Holy crap, this underground city is majorly cool

The Turkish region of Cappadocia is famous for its natural wonders and its cultural and historical heritage. Climbing to the top of the list as one of the region’s most characterising features are the 250 underground cities that are being continually discovered across the region.

The most recent underground city was discovered beneath a Byzantine-era hilltop castle in Nevsehir, Cappadocia’s capital, during a new housing construction that led to its discovery. The underground city dates back to early Byzantine times, and while it remains largely unexplored, initial studies suggest it may be bigger than the region’s already largest underground city, Derinkuyu. Derinkuyu is currently considered the largest excavated city in Cappadocia, which could have provided shelter to 20,000 people.

The underground city has been described as a sprawling network of tunnies and underground rooms, which would have provided refuge for a copious amount of Cappadocians during times of adversity.

Exciting discoveries lie ahead.

Words by Lexi Manatakis