“Turkish Cappadocia”.. historical underground cities

Underground cities dating back thousands of years in the Cappadocia region of Nouşehir, central Turkey, take their visitors on a rich journey through history, during which they learn about the traces of life in those cities in ancient times.

In Cappadocia, visitors can enjoy seeing the historical monuments and scenic natural sites from the air by balloon tours, during quad bike trips or on foot, in addition to exploring the ruins of ancient civilizations by wandering underground.

Created for temporary housing

The underground cities, which were formed by carving out the soft tuff rocks specific to the region between 3000-3500 BC, expanded during the Hittite era, and after them the Roman and Byzantine periods, and reached its current state.

These cities were established in a manner commensurate with the conditions and conditions of housing required for a community in order to be able to live in them temporarily, as there are rooms, warehouses, water cellars, a church, and other rooms connected to each other by narrow corridors.

The Turkish authorities open 6 of the 20 cities discovered in the region to visitors by lighting them, as tourists can go down about 100 meters underground.

More than a million visitors

According to the figures of the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, 459,456 visitors visited the city of “Kaymakli”, 298,117 “Drin Koyu”, “Ozkonak” 194 thousand and 41, “Mazi” 9 thousand and 172, and “Tatlarin” 4 thousand and 846 visitors in the period between January January and October of this year.

Nuşehir municipality figures show that the number of visitors to the city of “Qaya Shahr”, which opened to tourists in 2020 between January and October, reached 87,322 people, bringing the number of local and foreign visitors to underground cities to 1,52,954 visitors.

And visited the underground cities in the same region last year 528 thousand and 98 people.

Tourist attraction center

The head of the Chamber of Tourist Guides in Nuşehir Ozay Onur explained that every corner of Cappadocia is rich in terms of tourism, stressing that the underground cities are among the most attractive centers for tourists in the region.

He pointed out that different parts of the world contain wealth above and below the ground, adding that Cappadocia contains all these wealth.

He said, “In Cappadocia, you wander underground, explore the surface, and ascend to the sky, as it is the only place in the world where the three are present together, as we see that underground cities have been used since the Hittite era, and we do not know how many cities are underground in the region because we have not discovered them all yet.” “.

He added, “20 underground cities were found, but only 6 of them can be visited, and the temperature inside ranges between 16 and 18 degrees in every period of the year.”

An amazing sight

For her part, the tourist, Yasmine Sarris, explained that she comes to Cappadocia at different times, and that she visits a new underground city in the region every time, and that she visited the city of “Kaymakli” this time.

She indicated that she was fascinated by the way people built these places in the past from an architectural point of view, adding: “It is as if you are on a movie set, as the tunnels and food rooms are like tunnels.”

For her part, the American tourist, Priscilla Rush, said that the view she saw in the underground city was amazing.

She added, “Walking around the underground city is a unique experience, at first it was terrifying, but after passing through the tunnels, I realized that I was in a really wonderful place.”

She pointed out that she decided to visit Cappadocia after seeing pictures of the region on social media, stressing that everyone who visits Cappadocia will be happy with it.

For his part, the Mexican tourist Robert Burkins explained that Cappadocia is rich historically, culturally and naturally, indicating that the underground cities are very impressive and beautiful.

He wanted everyone to be able to see it.