Fethiye

This article is about the city and district of Muğla Province. For other uses, see Fethiye (disambiguation).

Fethiye
—  City  —
Location of Fethiye within Turkey.
Coordinates: 36°39′5″N 29°7′23″E / 36.65139°N 29.12306°E / 36.65139; 29.12306Coordinates: 36°39′5″N 29°7′23″E / 36.65139°N 29.12306°E / 36.65139; 29.12306
Country	Turkey
Region	Aegean
Province	Muğla
Government
– Mayor	Behçet Saatçi (MHP)
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
– Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Postal code	48x xx
Area code(s)	00 (90) 252
Licence plate	48
Website	www.fethiye.bel.tr

Historic map of Fethiye by Piri Reis

Fethiye (Greek: Μάκρη, "Makri") is a city and district of Muğla Province in the Aegean region of Turkey with about 68,000 inhabitants (2008).

History

Modern Fethiye is located on the site of the ancient city of Telmessos, the ruins of which can be seen in the city, e.g. the Hellenistic theatre by the main quay.

Telmessos was the most important city of Lycia, with a recorded history starting in the 5th century BC.

A Lycian legend explains the source of the name Telmessos as follows^{[citation needed]}: The god Apollo falls in love with the youngest daughter of the King of Phoenicia, Agenor. He disguises himself as a small dog and thus gains the love of the shy, withdrawn daughter. After he reappears as a handsome man, they have a son, whom they name 'Telmessos' (the land of lights). The city became part of the Persian Empire after the invasion of the Persian King Harpagos in 547 BC, along with other Lycian and Carian cities. Telmessos then joined the Attic-Delos Union established in mid-5th century BC. and, although it later left the union and became an independent city, continued its relations with the union until the 4th century BC.

The oracle of Telmessos, devoted to Apollo, had great impact on the course of ancient history.^{[clarification needed]}

Legend says that Alexander the Great, on a mission to invade Anatolia in the winter of 334–333 BC, entered Telmessos harbour with his fleet. The commander of the fleet, Nearchus, asks permission of King Antipatrides of Telmessos for his musicians and slaves to enter the city. On getting the permission, the warriors with weapons hidden in the flute boxes capture the acropolis during the feasts held at night.

By the 10th century, it came to be called Makri (< μακρή 'distant'), after the name of the island at the entrance to the harbor.

Telmessos was ruled by the Anatolian beylik of Menteşe starting in 1284, under the name Megri. It became part of the Ottoman Empire in 1424.

Fethiye was formerly known as Makri (Μάκρη); while it received a considerable amount of Turkish population from the Greek Islands and mainland Greece under the terms of the 1923 exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey, the Greeks deported from the area founded the town of Nea Makri (New Makri) in Greece.

In 1934, the city was renamed 'Fethiye' in honor of Fethi Bey, one of the first pilots of the Ottoman Air Force, killed on an early mission.

Fethiye has experienced many earthquakes. Last significant ones date to 1957 and 1961, with 67 casualties and 3200 damaged buildings after the 25.04.1957 earthquake.^[1] The town has been rebuilt since then and now has a modern harbor and a marina.

Tourism

Ölüdeniz Beach, Fethiye, Turkey

Fethiye is one of Turkey's well-known tourist centres and is especially popular during the summer.

In the last ten years Fethiye has become a magnet for British citizens. Apart from its climate and natural beauty, the Britons are attracted by its less expensive lifestyle and the hospitality of the local people. The British population in Turkey is between 34,000 and 38,000. As a result of the large British population and the high numbers of Britons going there for holiday, Fethiye-Öludeniz was chosen as the best tourism centre in the world by The Times and The Guardian newspapers in 2007. Over 7,000 British citizens permanently live in Fethiye, while approximately 600,000 British tourists visit the town every summer.

The Fethiye Museum, which is very rich in ancient and more recent artifacts, displays and testifies to the successive chain of civilizations that existed in the area, starting with the ancient Lycians.

Fethiye is also home to the Tomb of Amyntas, a large and beautiful tomb built in 350 BC by the Lycians. What makes this tomb very unique is its massive size and beautiful carvings.^[2]

Climate

Fethiye has a Mediterranean climate consisting of very hot, long and dry summers with an average of 34°C (93°F) in the daytime, winters are cool and rainy with a daytime average of 16°C (61°F).

Climate data for Fethiye
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	16.0 (60.8)	16.3 (61.3)	18.9 (66.0)	22.0 (71.6)	26.4 (79.5)	31.4 (88.5)	34.3 (93.7)	34.4 (93.9)	31.3 (88.3)	26.5 (79.7)	21.1 (70.0)	17.2 (63.0)	24.65 (76.37)
Average low °C (°F)	5.3 (41.5)	5.7 (42.3)	7.2 (45.0)	10.1 (50.2)	13.8 (56.8)	17.6 (63.7)	20.3 (68.5)	20.2 (68.4)	16.9 (62.4)	13.1 (55.6)	9.1 (48.4)	6.6 (43.9)	12.16 (53.88)
Precipitation mm (inches)	159.8 (6.291)	128.4 (5.055)	80.1 (3.154)	49.0 (1.929)	25.8 (1.016)	4.8 (0.189)	3.1 (0.122)	2.6 (0.102)	17.6 (0.693)	66.7 (2.626)	123.3 (4.854)	174.1 (6.854)	835.3 (32.886)
Avg. rainy days	12.1	11.3	9.0	8.0	4.4	2.2	1.4	1.6	2.5	5.7	8.3	12.1	78.6
Sunshine hours	145.7	156.8	213.9	237	300.7	342	359.6	344.1	294	244.9	165	127.1	2,930.8
Source: Devlet Meteoroloji İşleri Genel Müdürlüğü [3]

See also

• Turkish Riviera
• Marinas in Turkey
• Foreign purchases of real estate in Turkey
• Göcek
• Ölüdeniz
• Lycia
• Tomb of Amyntas

References

1. ^ "Significant Earthquakes in Turkey, 1947 – 1970". Boğaziçi University, Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Center, Istanbul – Turkey. http://www.koeri.boun.edu.tr/sismo/Depremler/tLarge1.htm. Retrieved 2011-02-25. 
2. ^ Berens, Kallie. "Fethiye Tomb in the Mountainside". Mysendoff.com Website. mysendoff.com. http://mysendoff.com/2011/06/fethiye-tomb-in-the-mountain-side/. Retrieved 19 October 2011. 
3. ^ İl ve İlçelerimize Ait İstatistiki Veriler- Meteoroloji Genel Müdürlüğü. Dmi.gov.tr. Retrieved on 2011-04-16.