Underground cities in Cappadocia, Turkey

Underground cities in Cappadocia, Turkey 

The underground cities of Cappadociawere carved out the native rock largely due to the lack of trees for building material. As a result, the subterranean settlements are multilevel with built-in ventilation shafts, about 18 stories deep, and at one time housed over 20,000 people. Most of the cities had stables for horses hollowed out of the same volcanic rock, as well as churches, water tanks, wine cellars, tombs, missionary schools, study rooms, vertical staircases, and millstone doors that could be rolled across to seal the entrance.The earliest description of Cappadocia can be found in the Greek mercenary Xenophon's work called Anabasis. "The houses were built underground," he wrote, "the entrances were like wells, but they broadened out lower down. There were tunnels dug in the ground for the animals, while the men went down by ladder. . ." Mostly, these urban complexes served as refuge for the Hittites, who used them in defense against raiders. This enigmatic civilization, according to historians, vanished into thin air after ruling for nearly 800 years.