TURKIYE: Kayakoy, Now A Ghost Village

Kayakoy was a Greek village in southwest Turkiye that was founded in the 14th century. 

Fast forward to the early 1900's and it was occupied by about 10,000 inhabitants consisting of Turkish Muslims and Greek Orthodox Christians. 

The Turkish Muslims generally lived on the valley floor and were farmers, while the Greek Christians generally lived in the hills and were artisans. Their cultures and social activities combined and they mingled together peacefully. 

Then after the Greco-Turkish war of 1919-1923, the Turkish Christians and the Greek Muslims were expelled from their homes and re-patriated to their "countries of origin". This meant the Greek Orthodox Christians were expelled from Turkey, and, the Greek Muslims were expelled from Greece. It was basically a swap, despite the people had not lived in their "home" country for generations and centuries. 

The purpose was to ensure that each country had mainly just one religion. 

In the village of Kayakoy, 6,500 Greek Orthodox left Turkey to "return" to Greece. They generally settled NE of Athens where the terrain was similar to what they had left in Turkey.

The Greek Muslim farmers that were exiled from Greece tried farming around Kayakoy, but found the rocky terrain too difficult to cultivate. So the village struggled to return to its pervious community.

Then, in 1957 a 7.1 magnitude earthquake rattled the hillside village.

The homes, churches, schools and cafes were never rebuilt and just remained deserted. 

It has now been granted Museum Status which will save it from mass tourism development.

As I walked through I couldn't help but look at it through my "modern" and "western" eyes. 

The hills were steep and I can imagine the people would have had to be in great shape from negotiating them everyday. But I also thought about older people or ones with handicaps and their daily challenges with the hills. 

I also wondered what it would have been like for the women in the villages as primary caregivers and homemakers. I imagine the homes would have been dark with few windows. How would they have cooked their meals, cleaned their clothes, and all the other daily tasks? 

I felt very privileged that our lives are so much easier with our modern conveniences.

But, looking at it through "modern" and "western" eyes perhaps misses the simplicity and peacefulness of their lives in a simpler time.

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