Ancient Lycia

We unpack the campervan and move our lives into Michael and Muge's beautiful duplex apartment on the Cukurbag (Kas Peninsula) on Turkey's Mediterranean coast.

What bliss to have such space and home comforts after nearly 6 months on the road and over 15,000km travelled. We decide to stay for a minimum of a month so that we have a chance to get some real work done on the script, cleaning the video and photos, project planning, networking etc and of course to give ourselves a break from life in the campervan during the coldest days of winter.

The duplex is set in beautiful gardens and has a stunning view across to the Greek island of Meis, or Kastellorizo as it's known in Greece. It is very quiet on the Peninsula as most of the villas and apartments are holiday lets so they are deserted during winter. We do however meet one neighbour; Fleur who has built her own house next to where we are staying and has lived here for many years so is good source of local information and gossip! She invites us round for dinner and to meet another neighbour called Keith...a great night had by all!

Our days are spent working, eating, sleeping and cycling around the peninsula...perfect! In fact for several weeks we rarely leave the peninsula except to visit the local market and supermarkets. Many British live in the area and we get invited around to Alison's apartment for a full Sunday roast (even though it's Saturday!) including delicious apple crumble, we also meet Tony there as well as Belma and Altug who run Kas Explorers, which is a local diving company.

Kas stands where the ancient Lycian city of Antiphellos once stood and there are Lycian tombs carved into the mountainside overlooking Kas as well as others scattered around the harbour area, in the area used for the Friday market and on a central roundabout. Sadly many have been broken up over the years and used as building materials whilst others stand in private gardens.

Çukurbag 26/01/10

Two weeks after arriving we finally make it away from Kas and its peninsula and go to the village of Çukurbag with Alison. This is a small village in the hills above Kas with a stunning backdrop of mountains and is full of almond tress. We are there to meet Alison's friend Chris who bought a very old, nearly abandoned house several years ago and restored it. We are interested to talk to him about his experiences and to see the property. It turns out that rather than being abandoned it had been left to decay for many years. Part of it is made from traditional mud bricks and wood, which is a recipe for disaster in such an earthquake prone zone. He explains that many of these old buildings have to be reinforced with concrete and sometimes a metal band is fixed around the house to hold the whole building together. He tells us that although many buildings in this area may appear abandoned they do in fact have an owner. Often a family will keep a house until their child is old enough to marry at which time they will receive it as a wedding gift. Others can appear abandoned because the owners go to their mountain pastures with their herds to a void the sweltering heat of the summer months and do not return to their homes until the winter. Chris also tells us that some years ago there was an influx of foreigners (in particular British) buying property to restore or land to build on but now the Turkish laws have tightened and it is harder for a foreigner to take full possession of land or property here now.

We say goodbye to Chris and head into the village and near the mosque we discover some very old and abandoned houses and farm buildings. They have some beautifully carved wooden details inset into their windows and balconies whilst some of the doors are an incredible hotchpotch of scraps of wood!

We stop on the road that descends the mountains into Kas to take some panoramic pictures of the spectacular view that stretches from the peninsula over to the harbour of Kas. We discover some very ruined and derelict buildings there, there is very little left to them except for a couple of doorways and what appears to be shelves built into the walls of one. The stone used is a bright orangey red colour and the only inhabitants are some goats with extremely large ears!

01/02/2010 Kayaköy and Fethiye

We wake to find that once again we have no electricity. All the electricity cables on the peninsula that run above ground are being installed under ground, which results in lots of power cuts. As much of our work involves the internet and computers at the moment we decide to leave for the day and to check out the abandoned town of Kayaköy near Fethiye.

It takes much longer to get to Fethiye than we had expected. The distances are so vast in Turkey that we keep getting caught out. We find our way to Kayaköy via the small back street that rises high above the harbour of Fethiye near to the town's ruined fortifications. As we rise higher we stop at what we think is an abandoned bunker but is, we are later informed, an old water depot that was once used to collect rain and spring water.

Our first impressions of Kayaköy are total amazement. We knew it was an abandoned town but we have never come across a place where everything has been abandoned at the same point in time so all the buildings are in the same state of decay. Normally you see a process of abandonment i.e. buildings at different stages of ruin due to the gradual abandoning of a place, however in Kayaköy the whole town was abandoned on the same day back in 1923.

