The Underground Cities of Saratlı: St Mercurius and Kırkgöz

A quiet village of Aksaray Province, the village of Saratlı has become a popular destination since a pair of underground cities were uncovered beneath the historic homes and barns. Saratlı sits on a pair of low rocky hills with an underground city under each of them. The high ground and hard stone made for an ideal building site and the perfect place to carve out a city below the surface.

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The exact origin of the underground cities here in Saratlı are unknown and it is difficult to say anything about their earliest beginnings as later cave construction and expansion would destroy the older. While we know little about St Mercurius and Kırkgöz Underground Cities in particular, many of Cappadocia’s cave cities follow the same rough timeline.

That timeline begins with the eruption of the nearby volcano, Mount Hasan, which blanketed the region in a layer of ash. The ash cooled and hardened into layers of soft stone and while this eroded into fantastical shapes in regions like Göreme, it remained a relatively flat sheet here around Saratlı.

Sometime in the Bronze Age the inhabitants of the region began carving out rooms near the surface, often used as storage rooms or barns. Over time these simple carved spaces grew in size and complexity with the largest of them able to house thousands. In the 4th century the Persians, who had conquered the region, noted the unusual practice of carving out cave cities.

The advantages of such cities were many. During the extreme heat of summer or the freezing temperatures of winter, the temperature in the caves stayed relatively constant. It was also a brilliant form of defense in a landscape that offered little protection. The underground networks were a safe haven for locals fleeing raids. Tunnel entrances, air shafts, and chimneys could easily be disguised amid the cluster of the village structures. Tunnels could be sealed up with heavy stone doors and even booby trapped.

In the early centuries of Christianity’s spread throughout the Roman world, Christians would face periods of intense persecution making the hidden cities of Cappadocia an ideal refuge. Centuries after the Christianization of the Roman Empire the Christian population again took to using the hidden cities as refuge as Arabs invaded the region beginning in the 7th century. Continuing waves of raids made these underground cities a necessity. From the 11th century onward the Greek speaking Christians of this area lived under Muslim rule, beginning with the Seljuks then on down to the Ottomans. During this time locals again took to their hidden shelters as defense in periods of instability or persecution.