Gemiler Island

Overview

Gemiler Island rises from the sea off Kayaköy, and Byzantine church ruins climb its slopes. It lies about 9 km (5.6 miles) south of Fethiye, near Ölüdeniz. The island is about 1 km (0.6 mile) long and 400 meters (1,310 feet) wide. Its southern slope drops steeply, while the northern side rises more gently. Our Fethiye Kekova gulet charter can anchor here on the way to Kekova.

In Turkish it is Gemiler Adası, although you will see it spelled Gemile as well. In the Middle Ages, its name was Saint Nicholas Island.

Quick facts

• Good for: Byzantine church ruins, a climb on footpaths, a stop on a blue cruise

The churches of Gemiler Island

Four church ruins stand on the island, along with the houses, tombs and cisterns of a medieval settlement. Surveys on and around the island and nearby Karacaören Island found 11 basilica-type churches. Some had mosaic floors, now damaged, and religious frescoes on their walls.

Church 3 stands on the highest point of the island, and it has a basilica plan. The builders used local stone with little brick, and they cut some foundations into the rock. Part of the remains now lies under the sea, so walls show below the surface.

The vaulted passage to the hilltop

A vaulted passage about 160 meters (525 feet) long and 2.5 meters (8 feet) wide runs between churches on the hilltop. Below it, a wall divided the sacred upper area from homes and trading buildings.

A protected island off Kayaköy

Gemiler Island is an archaeological site, and you need a ticket to visit it. It lies within the Fethiye–Göcek Special Environmental Protection Area as well, declared in 1988. Besides the island, the area takes in Ölüdeniz and the village of Kaya.

A Pilgrim Island Without Fresh Water

The island has no spring of drinking water, yet its slopes are crowded with buildings, so its cisterns stored the rain. Taken together with the churches at Symbolon, today’s Ölüdeniz, the island may even have been the seat of a bishop. Its pull came from the sea, because Christians on pilgrimage by ship stopped here. The fresco in Church 2 is linked with Saint Nicholas of Sion, a monk born at Alacahisar near Demre, so the church is known as the Church of Saint Nicholas. To reach it, our Gemiler Island boat tour takes you across for the day.

Seeing Gemiler Island with Us

Would you like to see Gemiler Island from the deck of a gulet? Our blue cruise sails the coast around Fethiye, so a day on the water can take in Butterfly Valley too. Send us your dates, and we will plan where the gulet anchors and when you go ashore to the churches. For the wider area, start with our guide to Fethiye.

History

Pilgrims and traders on Gemiler Island

People settled on the island from the 5th century AD. Later, the many churches served Christians who came by ship on pilgrimage. Sea trade with the Near East and Europe brought ships here as well.

Japanese excavations on Gemiler Island

A Japanese team surveyed the island's surface in 1990. Then, from 1995 to 2003, the Fethiye Museum dug here with Osaka University. Kazuo Asano headed the work, and his team numbered the churches. In 2010, Osaka University Press published the two-volume results, edited by Asano.

Gemiler Island and Saint Nicholas

In the apse of Church 2, a fresco carries the words "Hossios Nikolaos." Still, one point is not confirmed. No one can yet say that this Nicholas is the saint linked with Demre and known as Santa Claus.

For the saint himself, see Saint Nicholas of Myra; for his city, see Myra and the Church of St. Nicholas.

How to Visit

The island is a ticketed site, and its contact is the Fethiye Museum. We arrange your entry to Gemiler Island together with the boat.

Reaching Gemiler Island by boat

Boats cross to the island from Gemiler Bay near Kayaköy. Day boats from Fethiye stop here as well. The island lies on the route of blue cruise gulets, too. After landing, you walk up to the churches on footpaths.

The Blue Voyage, or Mavi Yolculuk, is the gulet cruise of this coast. Its charter routes run along Fethiye, Kaş and Kalkan, among other coasts.

Updated: October 25, 2026.