A brief history of Kayaköy

The ancient Lycian settlement that once stood here was called Karmylassos. Most of the buildings and monuments from this early period, with the exception of some very old tombs, were destroyed over the years by earthquakes, erosion and newer settlers using them as building material. In the 1700s Kayaköy (known then as Levissi) was built on the site of this ancient city. In 1856 nearby Fethiye, which at that time was known by the name of Makri or Megri, was devastated by an earthquake and much of its displaced population came to settle in Levissi. Again in 1885 the population of Maki (Fethiye) came to Levissi (Kayaköy) as their city was severely damaged by fire. Most of the stone buildings seen today date back to this time 1860-1890. From this period Levissi prospered and its Ottoman Greek inhabitants lived peacefully and successfully with their Turkish Muslim neighbors who mainly lived on the valley floor.

In 1923 after WWI and the Turkish War of Independence the 'League of Nations' supervised an exchange of populations between Turkey and Greece under an agreement signed by both countries governments. The intention of the agreement was to try and avoid future civil disturbances, others could say it was the first forced ethnic cleansing of the 20th century. The result was that all the Ottoman Christians who had lived in Levissi (Kayaköy) for generations were forced to leave their homes and lives and to resettle in Greece, a country that they neither knew nor spoke its language. The Greek Muslims returning from Western Thrace in Greece generally preferred to settle in the valley where they could be nearer to their agricultural land and as there were fewer of them they were allowed to. This left most of Kayaköy (as it is always referred to today) uninhabited. (We discover more reasons why they didn't wish to re-inhabit the houses of Kayaköy when we return to the area 10 days later.. read on!).

Kayaköy is paradise for us; everywhere we look there are abandoned buildings. Unfortunately the sun is quite low in the sky and directly behind the town so any filming of the area will be against the sun. We therefore explore the area, scrambling up rocky slopes with plants covered in thorns trying to find a high point from which to get a good general view of the town minus electricity cables, modern buildings etc. Rather than filming the town now we concentrate on other abandoned buildings in the valley. It is so beautiful and really feels like spring has arrived with the birds singing and bees buzzing around all the wild flowers.

On leaving Kayaköy we stop in the village of Hisaronu to ask for directions to the coast road and O my God what an awful place. Thank goodness we are there off-season as it is full of English pubs, tourist shops, cocktail bars, burger joints, clubs, all of which are of the cheap, tacky variety! We leave quickly and find our way from here to the coast.

Our map tells us that there is a road going down the coast, that for a short stretch becomes a dirt track...what a total exaggeration! The road climbs very steeply at the beginning and there are very tight bends. with breath taking views. It is obvious why they call this the Turquoise Coast...the water is so vivid. This turquoise colour against the white sandy beaches, mountains and steep cliffs give the impression of the Caribbean rather than Turkey... such a shame that the water is so freezing.

We continue down the coast often with a high, sheer drop down to the sea. We pass an ancient Lycian sarcophagus that has had what looks like a chicken hut attached to it as well as a wood store. It never fails to surprise us how these ancient tombs and monuments are integrated into people's lives, whereas in Western Europe they would be in museums here they are used as building materials and incorporated into dwellings, farms and town infrastructure. We continue on along the stunning coast road until we notice that the road appears to be disappearing. We ask a lad with his horse if we can continue on this road, he tells us no but we try anyway...and we can't, so we have to turn back! Unfortunately this means we have to back track all the way to Fethiye.

After our brief excursion out of the Kas area the weather goes rapidly down hill and doesn't stop raining all day every day. Apparently this is very unusual for the area. It feels that it is a re-run of the great floods when Noah had to gather all his animals up and take them in his ark to Mount Arrat (here in Turkey!) There are some incredible storms too, which regularly cuts off the electricity. Nothing to do except to stay in and work and be grateful that we are not in the camper van!

The Greek island of Meis (Kastellorizo) 11/02/10

We decide to extend our stay in Kas as the work load sometimes feels like it is growing rather than shrinking and the weather is pretty terrible so better to be productive than in the camper van cold and wet! As our visas run out sooner than the visa for the camper van we decide to take the boat to the Greek island of Meis (Kastellorizo) so we can get a new visa as well as to explore the abandonments over there. Unfortunately in the winter it is only operated for those wishing to do the 'visa run' so you can only stay there for 2 hours before having to return, which is a real shame.

