It could be the greatest underground city of all time. 2014 ended with an archaeological discovery that made fans shiver. The underground settlement was found in the Nevşehir province , a central region of Turkey, in the historical area of Cappadocia .
The latter is famous for its large number of underground cities but the new site, located near the city of Kayseri , seems to dwarf all the other finds found to date.
The city was discovered thanks to the so-called TOKİ, an urban transformation project in Turkey covering 75 hectares. Some 1,500 buildings were destroyed in and around the Nevşehir fortress, but the underground city was discovered when the ground was cleared for the construction of the new buildings. And it covers 45 hectares.
Known around the world for its Fairy Chimneys, the famous rock formation of tuff or volcanic rock, Cappadocia, once a Roman province, was fertile ground for underground cities due to its soft volcanic rock, easy to sculpt.
For Toki’s leader, Mehmet Ergün Turan, it is an archaeological area to be preserved: “ It is not a known underground city. There is talk of passages and tunnels 7 kilometres long ”.
At first glance it was estimated that the city could date back to 5000 years ago and is located around the Nevşehir fortress. Inside, not only huge rooms but also escape galleries and hidden churches.
According to Turan, 90 million Turkish liras had been paid out for the construction project, but in his opinion, the discovery of the underground city is not to be seen as a loss. The finds could testify to the presence of the largest underground urban center in the world.
Source : Hurriyetdailynews and Hgng
