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Post by Administrator on Nov 7, 2016 8:05:50 GMT 10
Thank you, afonso73 - we look forward to your post!
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Post by Administrator on Aug 11, 2016 8:38:46 GMT 10
Hi Karin,
Thanks for the update - and best wishes to your father for his forthcoming birthday!
If you have further Diamantis information/photos to share here, please do so.
Nicholas
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Post by Administrator on Apr 5, 2016 7:26:04 GMT 10
Hello Maria!
There are quite a few photos on this Forum on the pre-war school years. Please have a close look - they are easy to download.
Plus, please have a look at my Facebook page (Nick Pappas) where there are many more photos from those years.
Best wishes to all at the Santrapeia!
Nick
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Post by Administrator on Feb 22, 2016 8:34:44 GMT 10
Yes, that's correct. I am not aware of the name 'Spartalis' having any connection with the Peloponnesian town. All manifestations of the name that I have seen emanate from Castellorizo to which emigres from Isparta had relocated from around the middle of the 19th century. The name may also have been loosely used within Asia Minor for people from that town.
Can you tell us any more about 'Nastas' Spartalis? I would assume that his first name in Greek was 'Anastasios' and that 'Nastas' was an abbreviation. What can you tell us about him? Do his descendants still use that name?
The house looks wonderful - congratulations on its successful conversion into a museum. Do you have any internal shots to share?
Regards, Nicholas
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Post by Administrator on Feb 13, 2016 9:10:55 GMT 10
A beautiful image of an unidentified woman in her bridal costume in c. 1931. Thanks to the Tringali family of Rome! Nicholas
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Post by Administrator on Feb 13, 2016 9:00:51 GMT 10
An Island In Time, the seminal photographic history of Castellorizo between 1890-1948, is now out in a convenient softback edition. Full details on how to order your copy available here:
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Post by Administrator on Jan 29, 2016 7:09:13 GMT 10
And another representation of the traditional bridal attire, this one from 1925...
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Post by Administrator on Jan 21, 2016 10:42:27 GMT 10
And here's another rare image of an Air France seaplane being hauled into place after arrival.
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Post by Administrator on Jan 21, 2016 9:58:50 GMT 10
For detailed information about life on Castellorizo in its heyday, I would recommend An Island in Time by Nicholas Pappas and Nicholas Bogiatzis. Here are the details about ordering your copy - it has just been reissued in softback format.
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Post by Administrator on Nov 30, 2015 13:17:05 GMT 10
This documentary, CD soundtrack and accompanying book were launched in Athens by IDISME on 15 November 2015. Full details here:
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Post by Administrator on Nov 30, 2015 13:10:00 GMT 10
Another early 20th century depiction of a Castellorizian bridal costume, this one from the collection of the Benaki Museum in Athens: Nicholas
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Post by Administrator on Nov 26, 2015 8:01:48 GMT 10
Thanks, Aleksandar - a fascinating post from you!
Isparta in Anatolia was a mixed town until the exchange of Christian and Muslim populations in 1923-24. A 1909 census reports that there were 27,700 Turks living there at that time, compared to 4,643 Greeks and another 550 from other nationalities. There were 11 Christian churches and 3 Christian schools including a pre-school.
The Christian population of Isparta had close relations with the island of Castellorizo in the 19th century and the name 'Spartalis' that exists on the island is a remnant of that (literally, 'someone from Isparta').
If you have more information about this individual who settled in Serbia from Isparta in the first half of the 19th century, I would be grateful to receive it from you. It does appear to confirm that Greek Christians were leaving the heartland of the Ottoman Empire at around the time of the Greek revolution to settle elsewhere.
Nicholas
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Post by Administrator on Nov 9, 2015 13:28:57 GMT 10
As a further bit of info for you, the youngest sibling, Philip (Filipos), died on 1 March 1963 (aged 74), while his wife, Aikaterini, died on 12 August 1974 (aged 74). Both are buried at Botany Cemetery in Sydney.
Nick
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Post by Administrator on Nov 9, 2015 10:30:50 GMT 10
We are delighted to report that the bulk of the work on the restoration of the Monastery has now been completed. Here is an image of the exterior of the complex courtesy (again) of Fotini Halvantzi who has led the project from start to finish in sometimes challenging circumstances. It is planned to return the Monastery to its original use in the course of 2016 with the arrival of the island's first resident monk in over five decades. The completed Monastery will be open to the public for respectful visits and will include a small display area featuring a presentation on its fascinating history.
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Post by Administrator on Nov 5, 2015 11:03:16 GMT 10
Hi,
I have quite a bit of info on the Sakaris family which I always understood originated from Kalamaki - where did you find the reference to 'Saggario'? I am not aware of such a town in Asia Minor. In fact, my understanding of the surname is that it originates from the Turkish word 'sakar' which means 'unlucky'. But I may be wrong!
