Derinkuyu or Kaymakli?
Feb 9th, 2012, 02:54 PM
#1
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Derinkuyu or Kaymakli?
If I can only explore one of these sites, I'd so appreciate recommendations in detail about which site is the more impressive, and your reasons, if you have visited both. I was initially thinking Derinkuyu was the prime site, but most tours visit Kaymakli....
Feb 9th, 2012, 03:08 PM
#2
plr,
We visited both in 2009. Bottom line is you can't go wrong with either. I've copied and pasted my trip report as it relates to both of them. I guess I'd say Kaymakli was my favorite because it was smaller and felt more claustrophobic, but they were both amazing. Here's what I said:
There are 36 underground cities in Cappadocia. We visited two of them. The first, Kaymakli, is the smaller of the two, and it housed up to 6,000 people at a time together with their animals. The cities were built between 2,000 and 1,200 BC by the Hittites to protect the residents from the attacking Assyrians. The map we saw before we went in reminded us of an ant farm and it didn’t disappoint!
It’s a labyrinth of hundreds of rooms and narrow, low-ceilinged passageways. It’s definitely not for the claustrophobic. We had to literally double over in the passageways and a couple of times we thought my husband might actually get stuck! Our guide told us that the Hittites were small. The villages were built as temporary (up to six months) shelter and included adequate ventilation systems, shafts down to underground rivers for water, areas to house and feed animals, wine cellars, bedrooms, kitchens and gathering areas. Huge round stones called keystones were carved out of the rock and were rolled across the entranceway to tunnels and rooms in times of peril to keep invaders out. Absolutely amazing.
Day three began with Derinkuyu, the larger of the two underground cities we saw. It not only housed more people (up to 20,000 at a time), but it was physically bigger. Still very much an underground city, but its ceilings were higher and the passageways were wider than Kaymakli. Some of these cities were also used in the first century AD as shelter by Christians traveling from Jerusalem to Cappadocia.
Whichever one you choose will be an unforgettable experience and you'll love Cappadocia!
Ellen
We visited both in 2009. Bottom line is you can't go wrong with either. I've copied and pasted my trip report as it relates to both of them. I guess I'd say Kaymakli was my favorite because it was smaller and felt more claustrophobic, but they were both amazing. Here's what I said:
There are 36 underground cities in Cappadocia. We visited two of them. The first, Kaymakli, is the smaller of the two, and it housed up to 6,000 people at a time together with their animals. The cities were built between 2,000 and 1,200 BC by the Hittites to protect the residents from the attacking Assyrians. The map we saw before we went in reminded us of an ant farm and it didn’t disappoint!
It’s a labyrinth of hundreds of rooms and narrow, low-ceilinged passageways. It’s definitely not for the claustrophobic. We had to literally double over in the passageways and a couple of times we thought my husband might actually get stuck! Our guide told us that the Hittites were small. The villages were built as temporary (up to six months) shelter and included adequate ventilation systems, shafts down to underground rivers for water, areas to house and feed animals, wine cellars, bedrooms, kitchens and gathering areas. Huge round stones called keystones were carved out of the rock and were rolled across the entranceway to tunnels and rooms in times of peril to keep invaders out. Absolutely amazing.
Day three began with Derinkuyu, the larger of the two underground cities we saw. It not only housed more people (up to 20,000 at a time), but it was physically bigger. Still very much an underground city, but its ceilings were higher and the passageways were wider than Kaymakli. Some of these cities were also used in the first century AD as shelter by Christians traveling from Jerusalem to Cappadocia.
Whichever one you choose will be an unforgettable experience and you'll love Cappadocia!
Ellen
Feb 10th, 2012, 02:03 AM
#4
Not that I can think of, plr. As I mentioned, Kaymakli edges out Derinkuyu for me because it felt more claustrophobic and as a result, more "underground". It also gave us a better feel for how small the Hittites must have been.
I mentioned your post to my husband last night and he agreed. He's tall and big-boned, and there were a couple times I thought he wouldn't make it through some of the passages in Kaymakli! It was certainly an other-world experience.
When are you going?
I mentioned your post to my husband last night and he agreed. He's tall and big-boned, and there were a couple times I thought he wouldn't make it through some of the passages in Kaymakli! It was certainly an other-world experience.
When are you going?
Feb 10th, 2012, 05:27 PM
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Thanks, plr, for posting this question and thanks, ellen75005, for your answers! I may re-think my plans: I had decided to visit Kaymakli because I'd read it was smaller (and still very impressive): I thought it would mean less time in crouched positions, and I don't want to end up with back/neck pain near the start of my journey! Sounds like I should consider Derinkuyu instead....
Feb 11th, 2012, 01:20 PM
#8
We went in late October/early November and the weather was beautiful most of the time but I understand that the fall of 2009 was particularly warm. There were few crowds. We prefer traveling in the off season for that reason.
