The Wonderful and Interesting Turquoise Coast

As it turned out, delaying our boat trip by one day was the perfect decision because the following day (the 11th) the weather was perfect.  We'd chartered a boat for 4 hours to take us to Kekova Island and some of the surrounding coves.  It is famous for Dolichiste, also called Kekova Adası, an ancient Lycian city, partially submerged on its shores.  Apparently, the city was a trading hub on an ancient Mediterranean trade route between Andriake (the port of Myra), Simena, Teimioussa, and Aperlae, where a maritime culture developed thanks to the sheltered and protected waterway between Kekova Island and the mainland.  Architectural remains and various shipwrecks have been dated from the Archaic to the Byzantine period, suggesting that Dolichiste was occupied for several centuries until it was partially submerged due to tectonic activity and rising sea levels during the late Holocene.  The scenery was spectacular.  There's a good reason this part of Turkiye is called the Turquoise Coast; the colour of the water is beautiful.











After that, our destination was the town of Fethiye, a port city on Turkey's southwestern Turquoise Coast.  It's known for its natural harbor, blue waters and numerous rock tombs including the 4th-century B.C. Tomb of Amyntas, carved into a bluff overlooking the city.  I had wanted to go there as there is a mountain nearby (Bababog) which is very popular with hang gliders.  Atahan isn't really fond of cable cars which is the main way to get up the mountain (1969 metres) so, as another option, we took the road.  It became apparent that it was possibly the scariest of the two choices as it was steep, narrow at times with no guard rails.  However, we made it and the views from the top were amazing; as was watching the hang gliders take off.






Our hotel in Fethiye was lovely (my favourite so far) and if you ever get to this part of the world, Casa Margot is fabulous.  We met a friend of Atahan's for dinner there.  Sammi is also a guide but, in addition, he does tandem hang gliding jumps with tourists.  Was I tempted?  NOT a chance!!  So, our day had truly been a sea to sky experience.








Not far from Fethiye and a bit inland is "the ghost city" of Kayakoy which has a very sad story.  The following is from the Internet:

In late antiquity the inhabitants of the region had become Christian and they came to be called Greek Orthodox Christian.  These Greek-speaking Christian and their Turkish-speaking Muslim Ottoman rulers, lived in relative harmony from the end of the turbulent Ottoman conquest of the region in the 14th century until the early 20th century.  Following the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922, and the subsequent Treaty of Lausanne in 1923, the town's Greek Orthodox residents were exiled.  The massacres of Greeks and other Christian minorities in the Ottoman Empire during World War I led to the almost total depopulation of the town's 6,500 Greek inhabitants by 1918.  These former inhabitants were deprived of their properties and became refugees in Greece, or they died in Ottoman forced labour camps.  Following these events the Allied victors in World War I authorized the occupation of Smyrna, which still had many Greek inhabitants, by Greece in May 1919.  This led to the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922, the subsequent defeat of Greece, and the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923.  That treaty contained a protocol, the population exchange between Greece and Turkey, which barred permanently the return of any prior Greek Orthodox refugees to their homes in Turkey and required that any remaining Orthodox Christian citizens of Turkey leave their homes for Greece (with an exception for Greeks living in Istanbul).  The treaty also required that Greece's Muslim citizens permanently leave Greece for Turkey (with an exception for Muslims living in Greek Thrace).  Most of these Turks/Muslims from Greece were used by the Turkish state to settle its now empty Greek Christian towns, but Turks/Muslims from Greece did not wish to settle in Livissi due to rumors of ghosts of the Greeks killed there.

Atahan told me that his ancestors were affected by this and, had things been different, he would probably be Greek rather than Turkish.  There is no question that, as you walk through the ruins, you can sense the tragedy that happened here.  









After taking some photos and stopping for some tea, we headed to Dalyan where we will be staying for the next two nights.  


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