KAYMAKLI UNDERGROUND CITY

KAYMAKLI UNDERGROUND CITY

Opened to visitors in 1964, Kaymakli Underground City was  built under the Citadel Of Kaymakli, 19km from Nevsehir, on the  Nevsehir-Nigde Road. in the village of Kaymakli, the ancient village of Enegup,houses have been constructed near hundreds of tunnels leading to the underground city. The inhabitants of the region still use the tunnels as cells storage areas and stables, which they access thorough their courtyards.

The passages are low and narrow and slope from level to level. Only four floors are open to the public. The first floor is stable the small size of which suggest that there could be other stables in sections that have yet to be excavated. The passage to the left of the stable contains a millstone door and leads down to the church. Living areas are located to the right of the corridor.
The church on the second floor has a single nave and two apses, a baptism stone and seating platforms. The graves on this floor are located next to the church supporting the idea that they contain the remains of religious people. There are also some living areas on this floor.
The third floor contains numerous storage places, wineries, a kitchen and a block of andesite with various sized carved holes.
Recent research has shown that this stone was used for processing copper. The stone wasn’t brought in from outside but rather, was part of of the andesite layer unearthed  while hollowing out the rock. Fifty-seven holes are carved into the surface of the stone. Copper are about 10cn in length , would be put into one of those holes and the hammered using a hard piece of rock-  a technique used since the Prehistoric Period. The copper brought to Kaymakli Underground City was probably dug from a quarry between Aksaray and Nevsehir. This same quarry was used by the people of Asikli Hoyuk which is the oldest known settlement in the Cappadocia region.
The fourth floor contains many storage rooms and places to store earthenware jars, presumably used for wine. This indicates that the people living in this underground city were economically stable. The city has not been completely excavated, but Kaymakli is believed to be one of the largest underground  settlements in the region. The number of the storage rooms in such a small area supports the idea that many people resided here.