Cappadocia’s Hidden Cities and Rock-Cut Churches

In recent years, Cappadocia has come onto the tourist radar. There’s no surprise as to why. This stunning region is rich in both history and natural beauty. Above ground, rolling fields give way to magical fairy chimneys, pillars of rock formed by millions of years of volcanic activity. Below ground are underground cities carved into the rock, with up to 18 layers stretching 85 meters (278 feet) toward the Earth’s core. These hidden cities have served to protect their persecuted inhabitants, even as recently as 1923.

It is a fact of life that when you go searching for something you’ve misplaced, you’re bound to find something else you’d completely forgotten instead. This couldn’t have been more true for the Derinkuyu resident (who has never been named) who went searching for his missing chickens. During his search, he noticed a small gap in the wall of his basement. Assuming this was the chickens’ escape route, he knocked through the wall. By pure fluke, he unearthed the remains of an 85-meter deep (approx. 278 feet) network of tunnels which dates back to the 7th century BCE. He never did find his chickens, though.

It would come as less of a surprise had this underground city been hidden away for centuries or millennia. As it was, it was only 40 years earlier, in 1923, that the tunnels beneath Derinkuyu were in use for shelter. When the last residents were forcibly removed from their homeland during a population exchange between Turkey and Greece, the people here took not only their belongings but over 25 centuries of history.

The Origins of Derinkuyu

As Phrygia gave way to Persia, the caves continued to be extended to create a network of tunnels. Ancient Greek carvings show that the tunnels were well-developed by the time the Kingdom of Cappadocia was born in 322 BCE. The final extensions were built during the Byzantine period and by the 7th century CE the underground city was at its full size.

Building a network of tunnels so deep beneath the earth’s surface with only the rudimentary tools available at the time may seem a fruitless task. However, it was done for good reason.

During the city’s construction, Cappadocia changed hands several times. Initially Phrygian, it was invaded by Lydian forces with a bloody battle fought at Pteria in 547 BCE. Cappadocia then became part of the Persian Empire before Alexander the Great’s armies took control of the region. After a brief period as an independent Kingdom, Cappadocia fell under Roman control in 17 CE. In such a fought-over territory, a place of safety was crucial, and an underground city was the ideal solution.

In the 7th century CE, Arab forces began to expand westward with the aim of conquering Byzantine (Eastern Roman) territory. Constantinople had no intention to relinquish control of any of their land, and four centuries of wars ensued. The Arab-Byzantine wars reached Cappadocia in 780 CE. During the conflict, Christian residents fled their homes and took shelter in the underground city.

The wars saw considerable migration of Armenians to Cappadocia. These settlers fought alongside the Roman armies to defeat the Arabs and were instrumental in ensuring Cappadocia remained a Christian stronghold. Unfortunately, when the Arab threat dissipated, the Seljuk Turks fought to weaken the Byzantine stronghold in Anatolia.

Cappadocia joined the Ottoman Empire in the 13th century CE and it remained largely peaceful, with the exception of a brief period of fighting with the Mongol Empire during the 14th century. Fighting during the First World War never reached Cappadocia, with fighting in the Ottoman Empire largely confined to its border areas. When the Ottoman Empire fell, however, Cappadocia’s fortunes took a turn for the worse.

The Treaty of Lausanne, signed on July 24th, 1923, brought to an end the tensions created by the Greco-Turkish war of 1919-1922. The effects of the war were significant and felt far beyond the land on which it was fought. In the United Kingdom, it brought the downfall of the Lloyd George government, in Greece it spelt a revolution, and for Türkiye, it meant regaining control of the city of Izmir. It also led to one of the largest periods of denaturalization in recent history.

Under the terms of the Treaty, a population exchange was to take place between Greece and Türkiye. The new Republic was Islamic, and the Greek Orthodox Christians who accounted for around 60% of the Cappadocian population, had no place in it.

During 1923, Cappadocian Greeks were persecuted in a program of ethnic cleansing. Thousands fled, but those who stayed behind sought shelter in the tunnels beneath Derinkuyu, giving this hidden city one final period of occupation. Once the final Greeks had been expelled from Cappadocia, the tunnels were closed off and the underground city all but forgotten.

Just ten kilometers north of Derinkuyu lies another underground city. Kaymakli, known in ancient times as Enegup was built around the same time as Derinkuyu, with historians believing that it too grew from caves built by the Phrygians.

Expanding alongside the tunnels under Derinkuyu, the two underground networks eventually met up during the Byzantine period and were merged. Hidden Kaymakli was only discovered as a result of the unearthing of Derinkuyu Underground City in 1963.

The two networks of tunnels were separated again upon their discovery, with a small section at Kaymakli being opened to the public in 1964. Derinkuyu received far greater attention from archaeologists and was only opened to visitors in 1969, although in a far more sizable chunk.

Life in Cappadocia’s Underground Cities

While conditions underground were likely far less comfortable than those on the surface, the incredible ingenuity of engineering used in building the underground cities suggests that life in the tunnels was as good as can be expected of the circumstances.

