Going underground: The massive European network of Stone Age tunnels that weaves from Scotland to Turkey

By Daily Mail Reporter

From: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/

Stone Age man created a massive network of underground tunnels criss-crossing Europe from Scotland to Turkey, a new book on the ancient superhighways has claimed.

German archaeologist Dr Heinrich Kusch said evidence of the tunnels has been found under hundreds of Neolithic settlements all over the continent.

In his book - Secrets Of The Underground Door To An Ancient World - he claims the fact that so many have survived after 12,000 years shows that the original tunnel network must have been enormous.

Evidence of Stone Age tunnels has been found under hundreds of Neolithic settlements all over Europe - the fact that so many have survived after 12,000 years shows the original tunnel network must have been huge

'In Bavaria in Germany alone we have found 700metres of these underground tunnel networks. In Styria in Austria we have found 350metres,' he said.

'Across Europe there were thousands of them - from the north in Scotland down to the Mediterranean.

'Most are not much larger than big wormholes - just 70cm wide - just wide enough for a person to wriggle along but nothing else.

'They are interspersed with nooks, at some places it's larger and there is seating, or storage chambers and rooms.

'They do not all link up but taken together it is a massive underground network.'

Not for the claustrophobic: Most of the tunnels are just 70cm wide - just wide enough for a person to slowly wriggle through

Some experts believe the network was a way of protecting man from predators while others believe that some of the linked tunnels were used like motorways are today, for people to travel safely regardless of wars or violence or even weather above ground.

The book notes that chapels were often built by the entrances perhaps because the Church were afraid of the heathen legacy the tunnels might have represented, and wanted to negate their influence.

In some cases writings have been discovered referring to the tunnels seen as a gateway to the underworld.

Magnificent & Magical Moonscape of Cappadocia, Turkey [24 PICS]

by Lady Trigger 

from: http://triggerpit.com/

For most of us, Cappadocia looks so foreign that it could be an alien world. But Cappadocia is a region in Turkey with extraordinary natural wonders and moonscape beauty. Ancient volcanoes eroded into hundreds of exceptional fairy chimneys - some of which reach over 130 feet in height. In the states we tend to call those rock formations hoodoos, but fairy chimneys sound as magical as the Cappadocian "lunar" landscape truly is. It took thousands of years for wind and rain to erode layers of volcanic ash into the breathtaking landscape.The volcanic deposits are soft, so from the 4th to 13th century AD, occupants of the area dug tunnels into the exposed rock face and carved out houses, stores, monasteries and churches which are home to irreplaceable Byzantine art.

Click here for the Full Gallery: [24 Amazing Pictures]

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Balloon Ride
A balloon flying over the fairy chimneys of Goreme - Cappadocia, Turkey by Verity Cridland

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View of Cappadocia, Turkey photo by Mila Zinkova; Edit by CillanXC

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Fairy chimneys near Goreme, Cappadoccia, Turkey
Part of a UNESCO World Heritage site and absolutely fantastic from a photographic, historical, and scenery perspective. by Frank Kovalchek

4

Rock house near Goreme, Cappadocia
A man and his camel near a rock house near Goreme, Cappadocia, Turkey by Frank Kovalchek

Click here for the Full Gallery: [24 Amazing Pictures]

TV Host Blows Turkey Caller

TV Host Blows Turkey Caller - Watch more Funny Videos

World’s Largest Car Dealership Has Rooftop Racetrack

From: http://jalopnik.com/

Featuring a roof-mounted racetrack outside and 56 separate bars inside, the 708,661 square-foot Autopia Europia in Istanbul, Turkey will be the largest car dealership in the world. It's currently under construction, but here's a peek at the automotive wonder.

As you can expect, its designers don't envision Autopia Europia as a car dealership, but rather a car mall featuring 200 individual showrooms, 48 service stations, 42 insurance companies and 24 banks. Over 400 brands (we didn't realize there were that many), will be represented with 2,426 models. All areas of the mall will be accessible by car.

Rather than racing, the rooftop track is expected to be used for new car test drives, free from the traffic the 6 million annual visitors are expected to create on the surrounding roads. (Hat tip to Tom!)

[GAD Architecture via DVice]

Send an email to Wes Siler, the author of this post, at wes@jalopnik.com.

Evangelists claim 'Noah's Ark' discovery on Turkish mountain

From: http://news.yahoo.com/

 

AFP/File – A picture taken in 2004 shows the Mount Ararat. A group of Chinese and Turkish evangelical explorers …

HONG KONG (AFP) – A group of Chinese and Turkish evangelical explorers said Monday they believe they may have found Noah's Ark -- four thousand metres up a mountain in Turkey.

