With our home safely anchored in the well protected bay of Fethiye, we rented a scooter to explore the surroundings for a day. A fun day with a not so happy ending.
We went to the old abandoned city of Kayakoy, about 8 Km South of Fethiye and known as Leivissi before the evacuation 100 years ago.
During WWI and its aftermath (1914 – 1922) several hundred thousand Christian Ottoman Greek died during the Greek Genocide perpetrated by the Government of the Ottoman Empire. An estimated 1.2 million refugees and survivors fled to Greece, adding almost a quarter to the then Greek population of 5 million.
WWI ended in 1918 for most of the world but for Turkey it ended with the recapture of Smyrna (now Izmir) from the Greeks at the end of the Greco – Turkish war 1919 – 1922. The Treaty of Lausanne 1923 recognised the independence of the Republic of Turkey and provided for the Greek – Turkish population exchange.
The new state of Turkey envisioned the population exchange as a way to formalize and make permanent the flight of its native Greek Orthodox peoples while initiating a new exodus of a smaller number (400,000) of Muslims from Greece into Turkey as a way to provide settlers for the depopulated Orthodox villages of Turkey. Greece meanwhile saw it as a way to provide propertyless Greek Orthodox refugees from Turkey with lands of expelled Muslims.
However Muslims refused to repopulate Kayakoy, according to local tradition, because it was “infested with the ghosts of Leivisians massacred in 1915”. So the village remained empty. Many of the empty houses were damaged during the 1957 earthquake that also devastated Fethiye and Marmaris. Nature took back the rest.
Most of the village was build in the 18th Century and in its heydays had 8,000 to 10,000 inhabitants. The two story houses are free standing, had a living area of about 50 m2 and had a cistern on the property. The villagers were mostly professional craftsmen, especially leather products.
There is one house where the wooden parts of structure and interior are still in tact.
After lunch we headed further South to have a look at the “Blue Lagoon” an in land saltwater lake connected to the sea via a narrow passage. The beach along the headland of the lagoon serves as landing strip for paragliders.
Inside the beautiful land-locked bay that is closed to yachts since 1983 to prevent pollution.
A little further South is Butterfly Beach, at the bottom of an almost vertical ravine, resulting in spectacular views.
It is said that Butterfly-beach hosts butterflies all year round but we didn’t have the urge to go down to verify. It was late afternoon and time to head back to Fethiye anyway.
On the winding Kaya road going downhill in a righthand hairpin it happened: The frontwheel slipped from under the scooter and we fell on our right side. Frits fell on his shoulder breaking his collar bone. Liza got away with some minor bruise’s (fortunately).
The car driving in front of us immediately stopped, offered assistance and called an ambulance and the police. The ambulance arrived at the scene amazingly quick (within 10 minutes as derived from the foto timer) and the medics were very skilled and professional.
Frits was admitted in Private Lokman Hekim Esnaf Hospital. Since it was too cumbersome for Liza to travel back and forth to the boat by dinghy she could stay with Frits in the hospital.
The operation was scheduled for 12.00 noon the next day.
Frits was released from the hospital at 23.00 hrs the day of the operation. The time in hospital from admission to release was 30 hours.
We want to thank Op. Dr. Tanzer GÜRCÜ and his team for the successful operation. Frits’ arm is fully functional and he stopped taking painkillers two days after the operation.
Hi Frits & Lisa,
Just now read your above blog & about the accident. Hope Frits is now recovering well. Must have been stressful last few days for Lisa too.
I keep reading your blog intermittently however today’s news was a shocker that prompted me to write.
Wishing speedy recovery to Frits.
Hello Milind, thank you for the message. I am recovering amazingly fast which is, I believe, proof of the surgeon’s’ skill. Liza is doing fine as well. We are already on the move again. I will continue updating the blog on an (ir)regular basis and thank you for your interest in our travels. Warm regards, Liza and Frits.
Keep safe. I am enjoying your pictures and stories but got shaken with the accident. Thank you for sharing your stories with us.
Dear Marilyn. First of all, thank you for your interest in our blog and reading our stories. Secondly, I am recovering well and Liza is doing fine. We are already sailing again. Warm regards Liza and Frits.
Dear Liza & Frits,
In the firtst place happy Birthday for Liza
& congratulated with the quick recovery of Frits, allowing you reenter floating home, ‘Home Sweet Home’, or as we say in Dutch:
“Zo als het klokje thuis tikt, tikt het nergens !”.
We enjoy the fantastic recordings of your journy, the photo’s, video’s, maps and scenic- and historic descriptions. I think its worthwhile to bundle them eventually, like a nowadays version of Homerus ‘Ilias and Odysee’.
Thanks also for the final version the video of your wedding party, we enjoyed it with very good memoires.
All the best with both of you and the healing of Frits’s shoulder!
Dear Frits & Ineke. Thank you for your well wishings and the fact that you enjoy our stories and video’s. We are recovering quick and have sailed to our next destination already. In a few days we will post a story on Liza’s birthday. Warm regards and stay in touch, Liza and (the other) Frits.
Wishing Ftritz a Speedy Recovery..
With best Wishes and Regards,
Subramanyam S
Thank you Rajan. Frits is recovering very quick andLiza is doing well also. Warm regards, Liza and Frits.