The Ghosts of Kayaköy
Someone was singing a sombre tune a distance away, their amplified voice carried in a breeze that shuffled the leaves above. For a moment, I wondered where I was, only vaguely feeling sleepiness and contentment. As I opened my eyes, my other senses also awoke. I was lying on a floor cushion in an open air restaurant, and looked over to see Rob similarly reclined. We had commenced our multi-day hike from Fethiye to Alınca, and had come to our half-way point for the day in Kayaköy.
Around us, the houses of the expansive hillside village stared through empty windows, roofs long gone and hollowed remains slowly decaying. The buildings were once alive with a community of Greek Christians (who knew the town as Livissi), but the fall of the Ottoman Empire led to a population exchange between Greece and Turkey. Christian Greeks were expelled from Turkey, and Muslim Turks where forced to leave their homes in Greece, totalling nearly 2 million displaced people between the two countries. For nearly 100 years, Kayaköy has been empty, nature slowly taking back the land and breaking up the cobblestone paths.
We recommenced our hike and ascended the hill until a panorama of terraced stone walls jutted out of the grassy landscape, silently filling our vision. They appeared as ancient as any ruins but carried a modern tragedy that is still felt by Greek and Turk families today.
Around us, the houses of the expansive hillside village stared through empty windows, roofs long gone and hollowed remains slowly decaying. The buildings were once alive with a community of Greek Christians (who knew the town as Livissi), but the fall of the Ottoman Empire led to a population exchange between Greece and Turkey. Christian Greeks were expelled from Turkey, and Muslim Turks where forced to leave their homes in Greece, totalling nearly 2 million displaced people between the two countries. For nearly 100 years, Kayaköy has been empty, nature slowly taking back the land and breaking up the cobblestone paths.
Image courtesy YellAli.com
We recommenced our hike and ascended the hill until a panorama of terraced stone walls jutted out of the grassy landscape, silently filling our vision. They appeared as ancient as any ruins but carried a modern tragedy that is still felt by Greek and Turk families today.
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