To complete the picture in Cappadocia, after walking through the valleys, you should visit the underground city of Derinkuyu. About two hundred underground cities are known in Cappadocia, but the largest is Derinkuyu. It is followed by Kaymakli, which is ten kilometers from Derinkuyu. Smaller ones are scattered throughout Cappadocia, including near Goreme, but they are less interesting.

An independent visit to this underground city is convenient to combine with a walk around. You can also see Derinkuyu as part of the Green tour from Goreme.

The underground city of Derinkuyu is a cave carved into soft tuff that connects underground rooms designed for various purposes. The city is very large, it has 8 floors, going down to a depth of about 60 meters (to groundwater). It is believed that about 20 thousand people could live in it, besides, livestock and provisions were kept underground.

This city was accidentally discovered by a local resident in 1962, when he dismantled the wall of his house and found a "mystery room" behind it. He continued his excavations and discovered a complex tunnel system with additional cave rooms. Archaeologists became interested in the find, and two years later the city was opened to tourists.

This city still has many secrets - even its real size is not precisely determined. There are versions that now only a tenth of the entire city has been explored and that it may have 4 more hidden floors. And some very daring researchers claim that the city consists of 20 floors and was inhabited by 60 thousand people. Considering that the underground city of Derinkuyu in Cappadocia is connected by a 10-kilometer tunnel (currently impassable due to blockages) with another underground city of Kaymakli, then the opinion about the number of inhabitants of such a metropolis of 60 thousand seems quite plausible.

There is even more uncertainty about the exact age and origin of the city. Someone supposes that Derinkuyu began to be created 20 centuries before the birth of Christ, while others believe that the city is only 27 centuries old. In any case, both are very respectable age.

It is not clear how it was used: either they lived in it permanently, or temporarily, when it was necessary to hide from the enemy. The authorship of the creation of the city is attributed to the Hittites, Phrygians, and Persians. In general, there are still many uncertainties in this issue. It is only known for certain that the last inhabitants were Christians, who expanded the city somewhat.

The underground city certainly has an ingenious design. It was built in such a way that it’s even amazing how people could do it at that time. What are only ventilation shafts and wells with water. But most of all, the architecture of the passages is impressive, which is designed to destroy the unexpected guest, while the residents themselves were well oriented there. That's why, be careful and don't go where you don't need to.

The city has such premises: wineries, living rooms, temples, stables, kitchens, meeting places, schools, wine cellars, chapels, bakeries, canteens, rooms where oil was pressed, various workshops, weapons depots. There is even an underground cemetery.

Still curious are such stone doors, which blocked tunnels and entire floors. I saw the same in the rock church. Such doors are about one and a half meters in diameter and weigh half a ton.

• Underground city at the moment it has five floors open for visiting, or rather not even floors, but their pieces. These areas are lit by electric lamps, but the interior is still rather dim. It will not be superfluous to take a flashlight with you to illuminate dark places.
• Narrow passages can cause bouts of claustrophobia in people prone to it.
• The city was built this wayso that the enemy is lost in it. Sometimes there are dark passages not covered with bars. In order not to get lost underground, do not poke into these passages under any circumstances.
• Dress warmly: below the temperature is about 15 degrees - a sweater or windbreaker will come in handy.
• The entrance is in the buildingequipped with a turnstile. There is no special place to leave a large backpack, but you can ask, and things will be sheltered in the closet.
• Out of town is located not far from the entrance, that is, to his surprise, the visitor exits in a slightly different place.

Mode of operation. Visit cost

• Working hours: daily, from April to October from 08.00-19.00, from November to March from 08.00-17.00.
• Visit cost: 25 TL. Tickets stop selling half an hour before closing time.

How to get to Derinkuyu

How to get to the underground city of Derinkuyu is described on the assumption that you are coming from Goreme. First of all, take a minibus to the city of Nevkheshir (11 km). The bus will take you to the stop, where you need to change to another minibus that goes to the city of Derinkuyu (32 km). Derinkuyu may be the end, or it may be that the bus is moving on, so warn the driver to indicate where to get off.

