Ancient Underground City Excavated in Turkey

MARDIN PROVINCE, TURKEY—The Anadolu Agency reports that a small section of an underground city complete with dwelling areas, grain storage silos, wells, tunnels, and a possible Christian church and a possible Jewish synagogue has been unearthed in southeastern Turkey. An entrance to the underground city was discovered two years ago in a cave at the open-air museum of the ancient settlement of Midyat. Gani Tarkan of the Mardin Museum said that the 49 underground rooms explored so far are thought to represent only about three percent of the city, which may have sheltered as many as 70,000 people. Some of the rooms may have been used by Christians who were hiding from the Roman authorities in the second and third centuries, he added. To read about rare theater masks discovered under a Roman fortress in Mardin, go to "Masked Men."