Underground city a new face for Nevşehir
NEVŞEHİR – Doğan News Agency
DHA photo
Italian academics who have been working on the restoration and conservation of rock churches in Turkey’s Cappadocia region for seven years, have said that the world’s largest underground city, which was discovered in 2014 in the Central Anatolian province of Nevşehir, will put the city on the map.Prof. Maria Andaloro of Italian Tuscia University and her team recently paid a visit to Nevşehir Mayor Hasan Ünver.
Stating that they had never expected to find such an old rock-carved settlement in the city center, Andaloro said they were very excited for the region to gain the church and monastery, as well as the other examples of civil architecture.
She said that Nevşehir would gain a new face with such a magnificent settlement.
Ünver said people used to laugh at Nevşehir when talking about the existence of its cultural value in the past.
“They used to say that there were only some storage places underground. We want to turn this underground city, which is the world’s largest one and includes 11 neighborhoods, into a livable place in the city center. We plan to make it a social life center with a conference center and museum,” the mayor said.