• The address: 747 Rue du Square-Victoria, Montréal, QC H2Y 3Y9, Canada
• Telephone: (514) 398-9769
• Website: montrealundergroundcity.com
• Opening: 1962 g.
• Number of shops and services: 1600
• Working hours: 09: 30-18: 00 (Mon-Thu), 09: 30-21: 00 (Fri), 10: 00-17: 00 (Sat-Sun)

The Underground City is a popular attraction in. It is a vast underground space made up of winding tunnels, shops and stations. When you visit this place for the first time, it seems as if you are in a large anthill, where life does not stop for a minute. In order not to get lost in the labyrinth of corridors, the tourist should carefully follow the signs.

History of the Underground City

This project was developed by the urbanist Vincent Ponte, in whose honor a memorial plaque was erected in the Place de Ville-Marie in 2006. In 1962, the Place Ville-Marie office center was built in this part of the city, under which the first link of the Underground City in Montreal was laid. Later, through a network of tunnels, it was connected to Grand Central Station and the Queen Elizabeth Hotel.

In 1966, in honor of EXPO-67, the Montreal subway system was inaugurated, leading to a fork in the underground tunnels. Thus, the Underground City in Montreal linked up with the station and the Bonaventure Square, the Place du Canada office center and other major sites. Until 2003, the following were connected to this network:

• the building of the city exchange;
• federal government building;
• Palace of Congresses;
• the tallest building in the city - Le 1000 De La Gauchetière;
• Montreal World Trade Center.

In 2007, a crack was discovered in the ceiling of the Underground City in Montreal. It was removed with the help of several thousand metal supports.

Underground City structure

Initially, this facility was created to protect citizens from the scorching summer sun. Now the Underground City in Montreal is a huge commercial and business space 30 km long and 10 stories high. Placed here:

• 1,500 shops and boutiques;
• about 200 restaurants;
• more than 30 cinemas;
• 1600 apartments;
• 10 metro stations;
• a huge number of offices;
• concert halls;
• underground garages.

Life in the Underground City of Montreal is no different from life on the surface. Thanks to the well-developed transport network, here you can easily move from object to object without being idle in traffic jams. Escalators and elevators are provided to move between multi-level shopping centers.

Every year during the Montreal Highlights Festival, Art Souterrain holds exhibitions in the Montreal Underground City, introducing visitors to contemporary artwork. Despite the fact that the shopping complex is an example of Art Nouveau and urbanism styles, there is also an interesting temple architecture. So, tourists can visit, admire artificial fountains and pools.

To find your way around the Underground City of Montreal, you need to use a free map that is issued in the metro. So a simple move from one point of the city to another will turn into an interesting cultural program.

How to get to the Underground City?

The popular shopping complex is located in the eastern part of the city, 500 meters from the embankment. You can get to the Underground City from other parts of Montreal by bus or metro. 200 m south of it is the Square-Victoria-OACI station on line 2 of the Montreal Metro, and 200 m east - the McGill / Saint-Jacques stop, which can be reached by bus # 61.

To get from the center to the Underground City by car, you need to move northeast on the Rue du Square-Victoria road. The journey takes 4 minutes.

Beijing is one of the unique cities on our planet. It is striking in everything and medieval buildings, with its history rooted in the depths of centuries and the architecture of a modern metropolis. However, hardly anyone knows that with all this external splendor, such as the Temple of Heaven, the Forbidden City or the famous Tiananmen Square, there is another, unknown to anyone and invisible to the eye of Beijing, this is Beijing - underground (website).

The city underground (Dixia Cheng) appeared relatively recently, in the 70s of the XX century. Its appearance is connected with the same notorious Cold War. Relations with the USSR had reached a critical point, and China was seriously afraid of a nuclear strike from its all-powerful neighbor. Then the leader of the Chinese Communist Party, Mao Zedong, decided to build an underground city, where, in the event of an attack, practically the entire population of Beijing could hide.

