Quarantine Cappadocia through the eyes of a Ukrainian tourist. Part 8
Start here: Part 1 < , Часть 2 > , Часть 3 < / em> , Часть 4 , Part 5 , Part 6 , Part 7 .
The technical part with maps, links and summary of all series is located here .
Day 5. Judging by the morning puddles, the long-awaited rain came to us at night.
A traditional breakfast, the range of which did not change during the whole hour I ate here.
Today I have a full day excursion called " Green Tour ", a travel agency Cappadocia Exclusive Travel . Price 40 euros.
As she booked the tour through a hotel without specifying the language of communication, she found herself in an English-speaking international group. Well, I'll pretend to be a polyglot))
The group is small, nine people + a guide (ka? ) named Bushra. In the range: a family of Turks from Istanbul in the number of four people, two Spaniards, an American with his Venezuelan wife and, in fact, one Ukrainian.
The first short stop at the Gö reme Panaroma observation deck, located between Garem and Uchisar.
We head to the town of Derinkuyu (Drenkuyu) , formerly the Greek name Μ α λ α π α iα (Malacopy). The settlement got its current name through 52 wells of drinking water found on its territory.
In the heart of the city rises Ü zü mlü Kilise or Church of St. Theodore. It was built in 1858 at the request of the Christians of Malakopia and with the permission of the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Majid I. Now it opens only once a year, in the last week of May.
Derinkuyu Yeralti Sehri or Derinkuyu Underground City. Here I propose to move to several centuries BC. The Hettis who lived in this area had cold winters and did not have fertile forests to get enough money for heating. Therefore, the idea of underground life with its constant temperature at any time of the year seemed quite logical to them.
During the Roman persecution of Christians and later, in the era of the Arab-Byzantine wars, these buildings were already perceived as places where one could hide from danger.
But gradually the need for underground life disappeared.
The locals used only those parts that went into their houses (mostly as basements).
In 1963, a resident of Derinkuyu dismantled the wall of his house and found a "mysterious room" behind it. Archaeologists became interested in the find and immediately discovered a vast system of tunnels.
In 1967, Derinkuyu Yeralti Sehri was opened to tourists. Rather, only the excavated part of the underground city was discovered, which contains eight floors and goes 85 meters down. Scientists believe that up to 20.000 (!!! ) people could live here.
It is well known that in addition to residential caves, there were kitchens, churches, schools, workshops, wineries and stables for animals (some sources write about the prison with a cemetery and the first known in history, a psychiatric hospital).
But the city still has enough secrets. First of all, its real size has not been determined.
There are versions that now only a tenth of the whole complex has been studied and may have many more hidden floors.
Bolder researchers are announcing a figure of 60.000 possible residents. Although, given the 9-kilometer tunnel (currently impassable through the rubble) that connects the underground city of Derinkuyu with another underground city of Kaymakli, this view does not look too fantastic.
Visualize the life of the underground city first with the help of drawings, and then go down. Pictures taken here
Let's go down
And from the further logical or coherent story it is not necessary to expect. We went down narrow and low tunnels. Stopped. Considered.
They crowded into the free caves, passing oncoming groups.
We went down again. Returned. We climbed somewhere. Considered. They listened. Five went down.
And at some point the present simply disappeared. What day is it today? What number? What month or year? There is nothing. It seems that the millennial history has drawn us in with a funnel, and we did not have the strength to resist.
A 9-kilometer tunnel connecting the Derinkuyu underground with the Kaimakli underground. It has a two-meter ceiling, shaped like a modern subway. Its width is such that four people can walk side by side without bending or twisting.
The entrance to the settlement was provided by about 600 gates. Of course, it may seem strange to have so many entrances to a hidden city.
However, each gate consisted of a stone door that could only be opened from the inside.
In addition, the interior floors also had their own door in the form of 450-kilogram round stones, in the center of which was a through hole.
It, on the one hand, served for the convenience of rolling stones, and on the other hand, served as a door cell.
The city had a well-developed ventilation shaft system with 15.000 tiny air ducts that provided oxygen to even the deepest levels.
Some of the ventilation shafts were dug up to groundwater, giving the dungeon residents access to drinking water.
The city was illuminated with linseed oil, which was poured into small cavities and gave a stable light.
The connection between the floors was provided with a system of through holes in the ceiling and floor with a diameter of 5-10 cm.
Such Vodafone in a complete set dating back several centuries BC))
Here are some photos from local landscapes))
Why did tunnels be built so low? I received answers to questions. No, people at that time did not have radically different parameters of height and weight, although the average life expectancy of 35 years, they were exactly different from us. Low, narrow and winding tunnels were made to slow down the movement of uninvited guests.
What did people eat underground?
They produced stocks of grain, vegetables, fruits in advance (dried grapes were especially popular) and wine.
By the way, our ancestors added wine vinegar to well water, thus disinfecting it from possible microbes.
In addition, stables for pets were equipped on the upper floors, which also helped to diversify the diet.
Winery
Stain
And from the answer to the most popular question to the local guides so far has not been found. Guess what we're talking about? ; ))
So, not a single cave that could be taken to the toilet was found. Researchers believe that the sewer system should be located in the part of the city that has yet to be excavated.
Although toilets were still found in several underground cities. As a rule, they were accessed through an L-shaped corridor to prevent the spread of odors.
Photos from here .
Bushra tells something emotional about the local burials
Some more shared photos
Did you appreciate the grandeur of the plan and the scale of the underground project? So some representatives of homo sapiens do not really believe in their ancestors, so they claim that the city was built by aliens, because the then earthlings did not have the proper knowledge or the necessary means))
Practical points:
1. The bottom is cool (the temperature does not rise above + 15 °), so a sweater or blouse will come in handy.
There was a lady in our group with a mild form of claustrophobia, but she went through all the levels and said she was expecting much worse.
Let's go out. We squint at the sun like moles. Someone nearby exhales: "How I value my life now! ". Yes, this underground tour shakes and turns all your ideas about comfortable living upside down very well. What does a person need for happiness? It seems that the locals know exactly the answer to this question.
Let's move on. I always want to shoot the sky, just some kind of underground psychological trauma))
