Derinkuyu: 18-level underground city with space for 20,000 - this ancient subterranean complex extends about 280 ft (85 m) beneath the modern town of Derinkuyu in Turkey. It could shelter 20,000 people with livestock and food stores. Fifty-two main ventilation shafts and rolling stone doors helped the underground refuge function. Derinkuyu is the largest and deepest of more than 200 underground cities in Cappadocia. 🏛️
Derinkuyu: 18-level underground city with space for 20,000
TürkiyeGeneral
Key facts
- Derinkuyu has at least 18 known levels and reaches approximately 85 m (280 ft) below the surface.
- Its cited surface footprint is about 4,000 m², with roughly 27,000 m² of total underground space, not 4 km²; it lies beneath the modern town of Derinkuyu in Nevşehir Province, Turkey.
- Derinkuyu means 'deep well' in Turkish.
- It could have sheltered as many as 20,000 people, together with livestock and food stores.
- The complex has 52 main ventilation shafts, each up to about 18 m (59 ft) deep.
- It also contains roughly 15,000 smaller air shafts, about 10 cm wide.
- Rolling stone doors weighing up to about 1,000 lb could block passages and seal sections of the complex.
- The underground site's temperature is about 13°C (55°F) year-round.
- Derinkuyu is the largest and deepest of more than 200 underground cities in Cappadocia.
Sources
Derinkuyu underground city - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
It is large enough to have sheltered as many as 20,000 people together with their livestock and food stores. It is the largest excavated underground city in ...
Derinkuyu: Strange underground city found in man's basementbigthink.com
A basement renovation project led to the archaeological discovery of a lifetime: the Derinkuyu Underground City, which housed 20000 people.
Turkey's underground city of 20,000 people - BBCbbc.com
The ancient city of Elengubu, known today as Derinkuyu, burrows more than 85m below the Earth's surface, encompassing 18 levels of tunnels.
The Mysterious Underground City Found in a Man's Basementatlasobscura.com
The anonymous Turk—no report mentions his name—had found a vast subterranean city, up to 18 stories and 280 feet (76 meters) deep and large ...
Derinkuyu Underground City Tour: What It Actually Feels ...gowithguide.com
Levels 7 & 8 (The Lowest Core): At 279 feet (85 meters) down, you stand inside a massive, cross-shaped stone church. This is the undisputed ...
Derinkuyu Underground City — Depth, Map, Tickets & Tourscappadociatoursbylocals.com
Derinkuyu Underground City is the deepest excavated underground city in Cappadocia, Turkey — it descends roughly 85 meters through at least 18 carved levels, ...
This Underground City in Türkiye Is One of the World's ...architecturaldigest.com
The true depth of the underground city has not yet been determined. Spanning nearly 27,000 square feet,
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