Kayakoy

Kayakoy A Turkish ghost town abandoned in a population exchange with Greece.. deserted ruins of this once-bustling town are nestled against the Taurus Mountains, close to Oludeniz and  8 km south of Fethiye in southwestern Turkey. The ghost town, now preserved as a museum village, consists of hundreds of rundown but still mostly standing Greek-style houses and churches which cover a small mountainside and serve as a stopping place for tourists visiting the area. The residents of Kayakoy, who had thus far lived peacefully with their Turkish neighbors, abandoned the town and went to Greece, which was struggling to find places for the nearly 200,000 refugees of the exchange, added to the more than a million former Turkish residents who had fled before the official exchange. Over 300,000 Turks were forcibly removed from Greece to a war-ravaged, but land-rich, Turkey in exchange.  In Kayakoy, approximately 350 homes now sit empty and mostly roofless, along with two Greek Orthodox churches and the fountains and cisterns that watered the city. Harsh winters and strong winds have stripped the buildings down to ruins, making the town look ancient. A private museum tells the story of the town. Two abandoned churches (“Upper” and “Lower Church”, respectively, because of their relative elevation difference to each other), and the little chapel on the top of the hill (about 20 min uphill walk from the lower church; follow the red dots from the church), which gives a stunning view of the valley and the sea below, which are located on the other side of the hill that Kayaköy leans against, and therefore is not visible from the town itself.

The book Birds without Wings by Louis de Bernieres is set in a fictionalized version of Karakoy during WWI and the last days of the Ottoman Empire.Kayaköy was adopted by the UNESCO as a World Friendship and Peace Village. Accommodation opportunities... are hotels, apartments, bungalows and tents in camping areas. Making a barbeque, tasting handmade wines made of special Kayakoy grapes and eating the delicious Turkish pancake made by country women, is the thing you should taste. There is a art workshop that you can try painting, photography and etc. You can also attempt excursions like horse riding, camel riding, ATV Safaris and Lycian walking.