As the great scientist Albert Einstein put it, paraphrasing the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates, “the more I learn, the more I realize I know nothing. We still have much to learn. But sometimes you can lift the veil of mystery in the basement of your own home.
In the Turkish town of Cappadocia in 1963 a man decided to make repairs, during which he discovered a whole underground city, later called Derinkuyu.Finding a whole system of streets and rooms under the house, the owner was surprised. As it turned out, the discovered space was able to accommodate about 20 thousand people together with their belongings and foodstuffs.
It is true that the city was created in about VIII-VII centuries BC just in case of enemy attacks. It was actively used during the XII-XV centuries during the persecution of Christians and the Mongol invasion.
According to another version, natural disasters waited here, which does not exclude the use of the dungeon in case of any shocks. It is known that in the territory of modern Turkey in those days the Christian population actively created architectural ensembles, which became saving for many generations.What is surprising, thousands of years of downtime have not affected the durability of the underground.
There are no collapses or crumbling of stone. Ancient masters obviously knew their business, and built with good conscience, paving ways through volcanic tuff. This rock is noted for its excellent heat-insulating qualities, keeping the temperature indoors in the range of 11-15 ° C.
The city consists of a complex network of tunnels, halls and shafts. Without a detailed plan, it is very difficult to navigate in the underground. Inside the corridors, 300-kilogram stone barriers were installed, capable of blocking the necessary passage.
The Derinkuyu is still not fully explored. Scientists still have much to learn. It is possible that there are much more underground passages, just the way to them has not been found yet.Today, almost all the known part of the city is open to tourists, which gives everyone the opportunity to get acquainted with the uniqueness and reliability of the ancient structures.