Derinkuyu

Although not peak season, still filled with hundreds of tourists, voices echoing through the tunnels. But in some ways, probably a more authentic experience if at one time this was home to 20,000 people.

A lot of the floors are scalloped like beach sand as the tide goes out, even the steps, which have been carved. Possibly dissolved with a mild acid like vinegar, to give a textured surface to walk, better grip? On second thoughts though, it could also just be the same pick marks on walls and ceilings, worn smooth by the passage of so many feet. Though none of the passageways slope very much, changes in level mostly by steps.

Of course the official area open to the public is a tiny proportion of the whole city, easily less than 1%. With typical disregard for anything other than a photo op, many wells, air shafts and side chambers are filled with discarded plastic water bottles, a memento for future generations perhaps.

The famous round stone doors don’t seem particularly well secured to resist a determined assault. The central holes could as easily been for a rope to assist with opening, pulled from the operational side chamber as the official designation as spear holes (always the violence first), which could easily function both ways, and also easy to side step.

There are many curious features, little u-bend tunnels with no other access or obvious function. A myriad of side chambers, some huge, many tiny. The guides spiel their usual platitudes, confidently attributing imaginary motives to unknown peoples long ago.

The geology is extraordinary, being both relatively easy to work, and completely dry, even at depths of nearly 100 metres. Only very occasional patches of moss thriving in the fake sunlight of electric lightbulbs betray any evidence of water at all. The original deep wells are of course all dry now. Water tables have been heavily exploited by the extensive agriculture taking place across the endless plains above.

So why build this? There are now known to be over 200 of these underground complexes, many interlinked by miles long tunnels. A complete survival network, a refuge from what though? Violence always dictates invaders, but seriously how long can you fool an enemy by hiding underground? Weeks maybe, but centuries? Impressive as they are, with stables, sewage, ventilation and all, food still needs sunlight, and eventually people will need to surface to farm, forage or just enjoy the sky.

And what of the spoil? The thousands of cubic metres of rock removed had to go somewhere on the surface, and it is unlikely the waste was transported far, so yet another clue to observant marauders as to where the population had disappeared, if they were in fact a response to historical invasions.

It seems more likely to me, that the refuge would have been from climate, or perhaps recurring meteorite bombardment typical of the end of the younger dryas. Something more drastic and long term than the occasional invading army that would justify the unbelievable scale of the work needed to create these refuges. They do seem extraordinarily like pre-nuclear bunkers.