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The Kaymaklı Underground City (Kaymaklı Yeraltı Şehri) is a large multilevel underground city excavated in Turkey. It’s part of the UNESCO World Heritage listing for Göreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia.

Kaymaklı Underground City in Cappadocia, Turkey
Kaymaklı Underground City

 

Visiting Kaymaklı Underground City

The Kaymaklı Underground City is located in Cappadocia in the town of Kaymaklı. It’s open daily from 8am to 5pm and admission for foreigners is €13 (as of August 2024). There are some tight spaces and low ceilings in most of the tunnels so beware if you’re claustrophobic. Also, it can get quite cool underground. You may want to bring a light jacket. Check the official website for more info.

Entrance tunnel
Entrance tunnel


 

History of Kaymaklı Underground City

The Kaymaklı Underground City may have been formed as far back as the 8th century BC by the Phrygians. It was expanded by Cappadocian Greek Christians sometime during the Byzantine era. Some artifacts found in the city date back to the 5th century.

Cave room
Room

The city was used for protection during the Arab-Byzantine Wars between the 7th and 11th centuries. It was connected to other underground cities through a series of tunnels. It continued to serve as a shelter for Christian natives well into the early 20th century to escape periodic persecutions by the Ottomans.

Large room at Kaymaklı Underground City in Cappadocia, Turkey
Large room

When the local Greeks were sent to Greece as part of the population exchange between Greece and Turkey in 1923, the Kaymaklı Underground City was abandoned. The cave city opened to the public in 1964. Only four levels have been excavated, and only a fraction of the complex is open to visitors.

Cave room
Room

 

Features of the Underground City

The Kaymaklı Underground City features low, narrow, and steep tunnels. Some are still used today by locals as storage, stables, or cellars. The rooms open to the public are all situated around a deep ventilation shaft.

Tunnel at Kaymaklı Underground City in Cappadocia, Turkey
Tunnel
Tunnel at Kaymaklı Underground City in Cappadocia, Turkey
Tunnel
Ventilation shaft at Kaymaklı Underground City in Cappadocia, Turkey
Ventilation shaft

The tunnels could be closed off from the inside with large stone doors. The rooms were capable of sheltering a large population along with livestock and food stores. The temperature was cool and constant no matter the season above ground.

Stone door at Kaymaklı Underground City in Cappadocia, Turkey
Stone door
Stone door
Stone door

The first level contains a small stable and rooms possibly used as living quarters. A church with a nave and two apses is on the second level along with a few living spaces.

Cave stable
Stable
Stable at Kaymaklı Underground City in Cappadocia, Turkey
Stable
Cross carved into the wall of a cave
Cross carved into the wall

The third level contains storage, wine or oil presses, and kitchens. It also has an andesite block used to form copper.

Wine or oil press in a cave
Wine or oil press
Storage space for jugs in a cave
Storage space for jugs


 

Around the Town of Kaymaklı

There’s not much of interest in the actual town of Kaymaklı. An attractive stone building sits next to the parking lot. The ground level is a row of restaurants and cafés while the upper level holds offices of political parties.

Stone building in Kaymaklı, Cappadocia, Turkey
Stone building

There are tons of souvenir shops lining the path from the parking lot to the Kaymaklı Underground City entrance. There’s nothing different you’d find at other tourist attractions in Cappadocia or anywhere else in Turkey, for that matter.

Path to the underground city
Path to the underground city

In the middle of the path is an attractive old Greek building. It’s dated 1912 and has Greek initials and a relief of two birds above the door. The building is used as a local government office. Kaymaklı was originally known as Anakou (Ανακού) in Greek.

Greek building
Greek building
Greek building
Greek building

 

Map of Kaymaklı

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Owner of Paisadventure. World traveler. Chicago sports lover. Living in Colombia.

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