July 13, 2021

That’s exactly what happened to a Turkish man in 1963.

“Derinkuyu continued to be used for refuge by Christians hiding from the Mongolian incursions in the 14th century and as late as the 20th century by Cappadocian Greeks to escape periodic wars until it was forgotten from memory with the expelled relocation of Christians by the Turkish government in 1923.

“Derinkuyu was rediscovered by accident in 1963 when a resident in the area carried renovations on a modern home that led to the opening of a cave passage to the tunnel system.” (Heritage Daily).