Tuesday, 3 July 2012

Kayaköy in Turkey.

We hopped on a dalmus and went to see the 'Ghost Village' of Kayaköy. I copied some information on it for you. 

Kayaköy is a village 8 km south of Fethiye in southwestern Turkeywhere Anatolian Greek speaking Christians lived until approximately 1923. The ghost town, now preserved as a museum village, consists of hundreds of rundown but still mostly intact Greek-style houses and churches which cover a small mountainside and serve as a stopping place for tourists visiting Fethiye and nearby Ölüdeniz.
It was built on the site of the ancient city of Carmylessus in the 18th century. It experienced a renewal after nearby Fethiye (known as Makri) was devastated by an earthquake in 1856 and a major fire in 1885. After the Greco-Turkish War, Kayaköy was largely abandoned after a population exchange agreement was signed by the Turkish and Greek governments in 1923. Many of the buildings were damaged in the 1957 Fethiye earthquake.
Its population in 1900 was about 2,000, almost all Greek Christians; however, it is now empty except for tour groups and roadside vendors selling handmade goods and items scavenged from the former village. However, there are a selection of houses which have been restored, and are currently occupied.
Kayaköy village serves as a museum and is a historical monument. Around 500 houses remain as ruins and are under the protection of the Turkish government, including two Greek Orthodox Churches, which remain the most important sights of the ghost town.






Shaun filmed us as we walked through some parts of the village as we tried to make our way through to the Chapel at the furthest and highest point of the village. Kayaköy is a lot bigger than we thought it would be, and it took us around an hour to reach the chapel, we had already spent an hour or so looking around some of other parts including the Large church - above. 




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