Do you ever imagine what it would be like to find a secret room behind a wall? How about a secret city?

In 1963, a Turkish man was repairing his house. His chickens kept disappearing through a hole in the basement wall. Behind it, he found a concealed room. Turns out, a whole hidden city lay beyond. Best of all, the city was underground.

Turkey actually has hundreds of underground cities. They’re kind of like caves. The chicken owner had found a city called Derinkuyu. People—possibly the Hittites mentioned in the Bible—carved its tunnels into the area’s soft volcanic rock way back in the 700s B.C. The buried city had 18 stories. Air shafts funneled fresh air below. The city had it all. Kitchens. Schoolrooms. Water wells. Bathing spots. Stables. Some historians say as many as 20,000 cave-dwellers called the city home.

But why underground?

For safety. The maze of secret chambers protected people in wartime. Centuries later, persecuted Christians moved in. They fled Mongolians. During the 20th century, Christians used the city to hide from the Ottoman Empire. The Christians left evidence of their stay behind. They added chapels and wall art.

In 1923, Derinkuyu stopped being used. People forgot about it for 40 years. Then the man bumped into it while chasing chickens.

Were the discoveries done after that? Oh no.

In 2020, archaeologists found another underground city. They named it Matiate. That means “homeland” or “city of caves.” Matiate dates from A.D. 100-200. Early Christians likely used Matiate to hide from the Romans.

Matiate is big. Diggers have unearthed 49 rooms. And that’s probably only about five percent of the city!

Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. — 2 Timothy 3:12

Why? Building underground isn’t just fantasy. It’s been done for many centuries. Turkey’s underground cities are rich with history—labyrinths, persecution, and vanishing chickens!