Guide
The village of Mazı, anciently Mataza, lies eighteen kilometres south of Ürgüp and ten kilometres east of the Kaymaklı underground city. Four separate entrances to the underground city have been identified in different places; the main one is through a corridor built of irregular stones. A large rolling stone door in that short corridor controlled who came in and out, and the small room inside it was made so that the stone could move freely.
The stables of the underground settlement spread over a wide area, and a short corridor leads from them to the church, whose entrance could also be closed with a rolling stone. The apse of the church is carved into the corner and its face is decorated with reliefs. Know what you can actually see: the city is thought to have had four levels, but only two can be visited today. It was closed in 2003 because of collapses and reopened in 2015. Travel agencies run day trips here from Nevşehir and Avanos.
