Kayaköy (Ghost Village) Nr Fethiye Turkey
Nestled in the Kaya valley, which because it is an area of outstanding natural beauty is now a conservation area between Fethiye and Hisaronu. Once it had a population of 25,000 that were mainly Greek. The Greeks were good farmers so they built their homes on the hillside and not in the valley in such away that the views were not blocked by one another. In 1922/23 an agreement between the Turkish and Greek governments meant there was to be a population exchange, the Greeks went back to Greece. People from Western Trace, who built new houses in the valley, repopulated the village. The hillside homes were abandoned and left to fall into disrepa ir. This combined with earthquakes created a “ghost town”. Before its decline the town was a thriving place with its own churches, schools, pharmacy, hospital, printing house, (which produced the local newspaper) and workshops. It is an interesting but forlorn place to visit with a good view of the whole village to be got from the top. Over recent years people started to purchase and restore some of the stone houses and there are several places sit and have refreshments, surrounded by flowers and fruit trees in this picturesque quiet village. It is an interesting but forlorn place to visit with a good view of the whole village to be had if you climb up the stone paved road to the chapel.
Click for slide show for Kayaköy 
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