Derinkuyu means deep well, and the town above the underground city is named for it. Beneath the plain of Cappadocia, south of Nevşehir, people have carved a maze of tunnels, rooms, stables, kitchens, chapels, wine presses and storerooms to a depth of some sixty metres, over many levels, though only the upper eight or so are open to visitors. At its busiest the city could shelter thousands of people along with their animals and food stores. Large round stone doors, shaped like millstones, could be rolled across the passages from the inside to block intruders, and narrow shafts supplied air and water, so that a community could live below ground for months.
The origins are unclear. Soft volcanic rock was dug here from very early times, and the Hittites and Phrygians may have started the work, but the main use of the complex belongs to the Byzantine period, when Christians took refuge from raids during the Arab-Byzantine wars. Later, villagers used the rooms for storage and shelter, until the memory was nearly lost. The modern find is said to have come when a local man, renovating his house in the 1960s, knocked through a wall and found a room that led on into a passage, a story that may be partly legend but makes a good tale.
Moving through the tunnels is an odd experience, since the passages are low and tight, so you must stoop and sometimes squeeze. The air is cool and constant, around ten degrees, and the walls are smooth with age. It is not a place for anyone who dislikes enclosed spaces, but guides keep a steady pace and the route is lit. Visit early or late to avoid the tour buses, which fill the corridors in the middle of the day.
The ride south from Göreme and Nevşehir crosses open plateau, with wide, fast roads, fields of wheat and potato and a few poplar-lined villages. The traffic includes lorries and farm vehicles, and the wind can be strong in the open stretches. Derinkuyu has about twelve thousand people and has fuel, cafes and shops, and the neighbouring underground city of Kaymaklı lies roughly nine kilometres north. Snow in winter can close the minor roads, and summer afternoons are hot and dry.