St.Nicholas Island Fethiye
Kayakoy (Fethiye Province), or Levissi as it was known to its former inhabitants, was a Greek town until 1923, after the multinational Ottoman Empire drew to close, governments of Greece and Turkey concluded on a population exchange to become nation states, ethnically homogenous as much as possible on the basis of Treaty of Lausanne. According to that treaty, all Greek Orthodox inhabitants of Turkey were to be exiled to Greece, while all Muslim inhabitants of Greece were to be exiled in return to Turkey. When the Greek inhabitants of Kayakoy left to Greece, Muslims from Greek macedonians were settled in their place. However, Macedonians who were used to large and fertile fields in their former land found this hilly and rocky area with little arable land unfit to live, and abandoned the place in favour of other regions. Decades of neglect in addition to the big earthquake of 1957 that shook the region hard has left (Fethiye) Kayakoy what it is today. In its heyday, Kayakoy was populated enough to support a local newspaper and several schools and stores, but today there is only a handful of natives living there, mostly in the neighbourhoods of Kechiler and Kinali, about 2 km north and 2 km west of the "ghost town" of Kayakoy respectively. The ghost town of Kayakoy , including itself hundreds of abandoned houses with no roofs or windows, and the walls which are partially ruined, is the main sight. Those not to be missed include the old fountain which dates back to 1888 by the tarmac road, two abandoned churcles 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 (Fethiye) Kayakoy leans against, and therefore is not visible from the town itself. 8 km southwest of Kayakoy, the beach at Gemiler is accessible by a gravel road good enough for most conventional cars from the neighbourhood of Kinali, about 2 km west of the ghost town, although there is no public transport heading there. There is also a hiking path which somewhat shortcuts the gravel road. The trail begins out of Kınalı, at where the road starts windings and descents towards the coast. Just off shore of Gemile is the St Nicholas Island with some ruins of a Byzantine chapel which dates back to 5th century. Perhaps a more rewarding sight in the same direction is the monastery at Afkule, clinging at the high cliffs over the sea, and which affords really impressive views over the Gulf of Fethiye(Turkey), as far away as Rhodes if the air is clear. Other than its roof, this Greek Orthodox monastery is as sound as it was when abandoned in 1920s. To get there, you will need a short but pretty demanding hike up and down along a trail, part of it, though, fortunately, through a pine forest. In total it takes around an hour on foot to get there from the ghost town. West of Kayakoy (Fethiye), leave the gravel road to Gemile at where the trail to Afkule branches off, which is properly marked by yellow signs. At about midway through the trail to Afkule, you'll notice a branching track to right this is the wrong path, keep to the trail to left instead. The trail ends in a open spacecarpark for those taking their vehicles along the track. From here, take the wide track to right, which is waymarked with the yellow&red marks usual in the area, and which will slowly ascent to the top of the cliff, which is about 1 km away from the carpark. Then the trail will descend down to the monastery, but be extremely careful in this section as it is very easy to slip down since the path is covered with loose gravel. Perhaps not for the faint hearted, you can further explore the lower stories of the complex once you are in the monastery, though that will require a very steep climb down with the full view of high cliffs down to the coast.