I do know from records I have seen that Stefanos and his wife Aikaterini (nee Topari) (Stefanos' parents were Philippos & Sophia (nee Epismataki)) married in Kalamaki at around the turn of the century. They settled on Castellorizo with their young children in around 1914 when the first exodus began.
Your grandmother Sophia married Kostas Koufos in 1923 on the island - I can send you a copy of their dowry contract if you don't have it. It provides for a gift of land in Kalamaki (sadly, there was still a hope at that stage that they would return). Kostas is described as a sailor by occupation.
Of the other siblings, there are municipal records for the marriages of Despina in 1933 (to Mihail K Amygdalos) and Themistokles (to Mihalakena K. Taliantzi - another Kalamaki family - in 1936).
Finally, there is a death entry for Stefanos himself who passed away on 27 July 1937 at the age of 67. His occupation is described as 'farmer'.
I hope this material is off assistance to you - if you have any photos of the Sakaris family either in Anatolia or on the island, I would love to see them!
Regards, Nick
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Post by Administrator on Jun 16, 2015 13:30:12 GMT 10
Hi Emma, Thanks for your post regarding Despina Achladhioti. Both surnames are the same - Achladhiotou is the more correct genitive version, but Achladioti is equally valid. As you might know, females adopt the genitive in their surnames in the Greek language. The male version is Achladhiotis (and means 'pear farmer'). Despina was born on Castellorizo in c.1902. Her maiden name was Despina Antoniou Christou Kypriou which signifies a Cypriot origin on her father's side. In 1922 she married Kostas Theodorou Achladhiotis and in 1927 they settled on the nearby islet of Rho (or Ayios Yeorgios, as it is sometimes known). They had no children and she remained there until her death. Relatives of her husband still live on Castellorizo and some of her distant relatives are to be found in the USA & Australia. Her story of defiantly raising the Greek flag on her small islet captivated the entire Greek nation, particularly after her husband's death when she lived there alone. I am attaching a photo of her taken at the time she was honoured by the Hellenic Republic. You should be able to find a lot more info about her interesting life online. Regards, Nicholas
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Post by Administrator on Jan 29, 2015 11:53:46 GMT 10
A terrific contribution, Antonio - thank you!
I think it's taken before the Feb '41 hostilities because the dikitirio is still undamaged. My guess would be that the photo was shot in around 1939-40.
Is there anything written on the rear?
Nicholas
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Post by Administrator on Sept 19, 2014 9:22:30 GMT 10
These are fantastic, alphonso73 - thank you so much! If you have in your collection any other material relating to seaplanes and Castelrosso which you can share, please do so! In the meantime, here is a photo of a seaplane on arrival at Castelrosso in c.1931. Nicholas
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Post by Administrator on Jul 30, 2014 12:46:59 GMT 10
Hi,
Given the breadth of your post, I have made my comments within your text.
Please see below in green text.
Thanks again for a great post.
Nicholas
Firstly, I would like to state that I value this forum and think that the ability to network with other Castellorizans and research ancestry is wonderful. Thank you to the administrators and creators. I am unsure whether this is appropriately placed in the genealogy section, but I posted it here because I think this gets the most exposure.
My question regards Castellorizan ethnic composition. As I comprehend it, Castellorizans were initially colonised by the Dorian Greeks and have had some influence from Italians and Ottoman Turks over time [correct me if I am wrong]. My grandfather was Australian-born to two Castellorizans, whose lineage, as far as paper genealogy shows, goes back to Castellorizo 100%. I was raised with the knowledge that I had Greek heritage, as was my mother [whose father was a Castellorizan]. Over the decades, this played a part in the formation of our identity and was something to take pride in.
You can imagine my horror, then, when a genetic ancestry test revealed that I am 0% ethnically Greek and am, rather, ethnically Italian and Middle Eastern/Turkish. This genetic ancestry test was conducted by 23andMe [https://www.23andme.com/], who provide a breakdown of your ethnic make-up based upon your genome. The test is, for all intents and purposes, internationally recognised as legitimate. Furthermore, the test allowed me to discern between paternal and maternal ancestry. My paternal side aligned directly with what I knew from paper genealogy. My maternal side was half-correct, aligning with what I already know, but the other 25% - which should have been Greek - did not.
To clarify, my maternal results [excluding what I already knew from my grandmother], was:
15.5% Italian, 11.9% Middle Eastern [within the region of Turkey and Syria] and 6.1% Broadly Southern European [possibly Greek, although never identified specifically as such].
