deep deep underground

this was the last thing i saw before descending 8 stories down deep into the earth...

with the view of fluffly clouds floating in the blue blue sky, i took a deep breath crouched down and went in. i'm not claustrophobic, nor am i afraid of dark spaces, but i do just prefer the outdoors. ask anyone, i'd always prefer to have the window open rather than sit in a space with air conditioning!

but we were at Derinkyu which had the largest underground city in Cappadocia, or Kapadokya as it is spelt in Turkish.

it was absolutely unbelievable. they're not quite sure who first built it, but Jihan (our guide) said it was likely to be the hittites. why did they live underground when the weather in turkey is just absolutely fabulous? well because so much war took place in turkey, so many invasions, that they dug a deep underground city, a labyrinth of small alleyways, big enough to hold their horses, sheep, cows so that they can hide in times of war.

i remember something funny he said to us, 'You know the Persians? well they liked to attack Turkey, again and again!'

it was and still is a feat of engineering marvel. i loved exploring the deep caves and Jihan was a fabulous guide showing us where the living rooms were, the churches, the missionary schools, the graveyard, the wine-cellar, etc. they were also so smart these trologlodytes- they'd shit into pots, and mix them in with herbs to kill the smell, and seal it in earthen jars, and when the war had ended and they moved back up onto the lands, they'd mix their shit with their animals shit and use it as fertiliser. So resourceful i think!

i CANNOT imagine living underground, though i nudged hubby and said, 'Hey! I'm sure one day in Singapore, we'll live underground too!' I just hope i won't have to shit into pots then!