Turkey - The Underground Water Structures in Gaziantep; Livas' and Kastels

The city of Gaziantep is located on the edge of the Alleben Stream and the settlement history of the city dates to end of the 5th century. The stream flows by winding the settlement area in C shape. However, Alleben Stream is low in water and the water level is further reduced by increasing summer temperature. The Gaziantep Plateau also has a small number of streams. Moreover, the geological structure of the Gaziantep Region does not allow for lake formation. Depending on the geological structure, a large part of the rainfall seeps underground and forms underground waters. For all these reasons, the settlement has required water transport. In the province of Gaziantep, summers are warm and hot. If water is transported by surface water, it will evaporate in a considerable amount, especially in summer. At this point, the formation of soft limestone, clayey limestone and chalk formation that the city situated on made it possible to excavate the water tunnels underground, and thanks to the tunnel opening to the main rock, the water is moved to the settlement from the source.