Highly Sophisticated Underground City Of Derinkuyu – Who Were The Master Builders?

A.Sutherland - AncientPages.com - Unrecognized, hidden and millennia-old subterranean worlds lie under the surface of our planet.

We know only a very small part of this world, located below our feet but the majority of it is so far untouched, unseen and unexplored by a modern man.

There is an underground world of never-ending tunnels and massive caves dug by ancient men we know nothing about.
These tunnels connect cities that are located almost entirely beneath the earth's surface.

In 1963, approximately 50 miles (30 km) south of Nevsehir, Cappadocia, Turkey, Omer Demir stumbled across a deep hole (in Turkish: derinkuyu) that led to a steep path leading deeper down to passages, niches and shafts dug into the bedrock.

After intensive excavation, it became clear that Derinkuyu was an entire city complex built-in that hole beneath the surface.

The community had a most sophisticated infrastructure and the accommodation built there was obviously meant for long periods of time.

Derinkuyu wasn't just only an emergency housing or refuse shelter but it was a large city supplied with water, houses, church about 215 feet (65 m) long, shops, storage areas, living rooms, bedrooms, and hall-like rooms in which teaching schools was presumably held.

The city of Derinkuyu was approximately 1.5 square miles (4 square km) with several - so far 13 different floors - leading deep down. The lowest floor lies at a depth of 290 feet (85 m) below the earth and it could once accommodate more than 20,000 people.

The separate floor - connected with each other by shafts - could have been sealed from the interior with a number of large round stone doors, which were bolted from inside, but could not be opened from outside.

There have been excavated 52 deep ventilation shafts so far and through the fresh air was delivered to every corner of the city by a sophisticated circulation system allowing the exchange of air.

Given the almost perfect way in which the tunnels were built inside a very tough rock, easy passage from one area to another through skillfully interconnected passageways, one can say with certainty that the builders of Derinkuyu were masters.

At the same time, the complexity of this underground structure is extremely detailed and carefully planned out.
The fact that most of the rooms had a perfectly functioning air conditioning system and were built to exact specifications has posed many important questions as to the construction sophistication indispensable to design the entire Derinkuyu complex.
What kind of tools did the builders use?

If we assume that the entire complex was built using tools that exceeded the capabilities of the Turks of the period, so who were the builders of the underground city of Derinkuyu?
The excavation of such gigantic underground settlements would mean mountains of sand and rubble rising on the surface. People had planned and built here for decades, perhaps for centuries. Where digging went on that scale, there must have been mountains of debris and any enemy would have been suspicious of them, according to Erich von Däniken.

After the sensational discovery of Derinkuyu, other underground cities were found in the region of Cappadocia.

Totally, thirty-six additional cities have been located, one near Ozkonak was the home of 60,000 people. A similar city at Kaymakli was connected to it by a tunnel over 6 miles long.

It is estimated that all these Anatolian cities could accommodate from a half to one million people seeking shelter underground. They are considered to be one of the greatest engineering achievements of ancient times.

It is believed that there either were or still are between 300 and 500 of similar - Derinkuyu-like - cities all over the world.

Written by – A. Sutherland AncientPages.com Staff Writer

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