I understand that this might be controversial and I am not inferring that this is the case for everybody, of course. However, I am writing here to ask for help in comprehending this at a historical level. I understand that there are people here that are very knowledgeable about Castellorizo's history. I would also be extremely interested to know if anybody else of Castellorizan heritage has undertaken this genetic analysis and what their ethnic composition was. As I understand, Castellorizo has had a history of Ottoman Turkish occupation. However, all of my ancestors had Greek names and were, to my knowledge, Greek Orthodox.
My mother - half Castellorizan - also undertook the test to reveal:
10.7% Broadly Southern European [possibly Greek?], 12.3% Italian and 25.4% Middle Eastern [with an identified regional location around Syria and Turkey]. Like me - 0% specifically identified as Greek.
My overriding comment here is that I remain a little uncomfortable about the reliability of trying to align the results of such a test with concepts of modern nationhood. From what you tell us, the results you have received loosely report geographical origins. This is very different from ethnicity based on nationhood which is a fairly modern concept. So when you say 'Middle Eastern' what does that really mean? Probably very little because Castellorizo is culturally (as opposed to ethnically) as much a 'Middle Eastern' island as a European one. In fact, it is more in the Near East than anything else when viewed from a European vantage. So I'd advise you to be careful with broad labelling of your genetic ethnicity.
Regarding Ottoman Turkish occupation - did they have a large presence on the island?
Not really. There were about 50 families in the mid-19th century, though you cannot underestimate the interaction between the Christians and the Moslems in Asia Minor where many of the Castellorizians had their business enterprises at the island's peak.
Did they inter-marry with the native Greek population?
Rarely, but it did occur from time to time. Illicit relationships were more common.
Did they convert to Orthodox Christianity from Islam, or vice versa? I have read that Castellorizan culture was influenced by Islam and that there is a Turkish mosque on the island.
To understand this co-existence you need to read up about the workings of the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century. Castellorizo was, at the end of the day, just a small piece of a giant mosaic of constituencies within a multi-ethnic Empire.
This link - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_name#Greek_surnames - reveals some interesting information about the supposed foreign origins of some Greek surnames, many of which can be linked to my tree. For example, the page says:
"-lis (-). Turkish suffix for "of" just like Greek suffixes -tis and -otis." My great-grandmother's surname was Kazaglis.
Many Greek names from the island have Turkish origins and this one is no different. You must appreciate that the vernacular was Turkish, much like English is the language we speak today. 400 years of Ottoman control imposed a very clear imprint on Greek culture and while mainland Greece freed itself in the aftermath of the 1821 revolution, Castellorizo and many other northern and eastern regions inhabited by Christian Greeks remained under Ottoman control until the early 20th century. Castellorizo, for one, remained Ottoman until 1913, so the Ottoman overlay was even stronger. By the way, 'kaza' means a district in Turkish and may originate from an official position that someone within the family held within the Ottoman apparatus. This does not necessarily mean, however, that they were not of Greek origin.
Another example is, "Kara - which is attributed to the Turkish word for "black" deriving from the Ottoman Empire era". My great-great-great-great grandmother's surname was Karageorge.
Correct.
What I need help in comprehending, however, is whether these Turkish-origin surnames denote Turks who converted/assimilated or merely a name that was adopted under the Ottoman Empire, which was more linguistic than anything else.
The latter is more correct.
I have various other questions and more pertaining to my own genealogy, but I will ask them at a future date. I am sure I have bombarded the forum with enough questions here as is. I would be extremely appreciative of any help with my questions. Please let me know if anybody else has, or would like to, undertake a 23andMe ethnicity test and report your results here.
Furthermore, if anybody can shed light on the Turkish and/or Italian influence on Castellorizo as applied to my context, I would be very, very appreciative. Like I said, I am taken aback at my results and cannot explain them [either could 23andMe, when I e-mailed them]. I dare not think that my grandfather was not biologically so.
I believe that Turkish/Middle Eastern interaction with Castellorizo has been fundamentally under-explored and I hope to reinvigorate some of that research.
Have you read our book An Island Time, a large photographic history of the island through time. It includes a detailed section on the Ottoman period that may answer more of your questions. If you would like details, please call Katherine on 02 9223 8700 and she can advise you how to order one. There are also other works on Castellorizo's history that will help to inform your thinking on these topics.
It is difficult to locate much information about this except for some brief Wikipedia articles, hence why I am here.
Thank you. [/quote] [/p]
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Post by Administrator on Jul 22, 2014 22:05:54 GMT 10
This is a great post deserving of a considered reply.
I am currently overseas but will respond with the Forum's thoughts as soon as possible.
Nicholas
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Post by Administrator on Jun 13, 2014 8:34:56 GMT 10
Hi Joanne,
Some leads for you, though it appears so far that the marriage occurred, well before 1898 when the dowry archive commences.