Meis has gone by several different names in its history, including the Italian of Castellorizo, and Castelrosso, as well as the Turkish of Meis and the Greek of Kastellorizo. Its current official name however is Megisti, we shall refer to it as Meis as we are staying in Turkey and are more accustomed to hearing this name.

We sign the camper van in at the agency who then hand it over to customs, otherwise Geppe is not allowed to leave Turkey without the vehicle which is signed into his passport. We board the ferry and make our way to the open-air top deck as the weather has finally broken and it is a beautiful day. We get chatting to an Indian lady and her English husband who live near Kas and they tell us about abandoned rural buildings and farms on the way from Kas to Demre. These were abandoned when the Greeks had to return to Greece and the returning Turks didn't want to re-inhabit them because apparently there is a rural superstition that says it is very bad luck for a Muslim to live in the house of an infidel or non-believer. Two British ladies join us on the top deck and Julia overhears their conversation and soon realises that they are Irene and Tricia. Julia has been emailing Irene (a friend of Fleurs) to get in touch with Tricia as she is the local history and anthropology expert and we are interested in interviewing her for the documentary film. Tricia is on her way to Meis to complete research for her new book about the island. We all chat for most of the ride over whilst lounging on big orange bean cushions and we arrange to meet the following week to do the interview. We buy a signed copy of her book 'The Road to Ruins: Lycian Turkey to Kas' (ISBN: 978-975-01963-3-1), which we recommend as a good introduction and insight into the ancient and modern civilisations that have lived in this part of the world.

The first impressions of Meis are stunning. The houses and buildings that line the harbour front are all painted bright colours and there are the remains of a castle and tombs on the left as you enter and a small beach to the right.

A Brief History of the island of Meis / Kastellorizo / Megisti

Many people have wanted to dominate this little island due to it having the largest and deepest natural harbour in this part of the Mediterranean Sea. Its first known inhabitants were the Dorians from around 1100BC and it might even have been inhabited in Neolithic times as there are a few ancient tombs, which are very difficult to access. Then came the Byzantines and the Romans.

In 1461, the Catalan Company took Castellorizo. In 1470, it passed to the King of Naples. In 1480, fear of an imminent Turkish invasion caused all the inhabitants to leave, and so the Turks were able to capture the town and the castle without opposition. In 1498, the King of Naples won the island back. In 1512, the Spanish flag was hoisted over it, and in 1522, when the Turks captured Rhodes, Castellorizo sent men to its defence and it remained in Christian hands.

In 1570, the next masters- the Venetians- arrived then the Ottoman Turks in 1635 followed by the Venetians again in 1659. The Ottomans returned in 1792 and then there was a short period of Greek independence during and after the Greek War of Independence in 1821, 10 years later it came under the Ottoman sovereignty again. Despite all this the population remained Greek in spirit and culture and in 1913 they expelled the few Turks that were there and asked to be part of Greece.

WWI had a devastating impact on the island. In 1915 the French took over the island but passed it onto the Italians in 1920. During this period of French and Italian occupation much of the Greek population left, never to return. During WWII the island was briefly held by the British but a few days later it was taken by the Italians then in 1943 the British returned to liberate it after which the Germans bombed it very heavily. The local people were evacuated to Palestine and Australia. In July 1944, a fuel dump caught fire and spread to an adjacent ammunition dump, thereby destroying many of the remaining houses on the island. In 1948 the island formally rejoined the Greek state. At the start of the 20th century there were around 15,000 people living on the island now there are only 275.

As mentioned above the population was evacuated during WWII after which the few that returned set up residence in the houses that were still standing. Now, several generations later the descendents of those who went to Australia are returning to reclaim their grandparents' houses only to, of course, find people living in them. These current occupants have often been born in the houses, raised children in them, invested in them etc, which naturally causes problems and animosity between the local people and those returning. However it has meant that some of the buildings that were abandoned and in a poor state of repair have been restored beautifully by the incoming population who are relatively rich with Australian dollars.

