Derinkuyu Underground City

What makes it special

Derinkuyu goes down about 85 metres, and only around a tenth of it is open to visitors. It was dug as a refuge, somewhere to shelter when the region came under threat or attack. What you walk through is the working part of that refuge: stables, cellars, dining halls, kitchens and churches.

The stables sit on the first floors you enter, because animals were hard to lead any deeper. The kitchens and the şırahane, where grapes from the region were pressed for wine or boiled down into molasses, are on the upper floors too.

Count the kitchens as you pass: there are too few for one per family, so they were shared. Their tandoor ovens are the same kind still used in Cappadocian villages.

Look up the ventilation shaft wherever the route crosses it: it drops 55 metres from the surface through every major level, and it doubled as a well. Separate deep wells drew water from below the city, so the supply could not be poisoned from above.

Beside the passages stand the round stone doors, one to one and a half metres across, shaped like millstones. Each could be rolled across a corridor and opened only from the inside.

Visiting

Essential first stop: the toilets at the surface, near the main entrance, are the only ones on the route. From the gate the path drops straight into the first two levels, where you can stand upright among the stables and living quarters. On level 2, look for the large hall under a barrel-vaulted roof.

Below level 2 the ceilings drop, so you stoop along rock-cut ramps and steep single-file steps over an uneven floor. After the third and fourth levels, a stairway leads down to a cross-plan church.

The corridors are single file, so once you are in the narrow sections, turning back is hard and blocks the line behind you.

Guided or on your own

You can walk the route without a guide. A guide is worth having if you want to know what each room was used for.

Day tours from Göreme are the usual way to come, with hotel pickup and a guide included. Independent guides also wait by the ticket windows, but outside the busy months there may be none, and their English varies, so agree on the language before you set off.

Tips

Carry the smallest bag you can: a backpack catches in the narrow passages, and you may end up holding it in front of you. Bring a light jacket even in midsummer, since the lower levels sit at about 13°C.

Centuries of use have polished the stone steps smooth, so leave sandals behind and wear shoes with a rubber tread. Photography is allowed without flash, but the light is dim, so charge your phone first and leave any tripod in the car.