Hi there,
In the Fethiye area there is a set of hiking trails called the Lycian Way or Likya Yolu. These routes lead to places other than the Fethiye district. Our first route was to Kayaköy which is 5km from Ölüdeniz.
It was formerly called Livissi and was mainly inhabited by Greek Orthodox Christians. Today the mountains are covered with half a thousand of these ruined houses. The city was probably built between the 15th and 18th centuries on the site of the ancient city of Lebessus.
After a devastating earthquake and several fires, Fethiye was left as a wasteland and many of its inhabitants went to live in Livissi. The city may have had between 10,000 and 20,000 inhabitants.
Before World War I many Greek populations lived without problems in western Turkey. But when the war started, hundreds of thousands of Greeks were massacred by the Turks. Others fled or were forcibly deported.
Those who were expelled had to go on foot to another town that was 220 km away. Many died of hunger and fatigue.
After the defeat of Turkey and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the Greeks invaded Turkey and there were three years of rape, arson, and other atrocities. Finally, in 1923 both countries signed a peace treaty and peacefully proceeded to exchange the population. The remaining Greeks in Turkey went to their country and vice versa.
The Muslims who returned to Turkey considered that this town was not suitable for living, so they did not return to populate Livissi.
In 1957, a 7.1-magnitude earthquake ended up destroying most of its buildings, giving the city the final blow. Livissi is now called Kayaköy and is still deserted.
Very early we walked from the house. At first there was a lot of garbage, but as you get further away from civilization, you enter the forest that is a little more virgin and less dirty.
The trekking is pleasant and easy, almost always flat and without many stones. We took longer than expected because every so often we stopped to take pictures and record.
The good thing about the Fethiye area is that the trekking routes are well signposted, so there is little chance of getting lost.
We did not meet anyone along the way because apart from the fact that it was low season and after covid, most of the tourism that goes to Turkey is not for sports; in fact, almost all the people we saw were obese English and Russians.
After 2 hours walking, we arrived at Kayaköy from the back; that is, on the part of the mountain where tourists don’t even go. As soon as we started to explore the ruins, we found two turtles walking around and that alone made the trekking worthwhile. Seeing free animals in their natural habitat makes my day.
We continue down through that giant complex of houses in ruins. The size of that place is incredible.
There is a big church that was closed. Even so, I climbed up a wall and took photos.
We spent 2 hours touring the place and we left where tourists normally enter. There was another house there that was supposedly better preserved, which we did not enter because we had to do it with a guide.
I find it funny that the photos on the internet are of girls in dresses and sandals. Logically, these people don’t even walk through the ruins, because for that you need trekking shoes. For Turkey I didn’t take trekking shoes, only Nike sport shoes and they got destroyed while hiking.
Right next to the Kayaköy tourist entrance there is a restaurant where people usually eat a kind of crêpe with spinach and cream cheese. This was what people ate at the time to gain energy.
In general, I really liked this visit. Thanks to visiting in low season, we were alone on the route and in Kayaköy. Also, the place is impressive for its size and history.
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