The Underground City of Derinkuyu: The History and Mystery of the Ancient Subterranean City in Turkey

Among all the early Iron Age people from the Near East who inherited the geopolitical vacuum of power left by the Sea Peoples invasions, the Phrygians are perhaps one of the most misunderstood. They built a powerful and wealthy kingdom, but were overshadowed by their more powerful and wealthier neighbors, the Lydians. From the early 7th century BCE until the middle of the 6th century BCE, the Lydians played an important role in the history of the eastern Mediterranean region as they took on the role of middleman between the empires of the Near East and the emerging Hellenic civilization in Greece. From their capital in Sardis, the Lydian kings traded and made alliances and war with numerous kings, tyrants, and generals, which ultimately cemented their role as a brief but historically important people and kingdom in the ancient world.

It seems that around this time, one of the most unique sites in antiquity was being constructed in central Turkey, an archaeological mystery modern scholars have only recently begun to uncover. Known as Derinkuyu in the Turkish language, the archaeological site is as expansive as any other in Turkey, but its expanse is more vertical than horizontal, which is what makes it so unusual. The lost city of Derinkuyu descends to depths of nearly 300 feet under the wind-swept cliffs and rock formations of the otherwise desolate region known as Cappadocia. Cappadocia’s landscape looks otherworldly, windswept, and unlivable in places, and if not for modern technologies, including electricity, sanitation, and irrigation, it surely would be considered inhabitable by many people.

More recently, Derinkuyu has caught the attention of tourists, while academics have started to ask serious questions about this important site. Recent studies of Derinkuyu have helped illuminate how a city able to house 20,000 or more people could exist in antiquity, particularly with regard to logistics.