The ghost town, now preserved as a museum village, consists of hundreds
of rundown but still mostly intact Greek-style houses and churches which
cover a small mountainside and serve as a stopping place for tourists
visiting Fethiye and nearby Ölüdeniz.
It was built on the site of the
ancient city of Carmylessus in the 18th century. It experienced a
renewal after nearby Fethiye (known as Makri) was devastated by an
earthquake in 1856 and a major fire in 1885. After the Greco-Turkish
War, Kayaköy was largely abandoned after a population exchange agreement
was signed by the Turkish and Greek governments in 1923. Many of the
buildings were damaged in the 1957 Fethiye earthquake.
Its population
in 1900 was about 2,000, almost all Greek Christians; however, it is
now empty except for tour groups and roadside vendors selling handmade
goods and items scavenged from the former village. However, there are a
selection of houses which have been restored, and are currently
occupied.
Today Kayaköy village serves as a museum and is a
historical monument. Around 500 houses remain as ruins and are under the
protection of the Turkish government, including two Greek Orthodox
Churches, which remain the most important sights of the ghost town.
There is a private museum on the history of the town. In the middle of
the village stands a fountain source from the 17th century. Kayaköy was
adopted by the UNESCO as a World Friendship and Peace Village
