Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Kaymakli Underground City

In addition to all its other attractions, Cappadocia also has several underground cities--places where the Christian or other communities could literally go underground and live for a time while marauding or crusading armies marched through. We chose Kaymakli, which had eight levels, four of which are now open. It accommodated 3,000. Derinkulu, nearby, could accommodate 10,000, they say.
Rather than being underground, strictly speaking, Kaymakli was built into this 
ridge 
















Tourist entrance to Kaymakli















Whatever; it's another World Heritage Site















Looking down one of the corridors




















It was reasonably well signed, but we engaged a guide anyway--the guidebooks 
said to--for a mere $15 we got to hear, three times, how the citizens of Kaymakli 
solved their "toilet problems"


















For defense, or if the neighbors wouldn't turn down the music, the citizens 
could close off passages by rolling these really heavy stones into place

















Vicki in one of the smaller passage-ways; not a place for 
claustrophobes




















Flat-screen TV would have been very popular; but then all the satellite dishes would 
have given away the location of the city

















In the (common) kitchen area, our guide said, this was the spice rack
















All in all, I did not think the underground city was all that 
great; I later amused myself in the adjoining bazaar

1 comment:

Tawana said...

So glad you made it to Kaymakli. That was one of the most interesting places we saw. Before we were there, I had no idea about Christians hiding out in caves or tunnels, and certainly was amazed at the churches they carved out of the hillsides with beautifully painted walls and ceilings.
We stayed in Moustafapasa for a couple of days...Wes and I stayed in the mayor's house, which is now a B&B.
We are loving traveling along with you!