Aydıntepe Underground City

Aydıntepe Underground City is a remarkable ancient settlement hidden directly beneath the streets, houses and shops of Aydıntepe, a district about 28 kilometres northwest of Bayburt in Turkey's inner Eastern Black Sea highlands. The site was uncovered entirely by chance in 1988 (some local sources cite 1996) during excavation for a building foundation, and it was created without any load-bearing construction material by carving directly into the region's soft volcanic tuff.

Architecture & Structure

Beginning just 2–2.5 metres below the surface, the galleries run as vaulted corridors roughly one metre wide and 2–2.5 metres high, widening in places into arched rooms and larger communal chambers. The system reaches about one kilometre in total length, with a footprint of some 1,200 square metres and an 850-metre stretch that has been opened to visitors. Its architecture includes eight conical ventilation and observation shafts, wall openings that light the corridors, storage and provision rooms, a water source and a pool, and a 1.5-metre-diameter round stone door mechanism, all of which show the complex was designed for both dwelling and refuge.

History & Significance

Specialists date the structure to the Late Roman and Early Byzantine period (roughly the 3rd–5th centuries AD), link it to the ancient town of Halde (Khalde), and suggest early Christians used it as a hiding place during persecution. Its cultural significance lies in the way it sits beneath the living town, forming what is effectively a two-storey city. For tourism it is one of the region's most original and intriguing stops; agencies favour it on combined Bayburt–Erzurum–Black Sea itineraries because it offers an unexpected, Cappadocia-like underground settlement in the Eastern Black Sea hinterland and gives travellers a strong sense of discovery in a short time.

Visiting, Access & Tips

The average visit lasts 45 minutes to an hour, and guided programmes usually place it between Bayburt Castle and the Baksı Museum. The best photographs are the perspective down the vaulted corridors, shafts of daylight falling through the ventilation cones, and the round stone door. Access is by road; parking and tour-bus access are available near the town-centre entrance, though the narrow, low galleries make wheelchair access very limited. The ideal season runs from late spring to autumn, summer is the peak period, and winter's high altitude and snow complicate travel. Important note: the site has long been closed to visitors due to partial collapse risk, and Ministry of Culture and Tourism–approved reinforcement and restoration works entered their field phase in autumn 2025, so its current opening status should always be confirmed before planning a visit.