Kaymakli Underground City is the great companion of Derinkuyu, a second marvel hidden beneath the fields of Cappadocia. Smaller, lower-ceilinged, and in some ways more intimate than its famous neighbor, it is one of the largest underground cities in Turkey, and it has been sheltering people for thousands of years. Its history stretches from the volcanic formation of the landscape to its accidental rediscovery in the twentieth century, and it is woven into the story of every civilization that passed through central Anatolia. This article tells the complete history of Kaymakli, from geology to UNESCO, and explains why it remains one of the region’s most fascinating sites.
The Tuff Landscape
Like every underground city of Cappadocia, Kaymakli owes its existence to volcanoes. Eruptions of the great mountains of central Anatolia laid down thick deposits of ash millions of years ago, and that ash hardened into tuff, a soft, workable stone that ancient peoples learned to carve.
The tuff of the Kaymakli region is especially fine-grained, which made it ideal for precise carving. Rooms could be cut with clean walls and level floors, and the rock held its shape for millennia. The same stone, exposed to wind and water, produced the valleys and fairy chimneys that surround the site today, creating a landscape where the underground world and the surface world were always connected.
Early Origins and First Carvings
The first chambers beneath Kaymakli were probably carved in very ancient times, though the exact date remains unknown. The region was inhabited from the earliest periods of Anatolian history, and the soft rock offered obvious advantages for people seeking shelter and storage.
Some researchers see the hands of the Hittites in the oldest levels, while others favor the Phrygians, the great rock-cut builders of the first millennium BC. What is certain is that the practice of carving underground spaces in Cappadocia is thousands of years old, and Kaymakli stands in that long tradition. The earliest rooms may have been simple: a few chambers for a family, a cellar for grain, a refuge for a single community.
The tradition of underground building in Cappadocia was not a single event but a continuous habit of the landscape. Generations returned to the same soft rock, expanding what their ancestors had begun, and Kaymakli grew the way a tree grows, ring by ring, century by century.
The Byzantine Expansion
The great expansion of Kaymakli, like that of Derinkuyu, came in the Byzantine era. From the seventh century onward, the region lived under the threat of Arab raids, and the underground cities became the refuge of whole districts. Kaymakli grew level by level, gaining the rooms and systems that define it today.
The Byzantines added the rolling stone doors that sealed the corridors, the chapels where the community worshipped, and the storage rooms that made long sieges survivable. They also refined the ventilation system, driving shafts through the rock to keep the deepest chambers breathable. By the end of this era, Kaymakli was a true city, equipped to hold thousands of people in safety.
The warning system that brought people underground was simple but effective. Watchmen on the heights scanned the horizon, and signals carried the alarm from village to village. Within minutes, the fields could be empty and the doors sealed, a response so well rehearsed that it became part of the region’s way of life.
A Refuge From Invasion
Kaymakli’s role as a refuge shaped its entire design. The entrances were hidden, often beneath the houses and courtyards of the village above, and the corridors were deliberately narrow so that a few defenders could hold them against any number of attackers.
When the alarm was raised, the population would descend into the city, sealing the entrances with the great stone doors. Inside, they found everything they needed: grain, wine, water, and space for their animals. The raids of the Byzantine centuries came and went, and each time Kaymakli did its work. It was a system born of fear, and it saved uncounted lives over hundreds of years.
The Layout of the City
The layout of Kaymakli is different from Derinkuyu in ways that give it a special character. Where Derinkuyu plunges deep into the earth, Kaymakli spreads more horizontally, with lower ceilings and wider rooms. Its corridors are lower and its atmosphere is warmer, both physically and in feel.
The open levels, four of them, contain stables, kitchens, storage rooms, and chapels, connected by passages that sometimes require visitors to walk bent over. The deeper levels, still not fully excavated, may hold more of the same. The city is thought to be among the largest in the region, and the parts open to visitors give a strong sense of its original extent.
The same low doorways that slow visitors today were a deliberate choice of the builders. By keeping the passages low, they forced attackers to enter bent over and off balance, easy targets for defenders who knew every turn. The architecture of Kaymakli was a weapon, and it was used well.
Life Underground: Rooms and Stores
The rooms of Kaymakli reveal the daily life of its inhabitants. The stables, with their tethering points and troughs, show that animals were brought underground with the people. The kitchens, with their smoke vents and stone surfaces, show that food was cooked and eaten in the rock.
Most striking of all are the wine-making rooms. Cappadocia has been famous for its wine since antiquity, and Kaymakli contains large pressing and storage rooms where grapes were crushed and the wine aged in the constant cool of the underground. The presence of the wineries shows that the city was not only a refuge but a working community, a place where the rhythms of the agricultural year continued even below ground.
The Rediscovery in 1964
The modern history of Kaymakli began, like that of Derinkuyu, with a domestic discovery. In 1964, a local resident who was enlarging his house broke through into a hidden room. The discovery led to the underground city, and within a short time the site was being studied and prepared for visitors.
The year after the discovery, Kaymakli was opened to the public, joining Derinkuyu as one of the great underground attractions of Cappadocia. The people of the village had lived above the city for generations, and the discovery completed their understanding of their own landscape. The underground world had come back into the light.
Excavation and Opening
Since its discovery, Kaymakli has been carefully excavated and conserved. Four levels are open to visitors, and the site is managed with an eye to preserving the fragile tuff and the ancient carvings. The visitor route is shorter than Derinkuyu’s, but the experience is no less remarkable.
The conservation work has focused on stabilizing the rock, controlling moisture, and managing the flow of visitors through the low corridors. The result is a site that feels both authentic and safe, where you can still touch the walls carved by ancient hands and stand in rooms that sheltered families for centuries. For many visitors, the intimacy of Kaymakli is its greatest charm.
Kaymakli in the Network of Underground Cities
Kaymakli is not an isolated wonder. It is part of the great network of underground cities that honeycomb the Cappadocian plateau, a system that includes Derinkuyu, Ozkonak, Mazikoy, and dozens of smaller settlements. The cities were connected by tunnels and paths, forming a regional system of refuge.
The network reflects a deep understanding of the landscape and a long history of cooperation. Each community had its own underground city, and the cities together could shelter a large part of the region’s population. Kaymakli and Derinkuyu, lying about nine kilometers apart, are the two great anchors of this system, and visiting both gives you a sense of its scale.
Kaymakli Today and Future Research
Today Kaymakli is one of the essential stops on the Cappadocia circuit, a UNESCO World Heritage site within the wider rock sites of the region, and a favorite of travelers who prefer its quieter atmosphere to the depths of Derinkuyu. It is easy to reach, simple to visit, and deeply rewarding.
Yet the city is still revealing itself. The lower levels remain largely unexcavated, and archaeologists believe that more rooms, and more answers, lie beneath the open sections. New technology is being used to map the hidden passages, and each year brings a better understanding of the city’s history. Kaymakli, after thousands of years, is still telling its story.
For modern visitors, the link between the village above and the city below is part of the fascination. The same families who live above the site today are connected, through memory and history, to the people who carved the chambers. Kaymakli is not a ruin; it is a place where the past and present meet in a single village square.
The wine tradition of Kaymakli also ties the site to Cappadocia’s wider story. The region’s wines were celebrated in antiquity, and the underground cellars where they aged kept them cool through the seasons. Standing in the pressing rooms today, you are tasting, in imagination, a tradition that is still alive in the vineyards above.
Frequently asked questions
How old is Kaymakli Underground City?
The earliest chambers may date back more than three thousand years, to the Hittite or Phrygian periods. The major expansion came in the Byzantine era, from the seventh century onward, when the city was enlarged as a refuge from Arab raids. It was in use for centuries after that.
How is Kaymakli different from Derinkuyu?
Kaymakli is smaller and lower-ceilinged than Derinkuyu, with a more horizontal layout and a warmer, more intimate atmosphere. Its corridors are lower, and visitors often walk bent over. Derinkuyu is deeper and more dramatic. Both are among the largest underground cities in Turkey and lie only a short drive apart.
When was Kaymakli rediscovered?
Kaymakli was rediscovered in 1964, when a local resident broke through into a hidden room while enlarging his house. The underground city was soon opened to visitors, and four levels are accessible today. The lower levels remain unexcavated and are the subject of ongoing research.
All Over Information
The All Over Information editorial team researches and writes practical English-language guides to Turkey. Facts are checked against official and local sources before publication, prices are published as dated ranges rather than quotes, and guides are revised when things change. We accept no sponsored posts, paid placements or paid links.
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