Underground City Found Underneath Architect Sinan's House

Zaman Online ^ | 04.08.2004 Thursday | Ersan Temizel

[vannrox]

Underground City Found Underneath Architect Sinan's House

During restoration of the architect Sinan's house in the town of Kayseri, a Central Anatolian city in Agirnas, an underground city was found.

Approximately 4000 square meters of the city, the age of which cannot be estimated, have been excavated so far. Nuvit Bayar, the Project Director of Guntas, the company responsible for the restoration, says, "We plan to finish this delicate job, which has been going on for two years, by the end of this month."

Saying that when looked at from outside, Sinan's house looked like a two-story building, Bayar said they had found a whole new world during restoration. The architect Bayar summarized the state of the house in Agirnas of Melikgazi County:

"We thought that there might be storage space for food or a stable beneath the house. But had no idea that it was part of an underground city. The underground city that we found by accident during restoration begins a few meters under the ground and has two levels. There are parts resembling underground remains of settlements in Cappadocia. Wonderful structures emerged everywhere, like an iron workshop and a loft. We know that there are small prayer sites but we could not find them. We guess the underground city dates back to the 1600s. But archeological research should be conducted."

Agirnas Mayor Mehmet Osmanbasoglu has claimed that the underground city could be linked with the neighboring towns of Turan, Gesi and Zincidere. "The light installations and the internal furnishings of Sinan's house will be restored by the lowest bidder, "said Osmanbasoglu, adding: "The Ministry of Culture and Tourism has spent TL 550 billion (app. $420,000) for the restoration. We have also benefited from the great assistance of the Kayseri Governorship. Thanks to these contributions, history of our town will be brought back to life."

Osmanbasoglu said that structures in adjacent rooms could not be excavated, since they were choked with soil.

"We predict that these [rooms] will also have two levels when they are opened. We think that the underground city was active in the Roman, Byzantine and Seljuk eras and other stone buildings there were built in the Ottoman and Republican periods."

[MineralMan]

"And, like, ok, so how does this affect me, today, now?"

---

Does it have to? Why?

[B Knotts]

When I first read this, I thought it might be in that country where:

No one's allowed to smoke
Or tell a dirty joke
And whistling is forbidden

[MineralMan]

"The center of Hittite culture was central Antatolia."

You're right. I just refreshed my knowledge on Google. The Hittites did live in Mesopotamia, too, though. My memory pulled that information out, but not the other. Thank goodness for Google.

[RetiredArmy]

Never mind dude. This is giving me a headache.

[B Knotts]

I only mentioned it because I recently learned that from an historical atlas.

[bayourod]

"We guess the underground city dates back to the 1600s. "

Is this a misprint? 1600s is considered contemporary in Turkey. Many structures, houses, streets etc.. that are still in use are thousands of years older than this underground city.

I visited one underground city on the Anatolian Plains that was well over two thousand years old.

There are people still living in caves in that area that are untold thousands of years old.

It must have something to do with contemporary archetects.

[dead]

I don't know where you went to school, but geography was taught where I went to school. And I'll sit down and compete against any Turk or Scotsman in that department.

And before you started disparaging Americans regarding their ignorance, you should have done a little historical research on the Hittites in Anatolia.

Nothing's funnier than watching somebody trip and fall in the middle of their superior dance. You can get back up, brush yourself off, and start all over again though.

[Grut]

Not everything is geared towards Americans who know no geography...

"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." - Ambrose Bierce

[MineralMan]

"I don't know where you went to school, but geography was taught where I went to school. And I'll sit down and compete against any Turk or Scotsman in that department.
And before you started disparaging Americans regarding their ignorance, you should have done a little historical research on the Hittites in Anatolia."

---

You're right. I should have. I got it partly right, but was off a few centuries. Geography isn't taught in today's schools much. That's a fact, and I still say it's a shame.

[freedumb2003]

Not everything is geared towards Americans who know no geography, nor should it be.

The following is from your own profile you elitist, self-important jerk:

However, I expect every person to treat every other person with a certain degree of courtesy and respect, unless that person behaves in a dangerous, threatening, or discourteous manner

Nothing dangerous in a simple request for a location, you vacuous hypocrite.

This should be back in chat, where people of your ilk waste their time in mutual self-congratulations for being oh-so-clever while pontificating on items of great academic concern -- that is to say with no particular relevance to anything.

[dead]

I think my last comment came out snippier than I intended it to.

My week dealing with expatriate Eurinals in Hong Kong just made me extra-touchy about "ignorant American" comments.

[plain talk]

My suggestion was that posters can add relevant info, i.,e. Country, if its not mentioned in the article in the "Body of Comment" field. This is more efficient for the forum than a lot of posters each performing google searches.

[Darksheare]

Dealing with.. in Hong Kong..
Umm.. when is your next vacation, and how long will it be since you're going to need some extreme relaxation after that.

[Sacajaweau]

My first instinct was that Sinan was one sneaky architect. Would like to know more about him.

[RightWhale]

What? Did he build an ancient city under his house? That would be sneaky.

[Thumper1960]

Cool, yes.

What wonders will they release for our enlightenment? The who's, what's, when's, how's, etc. are flooding my noggin.

[Sacajaweau]

No, but I'm speculating that he knew it was there...I read a little bit about him....built mosques, palaces, HAREMS... then I smiled and stopped reading.

[LibKill]

In the old world you can't stick a shovel in the ground without hitting an artifact. Layers upon layers of history.

[ApplegateRanch]

Perhaps (?) the writer meant 'dates back 1600 years? I did a double take on the "back to the 1600s" as well.

Besides, to bury that deep in <400 years is one heck of a sweeping & dusting problem for the housewives!

As to the cave dwellers, maybe they see what happens in eathquakes, and want something a bit sturdier than mud or unreinforced cement?

[Billthedrill]

Us Hittite-Americans demand reparations NOW!!