Däniken visits massive underground city in Nevşehir

NEVŞEHİR - Doğan News Agency

DHA photos

Famous Swiss writer Erich von Däniken, responsible for popularizing the “paleo-contact” and ancient astronaut hypothesis, has visited one of the world’s biggest underground cities in the Central Anatolian province of Nevşehir.

Accompanied by 38 people, the writer took great interest in the underground city, which was discovered last year through Turkey’s Housing Development Administration’s (TOKİ) urban transformation project, during which some 1,500 buildings were demolished located in and around the Nevşehir Fortress. The underground city was discovered when earth was moved for new building construction.

Däniken is best known for his book “Chariots of the Gods,” in which the writer proposes that the gods in various primitive civilizations, like Anubis and Zeus, were actually advanced alien beings spreading their knowledge, perhaps on the planet they originally spread life on.

During his visit, Däniken was informed about the ongoing work in the underground city, carried out by the Nevşehir Municipality in collaboration with TOKİ, the Governor’s Office and the Culture and Tourism Ministry.
 
Däniken said the underground city was different than the other underground cities in the Cappadocia region, adding that it could turn into a must-see attraction once work was completed. The Swiss writer added that he will mention the underground city in detail in his new book, which he is currently preparing.



Despite being one of the most popular names worldwide on the subject of aliens and extraterrestrial life, the ideas put forth in Däniken’s books are rejected by many scientists and academics, who categorize his work as pseudohistory and pseudo-archaeology.

The underground city in Nevşehir covers 45 hectares of a 75 hectare plot within the urban transformation project, which began in 2012. The first galleries were spotted in 2013 and the Cultural and Natural Heritage Preservation Board officially registered the area. So far, 44 historical objects have been persevered. 

The city is thought to date back 5,000 years and is located around the Nevşehir Fortress. Escape galleries and hidden churches were discovered inside the underground city.




The city’s tunnels are believed to have been used for transporting agricultural products. It is also estimated that one of the tunnels passes under Nevşehir and connects to a distant water source. 

The excavations works conducted in the area have unearthed equipment belonging to various civilizations.
The findings include sepulcher ruins from the late Roman era, along with two “Bezirhanes” (a seed oil process unit) dating back to early periods of Anatolian civilization.

Additionally, fragments from pots and pans used in houses and kitchens, dating back to periods from the late Roman era to the early Byzantine period have been found during the archaeological dig. Pipes and oil-lamps have also been unearthed from the Ottoman and early Republican era.