Ali Dağı Yer Altı Şehri

The underground city, which was cleaned, illuminated and opened to tourism in 2010, is located on the slope of Talas district rising toward Ali Dağı. As a result of the measurements made, this structure, whose total gallery and structural length was determined to be 528 metres, does not have the character of an “Underground City” when compared with all other known and mapped underground cities. Even if it is accepted that the stone door located at the mouth of today’s exit gallery was used to close the gallery and defend the part of this gallery continuing toward the back, beyond this gallery there is only a large hall and, after the hall, a gigantic cistern, 60 metres in length, reached by a tunnel approximately 180 metres long. The branch of the circular tunnel located in the middle part of the long tunnel leading to the cistern, turning to the southwest, was also abandoned without much excavation.

Although the original construction purposes of the three small rooms located to the north of today’s exit were storage, kitchen and church, it is certain that in later centuries they were turned into dovecotes with windows opening to the outside. In the underground city, there is no room-like structure that could be used as a dwelling in a defensive situation. On the other hand, there is no blocked gallery in the sections continuing to the east of the entrance and closed to tourism. In this part, all tunnels seem to have been abandoned at a certain point without further excavation, probably because the threat had disappeared. The same situation has also been observed in the underground cities in Ötedere Vadisi.

Source: Retrieved from the Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality Website on 03.07.2020.

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