Kayakoy - The Abandoned Town

By about 1922 the town of Kayakoy was abandoned, following persecution of the ethnic Greeks who lived there during the Greco-Turkish War (1919 - 1922) and the final eviction of those still remaining, who went back to Greece to restart their lives.  The plan was to do a "population swap", with Turkish Greeks swapping villages with Greek Turks, but the Turks who were assigned to the fomerly Greek village of Kayakoy did not want to live there and instead it became a ghost town.

No maintenance for 100 years, this is what happens.

As has happened a few times on this tour we came across a wedding party doing a photography shoot in this desolate place.

Inside the old church

There were also a few stalls selling crafts in the village, as well as a restaurant at the entrance.  This is also the case in many such historic sites on the tourist trail.

Hanging ornament incorporating cinnamon sticks

Leatherwork books for sale