Kayakoy
| Kayaköy / Levissi | ||||
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| Basic data | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Province (il) : | Muğla | |||
| District ( ilçe ) : | Fethiye | |||
| Coordinates : | 36 ° 35 ' N , 29 ° 5' E | |||
| Residents : | 641 (2008) | |||
| Telephone code : | (+90) 252 | |||
| Postal code : | 48 xxx | |||
| License plate : | 48 | |||
Kayaköy ( Turkish for 'rock village'; Greek Λεβίσσι Levissi , also Livissi Λ (ε) ιβίσσι ) is a village in Turkey , which lies in the area of a small town that was mainly inhabited by ethnic Greeks until 1922/23 . Most of the community, located about eight kilometers south of Fethiye in a rocky mountain valley, is now a ghost town . The former Greek residents of Levissi were evicted under the terms of the Treaty of Lausanne .
history
The Kayaköy area was founded around 3000 BC. First settled. In ancient times , the city of Karmylessos ( ancient Greek Καρμυλησσός , Latin Carmylessus ), which was still considered a good port around 1100, was established here.
In the 18th century, the city of Levissi emerged on the ruins of Carmylessus, which flourished when an earthquake in 1856 and a fire in 1885 largely destroyed neighboring Fethiye. At that time, about 20,000 people lived in Levissi. At the beginning of the 20th century, however, most of the residents moved back to Fethiye. Beginning with the Balkan Wars and already during the First World War, the Greek inhabitants were victims of ethnic cleansing and deportations. At the end of the First World War, the small town had a population of 2,000 to 20,000, depending on the source. After the expulsion of the Greek population, most of whom fled to Crete , Turks who had been expelled from Greece, including Thessaloniki , were settled here, but they moved as farmers to the plain below the city. Thus, the city was initially completely fallow.
Today Kayaköy is a museum village and is a listed building; almost 3,500 house ruins have been preserved; including two Greek Orthodox church ruins, which represent the most important sights of the ghost town. There is also a private museum on the history of the city. In the center of the village there is a spring from the 17th century. Kayaköy has been declared a World Friendship and Peace Village by UNESCO .
economy
In Levissi's day, most of the working people were artisans . The most important economic factor of the place is tourism , and organic farming is also practiced. It is planned to partially restore the village.
Cultural references
Louis de Bernières used Kayaköy as a scenery for the fictional village Eskibahçe in his epic novel Birds without wings (published in German under the title Dream of Stone and Feathers ).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu (ed.): Belediye teşkilatı olmayan yerleşim yerlerinin nüfusu . ( gov.tr [RDF; accessed August 7, 2008]).
- ↑ a b c d e Kayaköy houses an open-air museum . In: Turkish Daily News . February 8, 2008 ( com.tr [accessed August 6, 2008]).
- ↑ a b c Frank Kane: Turkey: Chasing the ghosts of a forgotten war . In: The Observer . January 30, 2005, p. Escape 10 ( theguardian.com [accessed August 6, 2008]).
- ↑ http://www.greek-genocide.net/index.php/overview/documentation/131-livissi-kayakoey-macri-fethiye
- ^ Gayle Keck: Pirates of the Mediterranean: Sailing the Coast of Turkey Can Seduce the Most Serious Landlubbers . In: Washington Post . August 26, 2007, p. P01 ( washingtonpost.com [accessed August 6, 2008]).
- ^ Marijke Hilhorst: Vertigo . In: Elsevier . May 19, 2001.
- ^ Desmond Balmer: Turkey: Remains to be seen . In: The Observer . June 18, 1995.
- ^ A b c Brian Patten: The idyllic town that time forgot . In: The Independent . June 11, 2005 ( independent.co.uk [accessed August 6, 2008]).