Kaymaklı Underground City

Kaymaklı Underground City

Kaymakli Underground city is one of the most famous of the Cappadocia underground cities out of 34 of them. Built by early Christians to protect themselves from the religious persecution of Roman Soldiers, Kaymaklı City is an elaborate maze of tunnels, caves and is the second widest of the underground cities.

Like all of the underground cities, the most impressive aspect of the Underground City is the organised, structured and very well thought nature of the entire city. It had everything from living quarters, sleeping rooms, stables and communal kitchens to a church and a graveyard as well as being well fortified to protect its inhabitants. The Underground City also has an inordinate number of storage rooms.

The Underground City is part of a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1985. The city was opened to visitors in 1964 although only 4 of the 8 levels are accessible. The city is arranged around the ventilation shafts which bring air. The city is visited by over one million people every year and it still keeps some mysteries to be sorted out as there is no inscriptions.