Archaeological excavations have shown that a 55-meter (180-foot) ventilation shaft had been built to provide oxygen to the inhabitants of Derinkuyu. Presses used for making wine and olive oil have been unearthed along with storage cellars and refectories. Livestock were kept on the level closest to the surface to prevent any foul smells and toxic gasses from being passed to the residents who lived several stories below.

Of course, living beneath the ground is far from a luxurious experience; with no plumbing system, human waste had to be stored in sealed ceramic jars, bodies of the deceased had to be left to rot and natural light was non-existent. A short visit to Derinkuyu or Kaymakli today shows just how claustrophobic the conditions were.

To those who haven’t visited Cappadocia, or are not experts in Ottoman or Byzantine history, Cappadocia is better known for its scenic beauty. The sunbeams beating off rugged limestone valleys, hot air balloons floating through the air and those stunning, mysterious fairy chimneys. But there is more to these landscapes than meets the eye, they too have their place in the history books.

Goreme Open Air Museum

The idea of an open-air museum often conjures up the image of a man-made feature created as a tourist attraction. That is not the case here. The Open Air Museum is in fact a collection of historic sites on the edge of Goreme town, Cappadocia’s main tourist destination. Goreme grew in popularity around what is now the museum, not the other way round.

The museum forms part of Goreme Historical National Park which was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985. The park covers over 9,000 acres of rocky, mountainous terrain, marked by basalt valleys and the iconic fairy chimneys.

Goreme Open Air Museum is situated within Goreme Valley, a one-kilometer-long valley which is home to 60 ancient churches. A staggering number by any account — 30 of them sit within the museum’s grounds.

The reason behind this is that Goreme Valley became a popular burial site in the early Roman Period. When the Roman Empire embraced Christianity, this continued and the tombs developed to resemble chapels. During the Byzantine era, around 800 CE, monasteries began to be built along the valley — the monks saw this as spiritual land as it had become the resting place of saints.

With monasteries come pilgrims and with that, more and more chapels were erected. As a result, Goreme Valley is home to the highest concentration of chapels and churches in all of the Cappadocian region.

Today, the best-preserved examples are the Dark Church, the Sandal Church, and the Apple Church. These are notable for their hand-painted domed ceilings, which it is believed were decorated around 1000 CE by the Abbot of the Monastery. The Dark Church is the original, with the designs of the Sandal and Apple churches having been completed later to reflect the Dark Church.

The other key draw of the Open Air Museum is the fairy chimneys. As much a part of history as the churches, the chimneys came about as a result of millions of years’ worth of geological processes. Formed by the ash from the eruptions of Mount Hasan and Mount Erciyes, ash from the volcanoes turned into porous tuff which was covered by layers of basalt. Years of erosion caused the tuff to wear, creating the fairy chimneys we see today.

These chimneys, though, are just as important to human history as they are to geographical history. Such soft rock makes for easy digging, and as early as the 4th century CE, anchorites– who withdrew from society and lived a hermit’s life in the valley had begun to build caves and make a home here.

As this developed, churches began to be built in the form of caves, giving way to the smaller chapels which remain today. Just like in Derinkuyu and Kaymakli, persecuted Christians sought refuge in these hollowed-out dwellings in times of persecution.

In Goreme, though, caves became more than a means of escape and emerged as a way of life. To this day, residents of the town live in hollowed-out dwellings, albeit with the conveniences of modern life installed. Many of Goreme’s hotels are cavernous rooms, offering visitors the opportunity to experience this unique lifestyle without sacrificing satellite TV and 21st-century plumbing.

Twelve kilometers (7.5 miles) north of Goreme, Zelve Open Air Museum is another natural treasure. Flourishing a little later than Goreme, Zelve rose to significance around the 9th century CE during the Byzantine era when seminaries were established for priests.

While Zelve is also home to underground dwellings and chapels that served as a refuge during the periods of Christian persecution, there are also signs here of peaceful coexistence. Among the chapels preserved in basalt, a mosque has been unearthed here which reflects the peaceful times of the Ottoman Empire during which Christians and Muslims lived side by side.

Nearly a century after the expulsions of Greek Christians from the region, such a coexistence is once again possible, but Cappadocia’s historical sites serve as a firm reminder of very different times.

Practical Information

There are two airports which serve as gateways to the Cappadocia region: Nevsehir (NAV) and Kayseri (ASR). Turkish Airlines, and their subsidiary AnadoluJet, operate several daily flights from Istanbul (IST and SAW). Corendon, Pegasus, SunExpress, Transavia and TUI fly to Kayseri from destinations in Western Europe.

A wide range of accommodation is available to suit all budgets, with Goreme being the largest destination geared for tourists. Hotels and restaurants here are open year-round, with prices lower during the cold-winter months.

A number of tour operators provide day trips from Goreme, taking in the main visitor attractions including the open-air museums and underground cities. Alternatively, a comprehensive local bus network operates, serving all the destinations mentioned in this article. Timetables are not published online or on any map applications (such as Google Maps), so check with your hotel or a Tourist Information Center.