The neighborhood of kayaköy, which is often referred to as Kaya or Livissi, is situated in Fethiye, Turkey. There are 975 people living there as of 2022, although it is still largely deserted. It is located about 8 km south of Fethiye and was formerly known as Karmylessos in Greek. Later, it was abbreviated to Lebessos and pronounced Leivissi in contemporary Greek. Up to its last evacuation in 1923, the town saw a number of name changes during its history.
In the past, the majority of people living in Kayaköy were Greek Orthodox Christians, who lived in relative concord with their Ottoman Turkish-speaking masters. But after the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922, which was followed by the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923, the Greek Orthodox citizens of Livissi were forced to flee.
The people of Livissi was driven out by the bloody events of World War I, particularly the atrocities committed against the Greek and other Christian populations in the Ottoman Empire. The settlement, which had 6,500 Greek residents at one point, was all but abandoned by 1918. While some of these displaced people sadly perished in camps used for forced labor, many of them sought safety in Greece.
Tensions with Turkey increased after World War I as a result of Greece’s possession of Smyrna, a city with a substantial Greek population. The Treaty of Lausanne, which established the population exchange between Greece and Turkey, was eventually the result of this escalation. Consequently, the surviving Orthodox Christian people of Turkey were ordered to transfer to Greece, and Greek Orthodox refugees, including those from Livissi, were forbidden from going back to their homes in Turkey.
The Treaty of Lausanne commanded the resettlement of numerous Turkish Muslims from Greece in abandoned Greek Christian cities, in addition to requiring the removal of all Greek Muslims to Turkey, with the exception of those who lived in Greek Thrace. However, many Turkish people were discouraged from settling in the region due to claims that Livissi was haunted by the ghosts of the Greeks who died there.
What was formerly Livissi is now a ghost town that has been maintained as a museum village, called Kayaköy. It offers a look into its rich history with a plethora of weathered but still-standing Greek-style buildings and churches strewn across a small slope. An increasingly popular attraction for travelers visiting Fethiye and the neighboring Ölüdeniz is this haunting location.
As of right now, Kayaköy is largely abandoned, with the exception of sporadic visits by tour groups and neighborhood merchants offering handcrafted handicrafts. Although some of the houses have been restored and are still occupied, the community remains a somber reminder of its turbulent past.
A variety of architectural influences may be seen in the several 18th-century buildings that still stand in Livissi. Visitors may also find tombs in the Lycian style in the hamlet and in Gokceburun, which lies to the north.
Though it is no longer a residential diocese, historical documents indicate that Lebessus was acknowledged as a Christian bishopric throughout the Byzantine era. The Catholic Church nonetheless recognizes Lebessus as a titular see.
Livissi most certainly gave sanctuary to those fleeing pirate raids, especially those coming from adjacent Byzantine Gemiler Island. After a fire in 1885 and an earthquake in 1856 that devastated neighboring Fethiye, the community went through a period of expansion. Around 20 churches and chapels, including Taxiarhes and Panayia Pyrgiotissa, were built in the settlement and the plain around it during this time. Even though a large number of these buildings still survive today, they frequently exhibit signs of deterioration.
In addition to the past persecutions, the 1957 earthquake in Fethiye damaged a large number of Livissi’s abandoned structures, contributing to the village’s overall forlorn state.
