Photographs of Derinkuyu in Cappadocia

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Although referred to as "underground cities", the underground communities of Cappadocia probably served as temporary shelters rather than as permanent hidden cities. No one is sure how many underground communities exist or even who built them.
The two largest communities that have been found are at Kaymakli and Derinkuyu. It is thought that the Hittites may have excavated the first few levels in the rock when they came under attack from the Phrygians around 1200 BC. However, some archaeologists believe that the oldest caves, those hewn with stone rather than metal tools, are substantially older. These chambers were later expanded into an extensive troglodytic complex by Christians escaping the Arab invasions of the 7th and 8th centuries. On these flat plains going underground was the only way to hide.
Discreet entrances (even now difficult to find) give way to elaborate subterranean systems with air shafts, waste shafts, wells, chimneys and connecting passageways.