Fethiye History: Telmessos, Lycians and the Population Exchange

Modern Fethiye sits on the site of ancient Telmessos — one of the most important Lycian cities, famous throughout the ancient world for its oracle of divination. The rock tombs cut into the cliff above the modern town are the most immediate physical reminder of this history; the ghost village of Kayaköy (8km away) is the most vivid physical record of the 20th century’s most significant demographic event — the 1923 Greco-Turkish population exchange.

For the sites to visit, see things to do in Fethiye.

Lycia: the civilisation behind the tombs

The Lycians were a people of western Anatolian origin who inhabited the coastal and mountain zone between modern Fethiye and Antalya from at least the 2nd millennium BCE. They spoke a language (Lycian) related to but distinct from Luwian and other Anatolian languages; their script was deciphered using the Trilingual Stele from Letoön (now in the Fethiye Museum and the British Museum).

Lycian culture had several distinctive features that set it apart from contemporary Greek and Persian civilisations:

Rock tombs: The Lycians cut elaborate tomb facades directly into cliff faces — the Ionic-columned facades (as at the Amyntas Tomb above Fethiye) imitate the fronts of temple buildings in stone. These were aristocratic tombs; the inscriptions identify occupants by family lineage.

Political structure: Lycian cities organised into the Lycian League — an early democratic confederation of city-states with proportional representation based on city size. The United States’ founders reportedly studied the Lycian League as a model for federal governance.

Religious tradition: The sanctuary at Letoön (near modern Xanthos) was the religious centre of the Lycian League — dedicated to Leto, mother of Apollo and Artemis. The trilingual inscription (Greek, Lycian, Aramaic) found there was key to deciphering Lycian.

Telmessos: the oracle city

Ancient Telmessos — the city beneath modern Fethiye — was famous throughout the ancient world for its diviners. The Telmessians were believed to have a hereditary gift of prophecy, particularly through dream interpretation. Alexander the Great consulted Telmessian seers during his campaigns.

The city thrived under successive rulers — Persian, Hellenistic, and Roman — without losing its Lycian character entirely. The harbour position (the same harbour now used as Fethiye marina) made it commercially important throughout antiquity.

The Amyntas Tomb (4th century BCE): Named for its inscription, the Amyntas Tomb is the finest and largest of the Telmessos rock tombs — an Ionic-columned facade cut into the cliff, facing west. It represents the pinnacle of Lycian funerary architecture and is one of the most photographed ancient monuments on the Turquoise Coast. Entry ₺100 to the tomb area.

Byzantine period and the medieval city

Christianity replaced the ancient Lycian-Roman religious traditions from the 4th century CE. Telmessos became a Byzantine bishopric; the ancient harbour and its infrastructure continued in use. The city’s name evolved through Byzantine usage.

The medieval period brought successive waves of instability — the 11th–15th century saw Arab raids, Crusader activity (the coast near Fethiye was within the Crusader sphere of influence at various points), and eventually Turkish consolidation. An Aydinid and later Menteşe principality held the area before Ottoman consolidation in the 15th century.

The Ottoman period and the Greek community

Under Ottoman rule, Fethiye (known then primarily as Makri) was a mixed community of Turks and Greek Orthodox Christians — the Greek community concentrated in the town that would become Kayaköy (known in Greek as Levissi). The two communities coexisted for centuries in the pattern typical of the Ottoman millet system.

The Greek community of Levissi was substantial — over 3,000 inhabitants by the late 19th century, with two Byzantine churches (Panagia Pyrgiotissa and Taxiarchis), a school, and a bishop’s residence. The town’s stone houses and the agricultural terraces around it represented several centuries of settled community life.

1923: the population exchange and Kayaköy

The Treaty of Lausanne (1923), which ended the Greco-Turkish War and established the borders of the modern Turkish state, mandated a compulsory population exchange between Greece and Turkey: Muslims living in Greece would move to Turkey; Orthodox Christians in Turkey would move to Greece, regardless of language spoken or personal preference.

The Greek Orthodox community of Levissi was relocated to Greece — primarily to the Piraeus area near Athens, where their descendants formed the community still known as “Levissians.” Turkish Muslim refugees from various parts of Greece were settled in the Fethiye area in exchange.

The incoming population chose not to settle in Levissi/Kayaköy — the reasons are not entirely clear (possibly the village’s association with the previous occupants, possibly practical reasons related to water supply or agricultural land allocation). The village was left empty.

Kayaköy today: The abandoned village — over 500 stone houses, two Byzantine churches with fragmentary frescoes, roofless since 1923 — is now a national heritage site (entry ₺100). It is one of the most powerful historic sites in Turkey precisely because it’s not ruined by time but by a political decision. The stone walls are intact; the rooms are empty; the churches’ floors still have their original stone. The absence is the monument.

20th century to present

A significant earthquake in 1957 destroyed much of old Fethiye town; the modern city was built largely after this disaster. The tourist development of Ölüdeniz began in the 1980s; the town has grown significantly since.

Historical timeline

Date	Event
2nd millennium BCE	Lycian settlement of the coast
6th–4th century BCE	Telmessos at its peak as a Lycian oracle city
4th century BCE	Amyntas Tomb constructed
334 BCE	Alexander the Great’s campaign through Lycia
4th century CE	Christianisation; becomes Byzantine bishopric
11th–15th century	Contested between Byzantine, Arab, and Turkish power
Ottoman period	Mixed Turco-Greek community in Fethiye and Levissi/Kayaköy
1923	Population exchange; Levissi Greeks relocated to Greece; Kayaköy abandoned
1957	Major earthquake; modern Fethiye rebuilt
1980s+	Tourist development of Ölüdeniz begins

For the Lycian context across the wider region, see Kaş history and Antalya history.