The project for the construction of the city was developed back in the 60s of the twentieth century and after its approval in record time practically under the center of Beijing, on a total area of \u200b\u200bmore than 80 square kilometers, it arose quite, where, in fairly comfortable conditions, about 800 thousand Beijing residents could be accommodated.

This city is not just a temporary bomb shelter, it has all the infrastructure inherent in cities: streets, residential quarters, places of deployment of troops and equipment; schools, hospitals, theaters, cinemas, cafes, markets, animal, mushroom and plant farms; food storage and even sports facilities. A system of wells has been established along the perimeter of the entire city, providing the population of the city with water; a specially designed ventilation system is impervious to radioactive and chemical waste.

Massive concrete walls and doors can withstand not only a nuclear attack, but also protect against earthquakes and floods. It is not known exactly how many floors in depth the city was built, since the Chinese government did not release this information.

In early 2000, after the end of the Cold War, the PRC leadership opened access to a small part of the city, allowing limited access for tourists. According to the reviews and descriptions of the first tourists, they were amazed at the scale of the buildings of the underground city. However, from 2008 to the present, the Beijing underground was officially closed by the authorities for reconstruction. Beijing is a modern metropolis with an acute problem, and local needy residents have arbitrarily occupied some underground bunkers. Currently, this structure is the largest known modern underground city.

Surely everyone has heard stories about people living in abandoned mines, caves or subways. Or maybe someone has read HG Wells' Time Machine and then probably remembers the Morlocks. In many places on Earth, underground cities not only exist, but sometimes even thrive.

1. Underground Beijing

Mao Zedong ordered the construction of temporary housing for the socialist government in 1969. The construction took 10 years, and as a result, an entire city with a total length of 30 kilometers stretched out near Beijing. It had shops, restaurants, schools, theaters, hairdressers and even a roller skating rink. In addition to all these amenities, the city had approximately 1,000 bomb shelters in case of an attack.

Rumor has it that every house in the "upper" Beijing had a secret hatch so that citizens could quickly retreat to the underground complex if necessary. In 2000, the dungeons were officially opened to tourists, and some bomb shelters are now used as hotels.

2. Setenil de las Bodegas

Unlike most cities on our list, the Spanish city of Setenil de las Bodegas is home to 3,000 people. True, the houses in this city were built right in the rock, and not underground.

Most of the city's streets are open-air, and tourists often come to this city to see houses crushed by rocks. Previously, the city served as Moorish fortifications, and later was used as an outpost in the fight against the Roman Empire.

3. Moose Joe

The city is located in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, where winter lasts for a very long time. At the beginning of the 20th century, it was so cold there that it was almost impossible to go outside, and tunnels were built under the city - this made it warmer to get to jobs. Given the time period when the tunnels appeared, it is not surprising that they soon became used for illegal purposes.

Underground bandits and liquor dealers appeared - then prohibition was passed in Canada. And where there is illegal alcohol, there is prostitution with gambling, so soon the underground town turned into a mini Las Vegas. It is said that Al Capone himself was involved in all this illegal activity.

4. City of the Gods

The Great Pyramids near the Egyptian city of Giza are still considered one of the greatest wonders of the world. But the Pyramids are not only an architectural wonder. They are also interesting for the fact that a whole network of tunnels and cameras is spread under them.

Researchers are still exploring the underground complex called the City of the Gods, but it is still shrouded in mystery. True, given the scientific interest in this place, which arose back in 1978, the secrets will soon be unraveled.

5. Portland

Underneath one of the largest cities in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States lies the Shanghai Tunnels, also known as the Forbidden City. They are located near Chinatown, and were previously used to transport goods and, according to rumors, people. Because of this underground complex, Portland gained fame as the worst place on the west coast of America - healthy strong men were kidnapped from the city in the last century for forced labor on sailing ships. In addition, prostitution flourished in the tunnels. However, today the situation has changed for the better, and now there is no risk when traveling through the tunnels.

