Kaymaklı Underground City

Kaymaklı Underground City is a carved subterranean settlement in Cappadocia, Nevşehir Province, Turkey, notable for its multi-level tunnel system and extensive rooms. It is one of the region’s large underground complexes used historically as refuge and long-term shelter.

The complex consists of a series of connected floors reaching roughly 60 metres down in places, with eight documented levels and multiple communal rooms. Public access is usually limited to the upper levels; visitors encounter kitchens, stables, storage rooms, cellars and small chapels connected by narrow tunnels.

The city was expanded and used during late antiquity and the Byzantine period as a defensive refuge from raids and persecution, with local communities living underground for extended periods when necessary. Its plan reflects deliberate engineering - ventilation shafts, rolling stone doors and storage suites are all evident.

Kaymaklı lies in the Cappadocia region of central Anatolia, in Nevşehir Province, a short drive from the town of Kaymaklı and roughly 20 kilometres south of the provincial centre Nevşehir.

• Structure: Carved into local volcanic tuff with eight constructed floors and several more levels estimated below ground; four levels are commonly open to visitors.
• Visitor note: Passages are narrow and uneven and the site has limited mobility access - wear sturdy shoes and be prepared for stooping in places.

What to See #

• Underground levels: Complex of connected carved levels running vertically under the town of Kaymaklı; passages link rooms used historically for living, storage and work.
• Stables and storage areas: Large spaces originally used for stables and stores, often identifiable by low-feeled doorways and wide vaults for animals and grain.
• Chambers, kitchens and ventilation shafts: Small chapels, communal kitchens and ventilation shafts dispersed through the city; several shafts provide the main natural airflow.