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CategoriesUnderground cities
Carved refuges and hidden complexes beneath the surface.
🇨🇳 China · Hydraulic works
Han dynasty 142 BCE to Qing · Han, Uyghur, Hui oasis communities
2000-year karez underground qanat network (5,000 km, 1,100 lines) feeding Turpan Depression vineyards from Tian Shan snowmelt.
🇹🇷 Turkey · Underground city
Byzantine (with Hittite/Phrygian antecedents debated) · Byzantine Cappadocian / earlier Phrygian/Hittite use
Deepest excavated underground city in Cappadocia, connected to Kaymaklı and 200+ subterranean complexes via 8 km tunnel. Rolling stone doors 500 kg, ventilation shafts, chapels, wineries.
🇹🇷 Turkey · Underground city
Hittite to Byzantine · Phrygian / Byzantine
Second major Cappadocian underground city, 8 levels open to tourists, rolling doors, stables, wine storage, connected to Derinkuyu via tunnel.
