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‘World’s first asylum’ plundered by treasure hunters in Turkey’s Cappadocia
‘World’s first asylum’ plundered by treasure hunters in Turkey’s Cappadocia
An underground monastery that local officials describe as the first mental hospital in the world has been plundered by treasure hunters in Turkey’s ancient region of Cappadocia. Click through for the story in photos...
The Hagia Maryeros Monastery in the Central Anatolian province of Nevşehir’s Derinkuyu district was a center of health, religion and accommodation in the Byzantine era.
Local media reported on Nov. 1 that the monastery was open to tourism in the 1970s but it was later closed due to a lack of interest from visitors.
Since then, treasure hunters have been accused of digging every inch of the historic venue to find treasure.
The monastery is also linked with a tunnel to the popular touristic destination of the underground city of Derinkuyu, which was first built around 3,000 B.C. and also used in the Roman and Byzantine eras.
Click through for more photos of the abandoned monastery...
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