Abstract The Plio-Quaternary Eşen Çay Basin is situated at the junction of Hellenic and Cyprus arcs in southwestern Turkey. The basin is important for understanding the tectonic evolution of the region in relation to the Hellenic and Cyprus arcs. Fault data from unconsolidated Pliocene and Quaternary deposits, as well as from pre-Pliocene lithologies, are analysed in order to reconstruct the evolution of the stress field evolution from Pliocene onwards. Inversion of measured fault slip vector data identifies two main stress states: extensional and strike-slip. Both states are characterized by a NE–SW-trending minimum horizontal stress axis (σ Hmin =σ 3 ). The mean R value is 0.67, indicating a triaxial state of stress. The inversion also indicates the existence of extensional and strike-slip faulting characterized by a NW–SE-trending σ 3 axis. This indicates a change in the direction of the minimum horizontal stress axis (σ 3 ) from a NW–SE-trending σ 3 that dominated prior to Quaternary to a NE–SW-trending σ 3 that dominated during Quaternary up to actual time.