Ağırnas is a township with its own municipality in

Central Anatolia The Central Anatolia Region ( tr, İç Anadolu Bölgesi) is a geographical region of Turkey. The largest city in the region is Ankara. Other big cities are Konya, Kayseri, Eskişehir, Sivas, and Aksaray. Located in Central Turkey, it is borde ...

, Asian

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

. It is also within the boundaries of the Kayseri metropolitan area, and administratively in Kayseri's metropolitan municipality of

Melikgazi Melikgazi, in Byzantine Empire, Byzantine times known as Tzamandos, is a metropolitan district of Kayseri in the Central Anatolia Region, Turkey, Central Anatolia region of Turkey. History In 1065, the town was given among other lands in the re ...

, although it retains its distinct character. The town lies at a distance of from central Kayseri.

History

Ağırnas is the birthplace of

Mimar Sinan Mimar Sinan ( ota, معمار سينان, translit=Mi'mâr Sinân, , ) ( 1488–1490 – 17 July 1588) also known as Koca Mi'mâr Sinân Âğâ, ("Sinan Agha the Grand Architect" or "Grand Sinan") was the chief Ottoman architect ( tr, l ...

, the architect who worked under

Suleiman the Magnificent Suleiman I ( ota, سليمان اول, Süleyman-ı Evvel; tr, I. Süleyman; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the West and Suleiman the Lawgiver ( ota, قانونى سلطان سليمان, Ḳ ...

, and is a site rich in historic buildings. One recently restored house is associated with Sinan himself.

Underground city

Although they remain far from having been explored in full, the town appears to extend for quite a length below the ground as well, which is not uncommon for

Cappadocia Cappadocia or Capadocia (; tr, Kapadokya), is a historical region in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It largely is in the provinces Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. According to Herodotus, in the time of the Ionian Re ...

and Ağırnas may well be sharing the characteristics and become the next in line to neighboring underground localities such as Derinkuyu and

Kaymaklı Underground City Kaymakli Underground City ( Turkish: Kaymaklı; Cappadocian Greek: Ανακού) is contained within the citadel of Kaymakli in the Central Anatolia Region of Turkey. First opened to tourists in 1964, the village is about 19 km from Nevşeh ...

. Caves and subterranean vaults and passages, complete in

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

s, dining rooms, cells and perhaps even

dungeon A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably belongs more to the Renaissance period. An oubliette (from ...

s and

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. definitions of tortur ...

rooms, are for the moment partially open to public with Sinan house's cellar as departure point.

History

Underground city

See also