There have been messages on F.B. Forums and on Trip Advisor that people have been stopped. Apparently the Jandarma went into a bar in Fethiye and asked everyone for their passports. Copies will not do as a copy can be faked. Also another lady wrote that the police stopped a Dolmus and asked all the Turks for their I.D. She was the only Brit and she did have her passport. One lady ex-pat was escorted back to her house to show her passport. Another guy on T.A was taken to the Police Station and fined. He was furious and wrote on T.A to complain.
This rule has always been the same Turks carry I.D. Foreigners told to carry Passports. Now in the present situation it is being enforced and is there to protect us.
If you carry a wallet, money, a phone etc., Do you expect to lose them? Same with a passport just carry it with your other things. We carried ours around for a month with no problems. We also have copies of our passports in the safe.