We start our exploration on the right hand side of the harbor and head one block inland where we find many abandoned houses, several of which are burnt shells, others semi-ruined, semi-restored or just empty and abandoned. As we are walking past the church admiring the smell of mint and other herbs growing there an old lady comes out of her home and with a big smile thrusts the 'huge' key to the church in our hand. We have been told we should visit this church because it is very similar to the abandoned one in Kayaköy; only this one has been recently restored. Inside the small Orthodox Church it is breath taking. One wall is covered in beautifully painted Greek icons with gold leaf. We light a candle, put a contribution in the box and leave. Once outside the same old lady beckons us to wait at her doorway ... she returns with a fig, dripping in syrup on the end of a fork that she pops first in Julia's and then in Geppe's mouth ... messy but delicious!

There are many abandoned buildings and we also discover an abandoned old, rusty truck. We see more wooden window frames with carved banisters and details incorporated in them; similar to those we had seen in Cukurbag. Unfortunately we have to rush round the back streets of Meis taking photos as we have very little time and Geppe is keen to leave enough time to buy bacon, sausages and 'retsina' (a Greek wine) at the supermarket! We meet Tricia and Irene back at a restaurant on the harbour side, share a quick squid and retsina and then head back to the ferry and the little duty free shop next to it. Everyone stocks up on alcohol because it is so very expensive in Turkey.

Ancient Ruins 15/02/2010

We leave early morning and head towards Fethiye to revisit Kayaköy. On the way we decide to visit a couple of the archaeological sites that this region is famous for. We sidetrack slightly via Patara, which was the birthplace of St. Nicholas, the 4th century Byzantine bishop who later became the legend of Santa Claus. It is also famous for its temple and oracle of Apollo. We stop to see some Lycian monuments whose outlook is stunning across the flats and sand dunes to the sea. Patara has a 20 km long sandy beach. The archaeological site at Patara is vast and would take several days to explore it all so we decide to continue to nearby Letoön.

Letoön

The first thing you see on arriving at Letoön is the amphitheatre, which has been partially excavated and in its time would have seated 5,000 people. As we get out of the van we are astounded by the deafening sound of frogs that are particularly loud right now as it is mating. The name Letoön originates from the story that Leto was a nymph who was made pregnant by Zeus. When Hera (Zeus's wife and sister) found out she was consumed by jealousy and intent on revenge she pursued the pregnant Hera. Leto arrived in Lycia and wished to drink at a spring but some herdsmen prevented her because they wanted the water for their animals. Later having given birth to the twins, Apollo and Artemis, Leto returned to the spring and turned all the herdsmen into frogs. There are still several springs at Letoön, which causes most of the site to be flooded for much of the year, hindering excavation but adding a romantic feel to the place. The site consists of three temples side by side; to Apollo, to Artemis and to Leto.

Xanthos

Xanthos was once the capital and grandest city of Lycia. In 1838 the British antiquarian and explorer, Charles Fellows, rediscovered it accidentally. This means that some of the best exhibits were taken to the British museum, which these days feels totally unacceptable but it did at least guarantee their survival unlike the many Lycian antiquities which were broken up and used in building projects or destroyed altogether.

Xanthos has a very sad history as twice its population chose to commit mass suicide rather than submit to invading forces. In 540 BC it was attacked by the Persians so the Xanthians put their families, servants and possessions into the citadel and burnt them whilst the men fought to their death. Centuries later in 42 BC the Roman army arrived under the leader Brutus and again the Xanthians showed their famous bravery (or perhaps stupidity). Brutus had a reputation for his ruthlessness so when he sent the Lycians a demand for money and men to serve in his army, 600 Lycians immediately killed themselves. Even Brutus was shocked by the Lycians' suicide and offered his soldiers a reward for each Xanthosian they could save. Only 150 citizens were rescued.

Xanthos is a fascinating site perched high above Kinik. One of the first monuments we see is the 5th century BC obelisk which has the longest Lycian inscription known to exist (250 lines) and has been invaluable in helping people to begin to understand the riddle of the difficult Lycian language.

Xanthos covers such a large area that we shall have to return to as we haven't got time to explore it all today but we have enough time to visit and appreciate the main sites; the amphitheatre, the 'Harpy' tomb and the 'Pillar' tomb that stand tall side by side, the acropolis and Roman-Byzantine street.

