Mardin, Mardin Merkez/Mardin, Turkey
According to a report in the Turkish newspaper Daily Sabah, a cave was discovered in the Midyat district of the southeastern province of Mardin that revealed passageways leading to a complex comprised of water wells, silos, and places of worship–all dating from the 2nd and 3rd centuries. "Midyat has been used continuously for 1,900 years," Gani Tarkan, director of the Mardin Museum and the excavations' leader, told the Daily Sabah. "It was originally designed as a hiding place or escape area." Christianity, as we know, was not an official religion in the second century." He went on to say that families who converted to Christianity were known to seek refuge in underground cities to avoid persecution from authorities. "Perhaps the Midyat underground city was one of the living spaces built for this purpose," he added.
Similar underground cities have been discovered throughout Turkey. Cappadocia, in what is now central Turkey's eastern Anatolia, contains approximately 200 ancient settlements carved out of the region's soft volcanic rock during the 7th and 8th centuries. Historians believe that these caves were originally used as a refuge for the region's inhabitants from foreign invaders and that in the 14th century, they were used as a hideout for Christian minorities fleeing the occupying Ottoman forces. The cities were not completely abandoned until 1923, following the conclusion of the Greco-Turkish wars. They were rediscovered in 1963, allegedly by a man who discovered a hidden room behind his walls.
The most famous underground city in Cappadocia is the multilevel complex Derinkuyu, which was built 200 feet below ground between 780 and 1180. It could house approximately 20,000 people as well as livestock. Wine cellars, stables, chapels, and a religious school were discovered among the passageways connecting Derinkuyu to other similar settlements. Derinkuyu pales in comparison to the newly discovered Midyat city. According to Tarkan, it could hold "at least 60–70,000 people."
Selena Mattei