18. A Renovation

When your family is growing and expanding, it’s normal to need a bigger space. For one man, expanding his basement seemed like the next logical step. But when he started chipping away at the wall, he didn’t hit the ground like he expected…

17. A Crazy Realization

Instead, he found a hallowed room that appeared to be never-ending. It was as if it was about to open up into a mysterious dungeon. He knew he had to continue further even though he was a bit scared…

16. Ancient Secret

It wasn’t just any room, it was connected to an ancient secret that had been locked away for a long time. This is the story of one regular man, who was about to experience the strangest and most shocking discovery his town has ever seen…

15. Multi-Generational Home

In many cultures, living with many generations of an extended family is not only normal but welcomed. For one man, his house was getting a little cramped as the years went on, so he thought the next logical step would be to expand the basement.

14. The Beginning

He knew he could do most of it himself, which would save money on labor and other building expenses, as he lived on a modest income. So he started chipping away…

13. The Man’s Identity

The man’s identity isn’t associated with the finding any more, as he discovered it in 1963. Perhaps he wanted to stay anonymous, but one thing is for sure, he found one of the best discoveries to date. Derinkuyu is located in an ancient region in Turkey, where most houses are made of white stone…

12. Unique

There was nothing out of the ordinary about his home, it looked almost identical to others around it. Yet what it was connected to is anything but normal…

11. The Massive Space

The space he discovered seemed to be endless; it was massive and consisted of many rooms, staircases, and even kitchens. The secret room led the Turkish dad into what is known as the ancient city of Derinkuyu.

10. A School

There is a full school that is built to teach children, suggesting people spent quite some time there. The school even has a connected study room with lavish religious symbolism.

9. A Winery

When researchers fully excavated the underground city, they even found a wine cellar. This suggests that the detailed nature of this subterranean layer meant it was used for an extended period of time.

8. Interesting History

Throughout history, this hidden city was used for a couple different purposes. In the 1300’s, Mongolians used it as a refuge, and before that, the Romans used it in secret. Although it was used by many different people throughout its prime, it was finally abandoned around the 1920’s.

7. Perfectly Preserved

The city was preserved well enough for historians to estimate how it worked, down to each room. It was almost perfectly preserved, and anyone who saw it was in complete shock…

6. An Ancient City

Due to the massive size of the city nearly 85 meters underground, it’s estimated that nearly 20,000 people utilized the city in its prime. It is so detailed with everything a city could need, that it’s believed to be an underground long-term bunker, used as a shelter during wartime.

5. Its Creation

It’s believed that it was built during the Byzantine era in 780-1180AD, which would make sense because war between the Arabs and Byzantines was prevalent. It’s estimated that the underground city had 600 entrances…

4. The Structure

The structure of the underground city was equipped with chapels, schools, and community rooms. Each entrance was given a heavy stone door, which was closed and used to keep intruders out.

3. Stretching Tunnels

What’s even more amazing about this underground city, is that it’s not the only one of its kind. In fact, it connects to other cities just like it by massive tunnels. Some of them miles long…

2. Livestock

People weren’t the only inhabitants of the underground city, but there is evidence of many animals living there as well. After so many years being locked away, there are beautiful rock formations and things called “fairy chimneys”.

1. Tourism

The underground site was found in 1963 and has been a tourist destination ever since. Thousands of people flock to the Cappadocia region to view and go into the underground town. You can even go see it yourself!