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We caught a bus (Dolmus) from Fethiye to Kayakoy
This is a fascinating and eerie ghost town which lies in the
hills between Oludeniz and Fethiye.
It was hastily abandoned when its Greek population was repatriated in 1923 after the Greco-Turkish war
In September 1922 the British brokered a peace treaty and the following year an exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey - based on religion - was agreed
Some 1.2 million Greek speaking Christians were sent to Greece while 400,000 Turkish speaking Muslims were displaced from the Macedonian region of Greece to Turkey.
Following the Treaty, the compulsory (but non-violent) eviction of Greeks from this valley took place.
Attempts to settle folk from Macedonia failed ...
... and the valley was left with only a few peasant farmers overlooking the deserted village. They may also have been influenced by rumours that the Greeks had poisoned the wells!
We also saw some local flora and fauna - this looks very much like a Gatekeeper butterfly
We took an organised tour to Saklikent and then onto the ancient ruins at Tlos
Saklıkent ("hidden city") Gorge is 50 km from Fethiye. The Gorge is 300m deep and 18 km
long. It is one of the deepest in the world, and is a result of abrasion of the rocks
by flowing waters over thousands of years.
Around 4 km of the gorge is walkable after April
- by that time most of the snow from the Taurus Mountains has melted and passed through
the gorge on its way to the Xanthos River
On our tour we lunched at Yakapark Trout Farm
You can see trout leaping out of the water
We then visited the ruins at Tlos - one of the six principal cities of Lycia (and
one of the most powerful). Tlos - with its Acropolis hill - once bore the title under the Roman empire of
'the very brilliant metropolis of the Lycian nation'.
It is one of the oldest and largest settlements of Lycia (known as 'Tlawa' in Lycian inscriptions) and was eventually inhabited by Ottoman Turks, one of the few Lycian cities to continue it existance through the 19th century
The influence of many cultures upon Tlos has
resulted in a patchwork of structures dominated by an acropolis and fortress.
On the slopes leading up to the acropolis are numerous Lycian sarcophagi and
many house- and temple-type tombs cut into the face of the hill.
There are also remains of an amphitheatre and an arena
The views of the surrounding area are superb
Oludeniz - some 8 km from Fethiye - is perhaps one of the better known resorts in the area with its famous Blue Lagoon beach
It has been voted one of the
World's best beaches time and time again
It is also famous for its paragliding - off the nearby Babadag mountain
After about half and hour in the air, you land on the beach - needless to say, I did not try this!!
Instead, we took a trip on a boat to Butterfly Valley - this beautiful valley can only be reached by boat or from the Lycian Way footpath
The valley is located at the base of Babadag
mountain and is protected by the World Heritage Foundation. It gets its name
from the unique butterfly species, who have up until recently been the only
residents in the valley for thousands of years.
There are also plenty plants and flowers to see, as well as a waterfall
Apparently there are over 60 different species of butterfly
in the valley some appearing in the day time and others only venturing out at
night - we didn't see that many!
Not sure what this creature is
Our boat also took us to Gemiler Island - also known as St Nicholas Island
On this island are the remains of several churches built between
the fourth and sixth centuries AD, along with a variety of associated
buildings. Archaeologists believe it was the location of the original tomb of
Saint Nicholas.
The Island is only small approximately 1000m
long by 400m wide but that small area is littered with the remains of an
historic monastic retreat
The views from the island are stunning
This was our means of transport for the day
Last week we booked a "last minute" week away in Turkey. This was our first time in the country - it will certainly not be our last!
We stayed in one of these luxury apartments in Calis (pronounced "Challish"), a suburb of Fethiye - about an hour's drive from Dalaman airport
Two of us were "rattling around" in a three bedroomed (and three bathrooms) apartment for the week.
Although we had our own cooking facilities, we did not really use them, apart from breakfast. There were several good restaurants/bars within 50 yards of our apartment.
We were about half a mile from the beach. Calis Beach is a very
popular holiday resort on Turkey's "turquoise coast". "Calis" means work in Turkish and that reveals a little of
its history. It hasn't always been a holiday destination - Calis Beach was
"Work beach" where a small railway ran across the beach to the jetty.
Calis is reported to have around 300 days of sun
each year - and the beach is lined almost from end to end with restaurants.
Fethi Bey
(1887-1914) was Turkey’s first aviation martyr. He trained as a pilot in
England and joined the Turkish Air Force as a captain. In 1914 he attempted to fly from Cairo to
Istanbul for the first time but he was killed when his plane crashed near
Damascus. Later that year the town previously called Megri was renamed Fethiye
in his honour. His statue stands proudly in a square near the harbour
Fethiye is a famous tourism centre of South West
Turkey with a population of around 50,000 which is greatly increased in the holiday season. It hosts tourists from around the world, as well as celebrities who
choose to anchor their boats in the bays of Fethiye and Gocek.
Fethiye is where Aegean and Mediterranean seas intersect
Fethiye is also famous for its pre-Roman Lycian relics ...
... as well as its football team - Fethiye Spor - formed in 1933
As well as a regular bus (Dolmus - pronounced "dolmush") service between Calis and Fethiye, there is also a more leisurely water taxi service from the harbour to Calis beach