Kayaköy 15/02/2010 - 17/02/2010

We meet John and Bea Laughland with their friends Julia and Ray at the Poseidon Restaurant in Kayaköy. We shall be interviewing them as they have lived in Kayaköy for 20 years and they were one of the first in the area to buy an abandoned house that was in ruins and to restore it.

We talk about Kayaköy and the brutality of the population exchange. Apparently the Greeks were forced to leave within 24 hours and had to walk to a boat waiting for them in Fethiye, accompanied by their Turkish friends who presumed that they would return. They were not allowed to take any possessions just a few things that they could carry. People mainly took money, jewellery and bones or skulls of their ancestors, however on arrival at the port much of this was confiscated. The rest of their valuable possessions they left with their Turkish friends or neighbours, as they believed they would be returning. They also buried items in the area or in floors and walls of their houses, which explains why there are holes in the floor and walls of the church as when it was clear that the displaced population wouldn't be returning people believed that treasures were hidden in the church so they dug up the floors and hacked into the church walls. Bea explains that one of their neighbours has a trunk that was left with them for safekeeping by one of their Greek friends and contains their wedding dress and valued items. The owners never returned.

Outside of their schools, working and religious lives, the Turks and the Greeks went to the same coffeehouses, spent much of their time together and were well integrated; however, inter-marriages were not favoured. The war and the resulting population exchange tore these two communities apart and caused untold pain and suffering to the people who were forced to forsake their homes, their towns, their friends and their memories.

John explains that in 1957 there was a very strong earthquake, which flattened much of Fethiye as many of its buildings were built on reclaimed land so they do not have strong foundations. Kayaköy on the other hand is built into solid rock (Kayaköy means rock village) and therefore suffered minimal damage. The mayor of Fethiye gave permission for people to take building materials from the town to use in the construction or repair of their homes. Although many roofs had already collapsed any that were still intact were dismantled by the people of Fethiye. John also tells us that although there have been and there still are plans to restore the town as a tourist village or similar this would not be feasible due to the bedrock that the town is built on. The town has no sewerage system and it would be nearly impossible to build one due to this rock. When Kayaköy was inhabited each house had an outdoor toilet with a half spiral stonewall around so that passers by couldn't see in. The sewerage went into cracks in the rock or directly into the streets, which explains why there are so many fig trees around the town!

John and Bea tell us that the returning Turks were allocated houses by the government and if they didn't like the house that they were given then they could choose another. This is what happened with the Ekis family who by choosing one house after another ended up owning several houses. Most Turks did not want to move into the town's houses for a number of reasons. One reason is that it is thought you will be cursed if you move into someone else's house when you don't have the permission of the owner, they preferred to build new houses in the valley (often using stone from the old houses). The Turks also preferred to live near to their land on the valley floor rather than in the small houses of the town.

John and Bea were married in the abandoned chapel on the hill in Kayaköy in 1999 and it was the first Christian marriage that had happened there since it was abandoned.

We spend the night in the campervan parked in the car park at the Poseidon next to the abandoned town. The following morning we get up very early to film Kayaköy. As we are filming low cloud swirls in and envelops the town so we call off filming for breakfast after which we explore the town. It is so much bigger than we expected and covers several hillsides. In 1923 it supported a population of over 6000 living in about 1000 houses and had buildings that included 2 large churches, 14 chapels, 2 schools, 2 fountains, 2 windmills. We are rather overwhelmed to see so many abandoned buildings in one place. The houses are built into the hillsides in a way so that each house gets maximum sunlight. You can still see traces of the brightly coloured paintwork that once adorned the interior and a few of the exterior walls. The majority of the chimneystacks are still standing and you can see the fireplaces below them. There are large water cisterns attached to many of the houses where they would have collected rainwater. There are no roads through the town, just small paths and steps that are now quite precarious and over grown. It is very beautiful with all the wild flowers and bees buzzing around although there is also a very sad feeling seeing so many abandoned buildings whose inhabitants were forcibly displaced. We see mosaic floors made from small pebbles that were meticulously laid by the craftsmen of Kayaköy, especially in the courtyard of the main church. We spend the whole morning exploring, photographing and filming this incredible place.

