"Fethiye the Place of Fethi" Fethiye by Sirvictor

I was borned in Fethiye in July 17th 1941 in this house. The house was ruined during a earthquake in 1957. At the beginning of XX th century Fethiye was called Megri. It was rather then Turkish but a Greek town. The villages surraunding Megri was all Turkish except Kaya Koy. My mother's father Kamil Efendi (Sikman) was the mayor of the town. In 1912 Turkish Ottoman Government in Istanbul ordered a flight from Istanbul to Cairo to make propaganda to people in Egypt. Egypt was a Turkish territory occupaid by the British at the end of XIXth century. The pilots chosen to that expedition were navy captain Fethi Bey and his navigator second lieutanent Sadik Efendi. They flew over Taurus Mauntains first time in history and succesfully landed on Scham/ Damascus. They rested in Damascus 2 days and flew to Cairo. While flying over the Teberiyye Desert a sand storm caused disaster and the plane crashed to the earth. Fethi Bey and Sadik Efendi became the first Turkish air men who died in military service. As my Grandfather heard that accident he decited to change the Greek name and called the town as Fethiye which means "Place of Fethi"

Fethi Bey

Fethi Bey was borned in Ayazpasha/Istanbul. He graduated Naval School of War in 1907 as a second lieutanent. He was send to Britain for aviation and promoted to captain in 1911. He flew with his navigator Sadik Efendi a Bleriot XI/B plane called Muavenet-i Milliye from Istanbul to Egypt on Febraury, 8th 1912. His plane crashed on February, 22nd 1912 between Damascus and Tiberias ( Sea of Galilee ) in the valley of Hell.
Their eternal resting place is in Damascus in the garden of famous Selahaddin Eyyubi Mosque. Selahaddin Eyyubi is the famous Turkish Sultan who fought againts crusades commended by Richard the Lion hearted.

Sadik Efendi

Second Lieutenant Sadik Efendi ( navigator ) : He was born in Salonica ( Tselloniki ) and completed his elementary then middle school studies in Salonica and graduated from Manastir Military College as a lieutenant. He accompanied Enver Pasha to Benghazi during the war in Libya. When Enver Pasa became the Minister of Defence, Sadik Efendi was his aide-de champ. On the 8th February 1912 he accompanied Mehmet Fethi Bey as navigator.