History

If you ask who the Lycians are, we can say that they are not the first civilization to find money :) Lycians and Lydians are often confused. The first civilization to find money was the Lydians and they lived around Manisa. Lycians, on the other hand, are an advanced people who migrated from Crete to Anatolia and established their own civilization around Fethiye. Lycia means the land of light.

In ancient times, Telmessos was known as an important trade center and port city. Telmessos, which was under the domination of various civilizations such as Caria, Lycia and Persians.It came under the rule of Alexander the Great in 334 BC. After Alexander's death, the city came under the control of the Seleucid Empire. It was connected to the Lagos Dynasty in Egypt for a while, and to the Kingdom of Pergamon (Bergama) in 188 BC. Pergamum Kingdom BC. Although it remained independent for a short time after its collapse in 133 BC, it could not resist the growing Roman Empire.

During the Roman Empire, Telmessos continued to remain an important port city. The theater built during the imperial period was one of the most important structures of the ancient city, which is still located in the center of Fethiye. Telmessos was invaded by Arabs in the 7th century and then came under the rule of the Byzantine Empire.

It was conquered by Menteseogullari in the 13th century and by the Ottomans in 1424. During the Ottoman period, Fethiye remained a village.

Beskaza and from Megri to Fethiye

Fethiye's name was Megri during the Ottoman period. This name is thought to be derived from the Greek word makri, which means "far place". It is also seen that Fethiye is called Beskaza among the locals. The reason for this is that when Mentesogullari conquered the region, 5 judges were appointed here. For this reason, Fethiye is known as Beskaza, which means the place of five judges, especially by the nomadic people.

Fethiye turns into a district center during the Republican period. The name of the district was changed to Fethiye in 1934. This name was given in memory of Martyr Captain Mehmet Fethi Bey, one of the first Turkish aviators.

Behcet Kemal Caglar wrote down the following lines for the deceased pilot, whose plane crashed around Damascus in 1914 and was martyred. .

"It is said that the lion has flown"
Child of this holy land Conquest
Of course always with your damn blow/
If the gaze is side and the purpose is curved
Look, it's Fethiye, thanks to Megri/
My eagle, this land is free in your shadow."