Taskale Grain Warehouses & Manazan Caves

Taskale Grain Warehouses & Manazan Caves

Located 45 kilometers from Karaman, Turkey, the Taşkale granaries offer a unique architectural experience that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. These 800-year-old limestone formations were carved entirely by hand and still retain their original features.

With depths of up to 40 meters and varying heights, the granaries consist of high walls that were carved to create chambers for storing grain. The newest granary was completed 150 years ago and is made entirely of man-made materials. To close off each chamber, a small door made from juniper wood is used, measuring fifty to sixty centimeters square.

Taskale Grain Warehouses & Manazan Caves

These natural rock chambers have a storage capacity of 5 to 60 tons and are opened to store products separately. They are made of tuff blocks, which provide air circulation in all seasons, and can be accessed by pressing spots on the surface called "bounce."

The Manazan Cave village, dating back to the Byzantine Empire of the 6th and 7th centuries, features tiny living quarters carved into a vertical rock face. These rooms have survived centuries of war in Central Anatolia and are still intact today, stretching up five stories and across 3km of cliffs.

The intricate series of caves and tunnels housed churches, storehouses, family homes, and even cemeteries, all high above ground on the cliff face. Although the town is no longer inhabited, locals from Taşkale still use the mild caves as a storage place for grains.

The region is now developing the area for more tourism revenue, making it an ideal day trip to see something truly unique and remarkable.