---
title: "Tourists Flock To 3,000-Year-Old Underground City"
date: "2015-09-08 12:00:02"
author: "DHA"
tags: "İstanbul", "Bayburt"
canonical_url: "https://www.mynet.com/tourists-flock-to-3000-year-old-underground-city-180101957198"
original_url: "https://www.mynet.com/tourists-flock-to-3000-year-old-underground-city-180101957198"
---
# Tourists Flock To 3,000-Year-Old Underground City
– In southeastern province of Bayburt, foreigner and domestic tourists keep flocking to the “Underground City” claimed to be around 3,000-year-old. The ancient figures on the walls, in particular, draw great attention by visitors.
The underground city has been brought to light in 1988 during construction workd in Aydıntepe district in 25 kilometers distance to Bayburt. In 2008, the district mayor and Directorate of Museum decided to extend the visitor path to 850 meters after excavations.   
In the first eight months of 2015, around 25,000 foreigner and domestic tourists have visited the city.
The works at the underground site has not involve any building materials and the city has been engraved on a single bedrock consisting of tuff, under 2.5 meters of the ground.  
The underground city consists of rooms, large areas, corridors, ventilating slits, and lamp holes in conic shapes, along with a over-ground castle and galleries with vaulted covers .
The archaeological works have unearthed 4,000-year-old tombs, and 3,000-year-old wall figures, showing how ancient the settlement had been.
The underground city is thought to have been used by Christians, particularly for sheltering in case of threats, regarding the rooms, meeting rooms, kitchen and a pool for water demands.
(Photo)
![Tourists Flock To 3,000-Year-Old Underground City](https://imgrosetta.mynet.com.tr/file/5427556/640xauto.jpg)![Tourists Flock To 3,000-Year-Old Underground City](https://imgrosetta.mynet.com.tr/file/5427557/640xauto.jpg)
