It was in Cappadocia that Paul first established a Christian colony. There too, the Romans tortured the first Christians. Its "fairy like" landscape of natural caves offered many hiding places as a refuge for the persecuted Church, first from the Romans, and then later, Muslims.
Now, according to a report in Hurriyet Daily News, archaeologists digging beneath the modern city (Nevsehir) have unearthed an ancient underground city that housed a permanent population of people seeking protection—perhaps dating as far back as the Hittite era.
"When the works are finalized, the history of Cappadocia will be re-written," said Nevsehir’s mayor, Hasan Unver. "We have reached significant discoveries; new long tunnels and spaces where people lived all together. Places where linseed oil was produced, chapels and tunnels combining various living spaces..." different, he added, than other underground cities around the world...