Exploring the Ghost town of Kayakoy

You know me and my fascination with dark tourism.

Last year I went to Kupari resort in Croatia and it still remains the most fascinating place I’ve ever been. Earlier this year I finally made it to Chernobyl, and thankfully… Also made it out.

So whilst in Turkey of course we had to get over to what is now known as ‘Kaya Ghost Village’.

Also named the town of Kayaköy, this place used to be home to many Greek residents. The history is very interesting and worth a read. Since I’m not the best at explaining historical events, I’ll leave you to do your own research. But imagine for now you have an abandoned village where hundreds of empty houses still stand.. That’s Kayaköy.

We jumped on a Dolmus from Hisaronu, the place I blogged about earlier and you can read about here. It’s not far from here at all and well worth a visit.

Best to go in the morning since it gets very hot when climbing to get to the top!

We passed hundreds of empty buildings, schools, houses, churches.. It really makes you imagine what it must have been like to leave just like that.

All the buildings are open for you to explore however there is nothing in them of course. Very overgrown and hard to reach all of them but interesting all the same.

We walked up to the very top where we had far reaching views of the village and even the ocean in the distance.

Here now stands a lonely Turkish flag blowing in the gentle ocean breeze.

I love to visit places like this as it really opens my eyes to history and tests my imagination. Some things I don’t want to imagine and I find it hard to believe they ocur in the world we live in. Unfortunately they do, but it’s important to learn from them and hope that society too will learn and have history not repeat itself.

Stepping in to Kayakoy is like nothing you would ever witness in the UK. It’s like a village that stopped in its tracks and time forgot. I hope that one day something might be done to restore what could be and probably was once a beautiful place to live.

Until then, don’t miss your chance to go visit a real piece of history.

Kayakoy is located in Southwestern Turkey near to Fethiye. It has a very small entrance fee and can be reached by public transport or guided tours. Make your own way here so you can really take your time to discover the place at your own pace.