The Turkish authorities are considering to sell an abandoned Greek village Livissi / Kayaköy village, which is vacant since 1923, when the Greeks were exchanged at the end of the Greco-Turkish War. The "ghost city" will be put up for sale for €10.5m and leasehold for 49 years. At least two companies are interested in the auction, however, civil society organizations strongly opposed it, the ee24.com portal informs citing the Turkish media.
The new auction is scheduled on October 23, 2014. The Turkish authorities expect that the successful bidder will restore the abandoned village, resume archaeological excavations and use the area for tourism purposes for 49 years. However, it has been discussed in 2013, but the auction was failed.
Uninhabited Kayaköy locates near Fethiye, popular Turkish resort on the Mediterranean Sea, and dates back to the 18th century, when the Greeks settled on the ruins of the ancient Karmilessus. The city's fate is tragic: earthquakes in 1856 and 1957, a big fire in 1885 ... and the finale – a forced exchange of the Greek and Turkish populations in 1923. Now in Livissi / Kayaköy village hundreds of houses and two churches are empty.
Livissi / Kayaköy village, Google Maps
Photo: wikipedia.org