GEMILE ISLAND (St.Nicholas)

It is located at the entrance of Kaya Koyu, 9 kms. from Fethiye. The island was prominent due to the holy status of St.Nicholas during the 6th century. It was greatly damaged during the raids of Arab countries in midseventh century and was abandoned. The immigrants were banished to the interior and north of Anatolia. The status of the city is not known during the Byzantian-Seljukian conflicts during the 12th century. However, at the time of the Crusaders, Byzantians strenghtened their position in the region and the island regaianed its prominence with new settlements. During the first years of the Byzantian Empire and the Second Crusade, as well as later campaigns, the island was one of the stopovers of the Christian pilgrims and soldiers, on their way to the Eastern Mediterranean shores and visiting the holy places dedicated to saints on their route.

Following the conquest of Istanbul in 1204 by Latins, the Byzantian administration had control over the island until the end of the 13th century, with the assistance of the Hospitalier Knights, At the end of the century, the island under the rule of the knights and, parallel to the turnovers in Anatolia, with the loss of Asia Minor, its prominence diminished. 

One of the churches on the island is at the west end on the coast, in ruins. A second church with its semi-dome is also at the west end of the island. The third church was built early in the sixth century and is at the summit of the island, at an altitude of 99 meters. Built in honour of St. Nicholas, the church has three passages and is 30 meters long. The floor is decorated with mosaics and the corridors, passageways and entrances facilitate touring around the building. The city is intersected by a wall surrounding the summit on the northern, slope. Among the ruins surviving to our time, there are cisterns, the watch tower on the hill, grain depots and graves. On the Karacaören Island nearby, there are ruins of a church and evidence of settlement.