The team say they recovered wooden specimens from a structure on Mount Ararat in eastern Turkey that carbon dating proved was 4,800 years old, around the same time the ark is said to have been afloat.

"It's not 100 percent that it is Noah's Ark but we think it is 99.9 percent that this is it," Yeung Wing-cheung, a Hong Kong documentary filmmaker and member of the 15-strong team from Noah's Ark Ministries International told AFP.

The structure had several compartments, some with wooden beams, which were believed to house animals, he said.

The group of evangelical archaeologists ruled out an established human settlement on the grounds that one had never been found above 3,500 metres in the vicinity, Yeung said.

Local Turkish officials will ask the central government in Ankara to apply for UNESCO World Heritage status so the site can be protected while a major archaeological dig is conducted, Yeung added.

The biblical story says God decided to flood the earth after seeing how corrupt it had become, and told Noah to build an ark and fill it with two of every animal species.

After the flood waters receded, the Bible says, the ark came to rest on a mountain. Many believe that Mount Ararat, the highest point in the region, is where the ark and her inhabitants came aground.

Turkish girl, 16, buried alive for talking to boys

Death reopens debate over 'honour' killings in Turkey, which account for half of all the country's murders

• Robert Tait in Istanbul
• guardian.co.uk

The hole where a 16-year-old girl was buried alive by her relatives in Adiyaman, southeastern Turkey Photograph: HO/REUTERS

Turkish police have recovered the body of a 16-year-old girl they say was buried alive by relatives in an "honour" killing carried out as punishment for talking to boys.
The girl, who has been identified only by the initials MM, was found in a sitting position with her hands tied, in a two-metre hole dug under a chicken pen outside her home in Kahta, in the south-eastern province of Adiyaman.
Police made the discovery in December after a tip-off from an informant, the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reported on its website.
The girl had previously been reported missing.
The informant told the police she had been killed following a family "council" meeting.
Her father and grandfather are said to have been arrested and held in custody pending trial. It is unclear whether they have been charged. The girl's mother was arrested but was later released.
Media reports said the father had told relatives he was unhappy that his daughter – one of nine children – had male friends. The grandfather is said to have beaten her for having relations with the opposite sex.
A postmortem examination revealed large amounts of soil in her lungs and stomach, indicating that she had been alive and conscious while being buried. Her body showed no signs of bruising.
The discovery will reopen the emotive debate in Turkey about "honour" killings, which are particularly prevalent in the impoverished south-east.
Official figures have indicated that more than 200 such killings take place each year, accounting for around half of all murders in Turkey.

Derinkuyu: lost city found

Derinkuyu is situated on Nevsehir-Nigde roadway at 30 km in south region of Nevsehir. The history of the district of Derinkuyu named as Melagobia (Malakopi) which was meaning in the period of Eti the hard living is very old. In the district there are many underground cities and churches. As all of the underground cities from region of Cappadoccia it was the first place where the Christians have hidden. It has been used as hiding and refuge place at the time of wars occurred in the zone in the different periods of the history. The Derinkuyu Underground City with seven floors and depth of 85 mt has the dimensions of a city able to shelter thousands of persons. Inside there are found food stores, kitchens, stalls, churches, wine production places, ventilation chimneys, water wells and a missionary school.
Pretty amazing stuff!

Sarah Palin Turkey Incident: Does TV Interview While Turkeys Are Slaughtered In The Background

Some videos you just have to see to believe. On Thursday, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin appeared in Wasilla in order to pardon a local turkey in anticipation of Thanksgiving. This proved to be a slightly absurd but ultimately unremarkable event. But what came next was positively surreal. After the pardon Palin proceeded to do an interview with a local TV station while the turkeys were being SLAUGHTERED in the background!! Seemingly oblivious to the gruesomeness going on over her shoulder, she carries on talking for over three minutes. Watch the video below to see for yourself. Be warned, it's kind of gruesome.

Watch the video.

'Flying saucer' filmed in Turkey

THIS astonishing video footage is claimed to be the "most important images of a UFO ever filmed" – and is said to even depict ALIENS.

The shots were captured by night guard Yalcin Yalman in a compound in Turkey earlier this year.

The 42-year-old and a number of residents claim the UFOs were spotted over a four month period between May and September near the compound in Istanbul.

