In 1963 one of the residents of the village of derenkuyu turkey started renovation works on his house he had an idea to expand the basement underneath his house the man took his tools and got to knocking down one of the walls after just a few blows a tool fell through the wall and seemed to be lost inside the rock behind the wall the man discovered a
Secret tunnel taking an old lantern it took the man some time before he dared to enter the opening that had formed in his house it’s hard to even imagine what he must have felt at the time since he lived in this house all his life plucking up his courage the man went several dozen meters into the tunnel which led him to an amazing place an underground city
Just try to imagine it 18 floors underground where about 20 000 people could live comfortably the underground tunnel in this city which stretches for several kilometers connected darin cuyu with other similar underground cities nearby there was even a chapel located in one of the many rooms of the underground city there were also schools kitchens living
Quarters and even stables the upper levels had residential complexes while the lower levels had hospitals and monasteries the city had a complex ventilation system thanks to which both people and animals could survive underground archaeologists believe that the city still hasn’t been fully uncovered there’s a theory that the underground city was created back in the byzantine era between the years 870 and 1180
And living quarters stables kitchens schools and underground streets were used during raids or natural disasters it is believed that around that time the chapels and about 600 entrances appeared there thanks to which it was possible to go up to the surface and come back darren cuyu was closed off from the inside with huge stones there are also other theories according to which the city was created by
Christians during their persecution by muslims today darin kuyu has become a popular attraction in turkey a huge number of people from all over the world come to see this incredible and huge underground structure with their own eyes it’s hard to even believe that people did this by hand over a thousand years ago without modern equipment but only using basic hand tools
Only a small part of the tunnels is open for tourists while the rest of the many kilometers of underground streets are closed to the public this city is huge even by modern standards it’s located completely underground and it was discovered by a complete accident about a half a century ago however after its discovery it’s hard not to wonder how much of our history
Still remains unknown and whether everything we’re so used to believing is actually true share your thoughts in the comments.