The Kayaköy Ruins, also known as Karmylassos in ancient times, are situated 8 kilometres south of Fethiye. According to written sources, the city's history can be traced back to the 3rd millennium BC. However, no finds dating to an earlier period than the 4th century BC have been discovered within the ruins. All of the building groups constructed on the slope in the city were constructed during the late Ottoman Period by the Greek people who were living in the village at the time. During the foundation years of the Republic of Turkey, the Greek population in Anatolia and Thrace was exchanged with the Turkish population in western Thrace. This resulted in the settlement being emptied and the city taking on the appearance of a ghost town due to the destruction of the buildings, wooden doors, windows and upper covering systems by natural factors. The abandoned city comprises two-storey houses, each of which is no larger than 50 square metres. These houses do not block each other in terms of view and light, and generally have cellars on the lower floors. At the entrances of the houses, there are underground cisterns where rainwater is collected from the roof. In addition to the houses, there were many chapels, two large churches, one school building and one customs building. The Upper Church, originally called Taxiarchis, was constructed on a prominent hill in the centre of the settlement. The Lower Church, originally called Panagia Pirgiotissa on the western border of the settlement, has survived to the present day in a better state of preservation. The most significant factor in this is that the building was used as a mosque until the 1960s. The atrium is covered with pebble mosaics in a similar manner to the Upper Church.
FETHİYE KAYAKÖY ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE
