Living underground, then and now – Cappadocia and Coober Pedy

There are a few places in the world where people live underground.  Sadly, some are just homeless. For example, those that live in sewers, abandoned train tunnels, etc in small pockets around the world.  But other times it is very intentional.

I’ve been to two such places where underground living is/was common. And they are interesting places to visit as one would expect.

Cappadocia, Turkey

In Cappadocia, Turkey, Christians lived underground in defensive shelters centuries ago.  You can tour several of the underground cities and homes if you visit.  More recently, homes were carved into the fairy chimney rock mounds and hillsides making cave homes. These are above the overall ground level, but still in the earth, so I guess they still are living underground depending on how you use that word.  If you visit the area, you can stay or have dinner in one of these carved out spaces in the rocks.

In Cappadocia, it’s interesting that the main tourist attractions are the underground cities and the hot air balloon rides over the underground cities and fairy chimneys.  You are either far above the ground or below it.

Coober Pedy, Australia

In Coober Pedy, Australia, it’s so hot that most people and businesses are below ground where it is constantly a comfortable 75 degrees.  (It recently was 117 above ground and there is very little shade as nearly nothing can grow there).

When you visit Coober Pedy (which is a bit of a trek and in the middle of virtually nowhere), you can visit an underground book store, underground churches, and a few no longer lived in underground homes that have been turned into museums, as well as old opal mines (which are still the reason people live there, much of the world’s supply of opals is from this area).

You can also stay in an underground hotel (which is an unusual experience, with the dark and quiet being absolute.

Happy travels!