Cappadocia

The Underground cities in Cappadocia are subterranean towns, carved from the soft volcanic stone and extending seven and eight levels into the earth.

Cappadocia has dozens of underground cities, but the largest and most elaborate are at Kaymakli and Derinkuyu.

Tourists can make a day-trip excursion from Ürgüp, Göreme, Avanos or Uçhisar, that includes an Underground City, the hill town of Güzelyurt, a hike to see the Byzantine cave chapels in the Ihlara Valley, and the medieval Agzikarahan Seljuk Turkish caravanserai.

Balloon ride over Cappadocia

To view the remarkable landscapes tourists can take a hot-air ballon tour.

 
These troglodyte cave-cities were excavated as early as Hittite times, and expanded over the centuries as various marauding armies traversed Central Anatolia.

Heavy rolling-stone doors prevented invaders from entering these cave-cities. Deep wells provided water and tall chimneys provided ventilation. Wine presses, oil storage, livestock pens, cooking-places and even elaborate churches were carved out of the rock so that the inhabitants could live for weeks or months underground until it was safe to emerge and return to their villages.