The rolling millstone doors
Huge round stones rolled across the passages from inside, designed so that only the defenders could open them.
Nevit Dilmen (talk) — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ray Swi-hymn from Sijhih-Taipei, Taiwan — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Ray Swi-hymn from Sijhih-Taipei, Taiwan — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Ray Swi-hymn from Sijhih-Taipei, Taiwan — CC BY-SA 2.0
Under an ordinary village south of Nevşehir, some families still keep their winter stores in caves that unknown hands cut more than a thousand years ago. That is Kaymaklı: an entire town carved into soft volcanic rock, with stables, storerooms, presses, kitchens and churches spread over roughly eight levels, four of which are open to visitors. Nothing at street level hints at what lies beneath, which is exactly what its builders intended. The idea is simple and slightly chilling. When raiders approached, the villagers went down with their animals and grain, then rolled round millstone doors across the passages from the inside; they were designed to be opened only from within. The tunnels between rooms are low, narrow and deliberately sloped so that any intruder had to stoop and come in single file. Digging probably started in Hittite or Phrygian times, and the complex was hugely enlarged under the Byzantines when this frontier was raided by Arab armies between the seventh and tenth centuries. It stayed in use into the twentieth century and opened to tourists in 1964. The best rooms are on the third level: soot-blackened kitchens, wine and oil presses, and a massive block of andesite left in place and pitted with 57 hollows in which copper was hammered into shape. Look, too, for the ventilation shafts that pierce every floor. They are why the air stays fresh and why the temperature holds at 13 to 15 degrees whatever the season, which makes Kaymaklı a genuine refuge from August heat. Be honest with yourself before descending. You will spend minutes at a time bent double, there are many steps, and there is no place for a pushchair, for anyone claustrophobic, or for bad knees. Children over about six usually enjoy it more than their parents do. From Göreme it is an easy 35 to 40 minute drive, or a dolmuş from the Nevşehir bus station, and many Green Tour day trips call here along with Ihlara Valley (some operators use Derinkuyu instead, so check the itinerary). If you are torn between Kaymaklı and Derinkuyu, pick one; doing both is repetition that adds little.
Huge round stones rolled across the passages from inside, designed so that only the defenders could open them.
Soot-blackened kitchens, presses and an andesite block with 57 hollows where copper was hammered into shape; the richest part of the city.
Vertical shafts through every floor keep the air fresh and the temperature at a steady 13-15 degrees in high summer.
Camii Kebir Mah., Eşref Ayhan Cad. No:46, Kaymaklı, Nevşehir
One is enough; the experience is similar and the ticket is the same 13 euros. Kaymaklı is wider and shallower, its passages narrower but the circuit shorter with less climbing, so it suits families and anyone wary of long stairs. Derinkuyu is far deeper, with eight open levels, and delivers more of the vertigo of descent; choose it if you want the drama and do not mind the steps.
You can easily go down alone; the route is one-way, marked with arrows, and you will not get lost. But explanatory signs are sparse, and without a guide you will pass many rooms without knowing which was a stable, a press or a church. Local guides wait at the entrance for a negotiable fee, and Green Tour day trips include one already.
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