Kaymaklı Yeraltı Şehri

Kaymaklı Underground City is carved beneath the town of Kaymaklı, on the road to Niğde about 20 kilometres south of Nevşehir. The town's old name appears in Ottoman records as Anaku or Enegüp, and locals call it Eneği. The settlement has eight floors, four of which have been lit and opened to visitors. Turkish Wikipedia writes that the city began receiving visitors in 1964. According to the ministry's museum website, the first floor goes back to a very early period, and the other parts were turned into an underground city by carving and enlarging the rock in the Roman and Byzantine periods. The most interesting thing about Kaymaklı is how closely the settlement is entwined with today's town. English Wikipedia reports that the houses of the village were built around nearly a hundred tunnels of the underground city, and that these tunnels are still used today as storerooms, stables and cellars. In other words, the line between below ground and above ground is not a sharp one here. The underground city has a different layout from Derinkuyu. The tunnels are lower, narrower and steeper, so the visit involves more stooping and careful walking. On the four floors open to visitors, every space is arranged around the ventilation shafts. According to Turkish Wikipedia, the water wells were left unconnected to the surface to guard against poisoning. As you move through the floors one by one, you can see step by step how the settlement worked. The first floor holds a stable and living rooms. Since it was hard to bring animals further down, the stable is thought to have been kept on the top floor. The second floor has a rock-cut place of worship and a small burial ground. The third floor is the heart of the settlement, where food stores, kitchens and grape presses are gathered. The andesite block covered in hollows on this floor should not be missed. English Wikipedia writes that the block has 57 hollows and that it has been shown to have been used for cold-working copper. The fourth floor is entered through a very narrow tunnel and again holds storerooms and spaces for earthenware jars. The large number of storerooms suggests that a sizeable community sheltered here. The settlement's defence relied on large rolling stones. Turkish Wikipedia notes that there are six such stones at Kaymaklı. They were cut and shaped from the rock where they stand, and set so that they could be rolled from the inside to block the passage. The hole in their centre allowed those inside to check who was approaching. Opening them from the outside was almost impossible. Kaymaklı and Derinkuyu are part of the Cappadocia area added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1985. The Nevşehir Governorship stresses that the fragile fabric of these structures needs careful protection against heavy visitor numbers, so take care not to touch the walls. Kaymaklı is one of the busiest places to visit in Cappadocia. Try to come early in the day to avoid the crowds. The passages are lit and marked with arrows, but some steps are slippery. Wear comfortable flat shoes and keep your backpack small. The site belongs to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, so check current hours and admission on the official museum website. Kaymaklı lies on the road linking Nevşehir to Derinkuyu and Niğde. The entrance is inside the town, and you can take a short walk among the stone houses in the surrounding streets. Derinkuyu Underground City is about 9 kilometres to the south. We recommend visiting both cities on the same day and comparing the differences with your own eyes.