He said: “I don’t know what these things are. We filmed them several times and they are totally unknown to us. I was very excited when I saw them and I want the world to know that UFOs do exist”.

Almost two-and-a-half hours of footage was filmed featuring a variety of objects ranging from incredible flying saucer-type 'craft' to clustering orb-like lights hovering in the night sky.

Genuine

The clips were handed to the Sirius UFO Space Science Research Centre in Turkey who interviewed witnesses and painstakingly combed through the footage frame by frame.

International UFO researcher Haktan Akdogan said: "In this amazing video footage, physical forms of UFOs and their metallic structures are clearly noticeable.

"What is more important is that in the close-up of some footages of the objects, entities in them can be distinctly made out."

He continues: "We have spoken with all of the witnesses and had detailed analysis conducted on all two-and-a-half hours of footage.

"After conducting all of the analysis we came to the conclusion that this video footage is 100 per cent genuine.

"The objects filmed are structured objects and are not the result of misidentification or natural phenomena, aircraft or astronomical objects.

"They are not the results either of any kind of computer animation. Now is it a time for world governments to acknowledge the reality of UFOs."

He added: "The images captured on film are expected to have a tremendous impact throughout the world and they are the most important UFO images ever caught on camera."

The footage will be revealed at the UFO Data Magazine annual conference in Pontefract, West Yorks, on October 25.

And it has earned the seal of approval from British experts.

UFO Data Magazine editor Russell Callaghan said: "This video footage from Turkey, if authentic, represents a serious challenge to science. I can honestly say that this footage is truly unique."

Archaeologists Uncover Ancient Governor's Palace In Turkey

ScienceDaily (Oct. 21, 2008) — Within the scope of an international rescue excavation project, a team of four archaeologists specialized in Middle Eastern affairs headed by Dr. Dirk Wicke (Institute of Egyptology and Ancient Near Eastern Studies) have unearthed parts of a Neo-Assyrian governor's palace dating back to the 9th to 7th century BCE in a two-month excavation program amongst the ruins on Ziyaret Tepe. The discoveries were extraordinary.

Discovery of a rare treasure trove of more than 20 bronze vessels under the paving stones in the courtyard. (Credit: Ziyaret Tepe Archaeological Project)

The site in the south-east of Turkey (Diyarbakir province) is at risk from the construction of the Ilisu Dam. For several years now it has been investigated by teams from the universities of Akron (Ohio), Cambridge, Munich and Istanbul (Marmara University) in a joint excavation project. Sponsorship by the research funds of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz in 2007 and 2008 gave its archaeologists the opportunity to become involved in this international and multi-disciplinary project. There are plans to continue the project for another three years.

The Upper Tigris region came under the sway of the Assyrians in the middle of the second millennium BCE. They established their provincial capital in Tushan which is identified today as Ziyaret Tepe. According to historical inscriptions by the Assyrian ruler Assurnasirpal II it is certain that the construction of an administrative palace in Tushan dates back to the year 882 BCE. The excavation area of the Mainz team comprises the topmost parts of the acropolis, which must have been subsumed by the governor's palace. Parts of the private residential area and a courtyard have already been uncovered. The main rooms were well equipped - amongst the findings were colorful wall paintings and a facility for an oven on wheels.

But the most unusual discovery was the excavation of cremations in pits within the extensive courtyard area. Five installations have been found to date, two of which were undisturbed and contained opulent burial goods. In the rectangular graves of approximately 1.50 m x 2.00 m in size, for example, a considerable layer of ash and burned bones as well as numerous bronze vessels, sumptuous stone and ivory receptacles, carved ivory objects, seals, and beads were found. These items indicate the high status of the people buried here. They are believed to have been residents of the palace. These objects are very similar to those found in the Assyrian capitals of Assur and Kalhu/Nimrud in modern day Iraq.

In addition to the cremation remains found this year, a rare treasure trove of more than 20 bronze vessels was discovered under the paving stones in the courtyard. These include a jug, a wine ladle, a sieve, several bowls and cups, mostly made from embossed bronze, which are now waiting to be restored. This will reveal their elaborate ornamentation which can already be made out under the corrosion layer.

The archaeological research project at Ziyaret Tepe (Turkey) undertaken by the Institute of Ancient Near Eastern Studies of Mainz University, which was set up 10 years ago, adds a new field archaeological portfolio alongside the excavations in Haft Tappeh and Tchogha Zanbil (Iran). It enables its students to work in the region in which they specialize and makes them part of an international research project.