Man Knocks Down A Wall In Basement And Discovers An Entire Hidden Ancient Underground City

Imagine knocking down a wall in your home to rebuild and you find a tunnel to a secret hidden ancient underground city behind it. But wait, what!? It looks like a story from Indiana Jones movies, it actually happened in real life. Back in 1963, a man from Cappadocia in the Nevsehir Province of Turkey discovered something unimaginable; an ancient underground city dating back thousands of years called Derinkuyu in his basement.

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This large room was designed as a religious school.

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The old city reaching more than 280-feet deep and containing 18 levels with ventilation shafts, religious centers, wine presses, food storerooms, wineries, and even a school. The city designed to refuge about 20,000 people and livestock and it has also outlets to the surface and many discreet entrances.

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The city was more than 280 feet deep and could fit over 20,000 people.

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Based on research, the elaborate city was linked via stairways and passages, and even connected to other underground cities through tunnels that lengthy for miles. It’s thought to have been constructed during the 7th or 8th century BCE and was in continual, frequent use through the 12th century. Researchers found a church on the 5 level it seems the inhabitance was Christian, and probably the city was used to house people in times of war and was also used as a refuge from the Mongolian invasion in the 1300s to escape from persecution. It was finally abandoned for good in 1923. Most of Derinkuyu’s entrances are hidden. All of the five levels can be closed off separately with huge stone doors.

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During peacetime, the city was used mainly for storage, and it was completely built by hand. it opened about 10% to the public in 1969. Today, about half the city is open for interested parties to explore.

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The entrances and other important rooms were guarded with giant stone doors. They were hand-carved and weigh up to 1,00 pounds. Some are over 5 feet in diameter.

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The city was used by Christians from the Middle Ages, until the early 20th century. Below, an illustration of the city.

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Underground river systems were used as drinking sources in order to avoid being poisoned by surface water susceptible to enemies above ground.

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Engineer John Brandenburg, referring to its incredible construction said, It’s “equal to the pyramids.”

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This is one of the well shafts. They built it so that the vent shaft did not reach the surface. This would prevent any poisoning from enemies on the surface.

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The tunnels were dug very narrow to force people to walk through them single file. This would give the people living in underground cities an advantage over their enemies.

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Take a look at a video inside the old city of Derinkuyu