Although the Teke peninsula has been occupied since the stone age it seems Kaş was founded by the Lycians, and its name in Lycian language was Habesos or Habesa. It was a member of theLycian League, and its importance during this time is confirmed by the presence of one of the richest Lycian necropolis.
The ancient Greeks later gave it the name of Antiphéllos or Antíphilos, since it was the harbor in front of the city of Phellos. During the Roman period, Antiphéllos was famous for exporting spongesand timber. Pliny the Elder refers to the town in the fifth book of his NaturalisHistoria. After 395 the town became part of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine) and during the early Middle Ages was a bishop's see - and as Antiphellus is still a titular see.
The town suffered because of Arab incursions, then was annexed (under the name of Andifli) to the AnatolianSultanate of Rüm, led by the Seljuks. After the demise of the Seljuks, it came under the Ottomans.
In 1923, because of the Exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey after the Greco-Turkish War, the majority of the population, which was of Greek origin, left the town for Greece. Abandoned Greek houses can still be seen at Kaş.
In the early 1990s tourism started booming in Kaş, with visitors mainly from the UK and Germany. This growth of tourism brought an explosion in apartment building (often without license), which is seriously threatening the landscape and the environment. Particularly affected is the beautiful Çukurbağ Peninsula, west of the town, which now has luxury hotels built on it
