Kayaköy or Levissi in Greek is a village 8 km south of Fethiye in southwestern Turkey, built on the site of the ancient city of Carmylessus in the mid-18th century, where Anatolian Greek speaking Christians lived until approximately 1923 when the village was abandoned after a population exchange between Greece and Turkey. Since then it operates as a museum and historical monument with around 500 intact Greek-style houses and two Greek Christian churches.
Ninety years ago, in a sweeping ethnic and religious cleansing, its long-time Greek inhabitants were uprooted and moved out of Turkey. They left behind a picturesque Anatolian village of once-grand churches, squares and water fountains, all piled onto the hillside of the Taurus Mountains. The ghost town now serves as a stopping place for tourists visiting Fethiye and nearby Ölüdeniz.
Its population in 1900 was about 2,000, almost entirely Greek Christians, but it is now essentially empty except for tour groups and roadside vendors selling handmade goods and items scavenged from the former village. However, there are a selection of houses which have been restored and are currently occupied.
Kayaköy was adopted by UNESCO as a World Friendship and Peace Village.
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