Özkonak Underground City

Özkonak was found in the 1970s by a local farmer wondering where the water he poured on his crops was going, and it turned out to be draining into a system of chambers cut into the volcanic rock below. It is smaller than Derinkuyu and Kaymaklı and only a few of its levels are open, but it has features the big two do not: above several of the doorways are narrow holes drilled through the rock from the chamber above, designed, by different accounts, for pouring hot oil or hot sand or dropping missiles onto anyone forcing the passage, and there is a system of pipes through the walls that let people on different levels communicate. Otherwise the elements are familiar - millstone doors, ventilation shafts, wine presses, storage niches, stables. The real difference is traffic: Özkonak sees a fraction of the coach parties, so you can often go through it alone, which changes the experience of a confined space considerably.

History

The underground city was probably made by the people of Byzantine Cappadocia, though its age is uncertain and it may be older. A farmer, Latif Acar, found it in 1972 while trying to work out where his excess irrigation water was going, and excavation revealed ten floors reaching 40 metres down, said to have room for 60,000 people for up to three months, of which four are open; like Kaymaklı and Derinkuyu it has a well, ventilation shafts, a winery and rolling stone doors (Wikipedia, Özkonak underground city).

What you'll find

• The oil holes - shafts above doorways for defence.
• The communication pipes - channels linking the levels.
• The millstone doors - the standard sealing blocks.
• The empty passages - the quiet the big sites lack.

When to go

April to June and September to November. Any time of day - it rarely gets crowded, which is the main argument for choosing it over Kaymaklı.

Practical notes

It is small - under an hour - and less elaborate than Derinkuyu or Kaymaklı. Passages are still low and cramped. Facilities and signage are minimal.

Nearby

Avanos and its potteries are 14 km south; Zelve, Paşabağ and the Göreme valleys are beyond.

Key facts