Underground Cities and SeljuksIt is assumed that the Seljuks also used these underground cities as dwellings and for military purposes, because the Seljuk Caravanserais in the Cappadocia are 5-10 km from these underground settlements; Dolayhan Caravanserai-Til underground Settlement, Saruhna Caravanserai -Ozkonak Underground Settlement, Agzikarahan Caravanserai-Pinarbasi (Geyral) Underground Settlement.
The earlest document source regarding the underground settlements is Xenephon’s book, “Anabasis”. Xenephon mentioned that the people living in Anatolia and Caucasia holloed out their houses into the ground and that these houses were connected to each otherwith passages. Since Xenephon lived in the 4th century B.C., it is possible to date the underground settlements to near and around that era.
German Martin Urban, who did the earliest researches in the region between 1960-1970 dates the underground settlements to the 8th-7th centuries B.C.Consequently, in the light of all the information we have, to date the underground settlements as early as the same time as the first civilizations in the region, that is, the Prehistoric Period, is not inanccurate. To hollow out the soft tufa using simple tools would not be difficult for the people of the Prehistoric Period, who could use stone effectively. The underground settlements, consisted of fevw rooms at that time, were enlarged by other people living in the area in the later periods, giving them today’s shape but diminishing the artifacts from the previous people. However, that the underground settlements were used most widely during the Byzantine Peroid should not be disregarded. |