After lunch we meet Hakan and Ali at the Levissi Garden Wine House and Restaurant in Kayaköy. The building was once the most important house in the village and was where the mayor lived. We are there to interview Ali whose family were resettled here when they came from Greece as part of the population exchange. Hakan who runs the restaurant with his partner has kindly come along to translate. Ali tells us that it took at least 25 years before they felt accepted and integrated into the local Turkish community and the same went for those sent to Greece. The Greeks mainly moved to the Nea Makri region near Athens where they founded a new settlement called Nea Levissi. After the interview we are invited for a coffee at Ali's house on the hill behind the restaurant and we meet his family.

After filming we see John and Bea outside the Poseidon and join them for some raki! Later we go to meet Jane Tuna-Akatay and Ali Ihsan Emre at the Cin Bal Restaurant. Jane is a journalist for the English daily newspaper called the Hürriyet Daily News and wants to interview us about our project over dinner. Click here to read the online version of this article on her blog. Ali is her friend who is a nature expert. We have a wonderful meal of slow cooked lamb and share some of our experiences with them as well as hearing fascinating tales from the two of them. We spend the night parked in the restaurant's car park. Click here to download the PDF of the printed article as it appeared in the Hurriyet Daily News on 22/02/2010 (unfortunately this version has some editorial errors in it)

The following morning we go to see John and Bea at their home to interview them and to film their house that they bought as an abandoned ruin and lovingly restored it maintaining many of the original features. They have a donkey called Dolly who they bought when they originally came to Kayaköy to transport water to the house, amongst other things. Dolly is now around 45 years old and starting to feel her age. John and Bea describe how the locals thought they were crazy when they chose to restore a derelict, old house rather than building a new one. They were the first in the area to take on such a project but now years later there are quite a few (mainly British) people who have done the same.

After filming we have coffee and some of Bea's wonderful homemade doughnuts on their terrace. Their friend, the Turkish photographer Faruk Abbas and his friends later join us. Faruk gives us a contact of his in Capadoccia who is also a photographer.

We reluctantly leave John and Bea's and Kayaköy to drive back to Kas. Not far from Kayaköy we stop briefly to photograph some abandoned houses that we come across in a small village.  They are in a very poor state of repair but have some interesting shelves inlaid in their interior walls.

Pinara 17/02/2010

On our way back to Kas we decide to detour to visit the ruins at Pinara, which John and Bea tell us are their favourites in the area. Pinara was one of the most important cities in ancient Lycia and dates back to the 5th century BC. As we approach the site we see the large red rock plateau that looms over the area and is honey combed with tombs. It is a spectacular site. Apparently there would have originally been stone doors on each of these tombs but due to erosion and possibly earthquakes these no longer exist. These tombs could only have been made by abseiling down with ropes and hanging cradles, which shows how much importance they put on death and the disposal of bodies. Pinara covers a vast area and much of it has not yet been excavated. Some of the buildings have clearly been damaged by earthquakes as pillars and huge stone blocks lie dismantled on the ground. What really strikes us (besides the incredible views across the lowlands to the mountains beyond) is the mixture of civilisations that is evident here as you see Roman amphitheatres situated alongside ancient Lycian tombs and Byzantine theatres. The whole area is of such outstanding natural beauty and it is so unspoilt that you feel like you are the first people to explore it.

Kas again 17/02/10-28/02/10

From Pinara we drive back to Kas and the following day we go to meet Dr. Tricia Emptage, who as we mentioned earlier is a cultural anthropologist and is author of the book 'The Road to Ruins: Lycian Turkey to Kas' (ISBN: 978-975-01963-3-1). We decide to interview her in front of the amphitheatre on the outskirts of Kas. The amphitheatre is in a beautiful position looking out to sea.

Tricia gives us a brilliant interview and is very concise with her answers, something that we have found can be difficult to achieve with interviewees who want to talk endlessly on their subject! She briefly describes reasons why people have abandoned places throughout history with a particular focus on Turkey. We share some Jack Daniels in the back of the van afterwards to say thank you and to relax after the interview!

By now we have been in the Kas area for nearly 7 weeks so we decide that we really must leave by the end of the month. Before that we are invited to Michael and Muge's for dinner...fabulous! We then organise some drinks and nibbles at our place for Michael, Muge and Fleur to say goodbye and thanks for everything.

Goodbye Lantana garden apartment and hello open road!

To discover more about project 'Abandoned?' visit www.wasabandoned.com