About 8 million years ago, there was a volcanic eruption that deposited a couple thousand feet of soft rock called tufa, over central Turkey. Over millions of years, water naturally carved extensive cave systems. About 2,000 years ago humans started carving their own troglodyte homes and ultimately underground cities.
About 200 of the cities have been found, and they contain kitchens, wineries, stables, storerooms, churches, ventilation systems, water wells, and thousands of rooms people lived in. The cities are sometimes ten stories above ground and twenty stories underground. As many as 60,000 people lived in a city.
Early Christians being persecuted by Romans in the 1st century, and during Arab raids that started in the 7th century, hid in these cities. Aside from the ten cities we explored starting out in Nevsehir, we had a very connected guide who was able to take us to Mazi, a little known underground city not open to the public. It went down seven stories and had not been excavated yet by archeologists - we saw old pottery, mummified horses and human bones without disturbing them.
The most memorable event was trying climb down a fifty foot vertical shaft while already ten stories underground in almost total darkness. There are also several cities that have bars and small cafes at that level where you can grab a cold drink, sitting on pillows in one of the ancient carved rooms.
Make sure you stay in one of the thousand year old rock hewn hotels as well.
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