are
actually 40 or so subterranean settlements in the area although only a few
are open to the public. Kaymakli, 10 kilometers to the north of Derinkuyu, is
smaller and less excavated but 5 levels are accessible and the experience is
pretty much the same. Not For The Claustrophobic.
Practicalities