Cappadocia Underground Cities

As we travel from the heights of Istanbul to the lunar landscapes of Cappadocia, we encounter one of the most remarkable feats of engineering in human history: the underground cities. These are not merely caves, but…

The engineering of the underground cities was driven primarily by the need for defense. One of the most distinctive features you will observe are the massive, circular stone doors—known as 'millstones'—that could be rolled across…

The existence of these cities is entirely dependent on the geological history of the Anatolian plateau. Millions of years ago, volcanic eruptions from Mount Erciyes and Mount Hasan covered the region in thick layers of ash, which…

Leaving the underground cities, one is left with a profound sense of the human capacity to adapt to the most challenging environments. These sites challenge our conventional definitions of architecture and urbanism. …