6. Wieliczka Salt Mine

Located in southern Poland, the Wieliczka Salt Mine was built in the 13th century. Salt was mined here until 2007, making it one of the oldest salt mines in history. But besides this, the mine is a residential underground complex, where there are statues, chapels and even a cathedral.

The length of the mine is about 300 kilometers. During the Second World War, it was used by the Germans for the construction of ammunition. In addition, the mine has a large underground lake that attracts over a million tourists a year to the site.

7. Coober Pedy

Coober Pedy is also known as the world capital of opals, as it is a rich deposit - almost 30% of the world's opals are mined here. The city consists of houses called "dugouts" and is home to 1,600 residents. Dugouts emerged as a means of fighting the unbearable heat on the surface, and in addition protected the miners and their children from the wild dogs of the dingo and Australian aborigines.

In addition to living quarters, the town boasts underground shops, pubs, and even a cemetery with a church.

8. Kish

Under the city of Kish in Iran lies another city, so mysterious that it does not even have its own name. It is about 2,500 years old. The underground city was originally used as a water management system.

Of course, like many ancient places, the city was recently restored and will soon open to tourists. It is planned to build cinemas, restaurants and hotels with a total area of \u200b\u200b10,000 square meters under the city.

9. Cappadocia

The region of Cappadocia in Turkey is known primarily for its underground city of Derinkuyu. The city consists of several levels and is said to have several thousand inhabitants. It is a big city with its own management system, shops, churches, schools. They even make wine here.

It is believed that there are secret places in underground structures where Christians, who did not want to go to feed the lions, hid from the persecution of the Roman Empire.

10. Burlington

In the vastness of Great Britain in the countryside there is a city codenamed Burlington. It was built in the 1950s to house the British government in the event of a nuclear war. The city is located in an old stone quarry with an area of \u200b\u200b1 square kilometre and could accommodate 4,000 civil servants, albeit without their families.

The town had its own train station, hospitals, underground lakes, water purification facilities and a pub. In addition, a radio station was provided in the city, from which the prime minister could communicate his decisions to the entire small settlement. Burlington remained operational until the 1990s and was ready to host residents until the very end of the Cold War.

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Moreover, the story of its discovery is quite interesting in itself. No, it was not archaeologists or historians who discovered it first. It is believed that it was accidentally discovered by one of the villagers, when, having started repairs in his house, he demolished one of the walls and discovered a passage leading to an underground labyrinth.

Derinkuyu - (from the tour. Derinkuyu - "deep well") - an ancient multi-tiered underground city, the largest cave settlement in Cappadocia accessible to tourists

Here people for centuries hid from the raids of nomads, religious persecution and other dangers.

Reaching a depth of about 60 meters, in ancient times this city could shelter up to 20 thousand people along with livestock. Derinkuyu dungeon is a complex ramified system of rooms, halls, tunnels and wells, diverging down, up and to the sides.

The city was built in such a way that it was impossible to capture it

All precautions were provided there: in case of danger, the entrances were closed with huge boulders, and even if the enemy had overcome them, he would hardly have been able to get back to the surface, without knowing the secret passages and the plan of the labyrinths.

The underground city is located on eight levels, reaching a depth of 55-60 meters. Some scientists believe that the city goes even deeper underground.

For communication between floors, there are small holes in the floor in many places

From the inside, the city was closed with large stone doors

Each door is a large stone disc 1-1.5 meters high, 30-35 centimeters thick and 200-500 kilograms in weight. The doors were opened with the help of the holes inside them, and only from the inside and with the efforts of at least two people.

The city is famous for a very complex ventilation and water supply system, which is amazing for such an early historical period.

Scientists still have no consensus about whether people lived underground permanently or periodically. According to one version, the inhabitants of Derinkuyu came to the surface only to cultivate fields, according to another, they lived in a land-based village and hid underground only during raids.

In the latter case, they quickly eliminated signs of life on the surface and went underground to hide there for several weeks.