This is because the municipal death record for Evdokia which I have just located says that she died on 17 September 1912 (of 'cardiac arrest'). If she was 18 at the time, as you say, and she was the third daughter, then the marriage must have occurred sometime in the 1880s.
I have found one other bit of evidence which may support this: there is a death recorded of a Krystalla Konstandinou Harsa. I assume this to be the Chrissie you refer to above. Do you know if her full name was Krystalla? If so, it must be her because she was aged 52 when she died on 18 March 1916 and her death is recorded as occurring 'in the home of Konstandinos Harsas'. This would confirm the date of her marriage to Konstandinos to have occurred in the late 1880s if we assume an average age for marriage of females.
That's about all I have found to date.
Rgds,
Nicholas
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Post by Administrator on Jun 10, 2014 17:06:52 GMT 10
Hi Joanne,
Do you have the approximate date of your great grandparents' marriage and do you know where it occurred?
Rgds, Nicholas
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Post by Administrator on Jan 13, 2014 9:32:38 GMT 10
And here is one of the only surviving images of a sponge diver from Castellorizo, photographed with his bell-stone and sponge net in the late 1920s, courtesy of the collection of the late Sibbi Nedland from Norway: Nicholas
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Post by Administrator on Jan 13, 2014 7:01:01 GMT 10
Hi Alec,
Yes, you are correct about both names - the grandfather's name was used to distinguish persons (usually cousins) with identical names.
The first dowry contract is very short and reads:
There appeared before me today Agapitos I Haramis and Emmanuel Pavlou Yianglitsis who declared that the said Agapitos had betrothed his daughter Elisavet to the said Emmanuel and gives to her by way of dowry a house located above the house of Mihail H'Aristeidhou Salipas and 40 eikosafranga and that the wedding will take place after the sarantoimeron in 1897.
In Castellorizo, 19 November 1896 [signatures follow]
The second contract, which is dated 31 January 1901, is longer (dowry contracts became more formal in this period). Once again, Agapitos gives his daughter in marriage and provides by way of dowry the following:
An incomplete house above the house of Zoe Christodoulaki which will be completed within 2 years, plus 40 eikosafranga. Pending completion of the works on the house, the bride and groom will reside in the house of his son-in-law, Nikolaos Agapitou Papagrigoriou. Plus a plot of land in the Mandraki at the 'kato mylon'.
An annotation of 3 February 1901 records that the wife of Nikolaos Papagrigoriou, Evdokia (the bride’s aunt), also accepted the obligation to guarantee the repairs and to provide accommodation for the couple in the interim. The bride’s brothers, Ioannis, Vasilios and Paraskevas also accept the same obligation.
Let me know if you have any queries.
Nicholas
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Post by Administrator on Jan 10, 2014 14:16:56 GMT 10
With thanks to the family of Max Agapitos in Sydney, here is a group of Greek men in Saratof in 1919. They are pictured with the Greek Consul to that town: Among them are at least three Castellorizians, the brothers Evangelos, Malaxos and Mihail Agapitos (aka Karasavas) who are standing (respectively)fourth, fifth and sixth from left. There may be other Castellorizians in the photo, but they have yet to be identified. Saratof, or Saratov, is a major port on the Volga River. Nicholas
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Webcam
Jan 10, 2014 10:40:11 GMT 10
Post by Administrator on Jan 10, 2014 10:40:11 GMT 10
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Post by Administrator on Jan 10, 2014 10:25:24 GMT 10
When speaking of the Italian occupation, there is no more poignant reminder of those years than the elaborate plans the Italians had for improving the infrastructure of the island. Here, courtesy of the Greek National Archives,is a drawing of a large lookout that was planned for the summit of Mt Vigla:
Plans for this building were overtaken by the events of WWII and it was never commenced.
Nicholas
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Post by Administrator on Jan 9, 2014 14:40:12 GMT 10
Here is a photo of the handsome side entrance to the church above which may be seen one of the original dedications commemorating its consecration: The dedication reads: This church was erected through the generous benefactions of the pious Orthodox residents of Megiste and was consecrated on 10 April 1835.Nicholas
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Post by Administrator on Jan 8, 2014 16:36:32 GMT 10
Thanks for your post, Alec, and for the interesting details you provide about Ioannis Diamantis and his family.
Ioannis certainly left a significant historical legacy and his important role as municipal secretary during Castellorizo's turbulent years should never be overlooked.
Here are the two photos you refer to above:
Nicholas
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Post by Administrator on Jan 8, 2014 7:29:06 GMT 10
Here are two further images of the Evangelistria church in Antifilo.
The first is the entranceway which is very reminiscent of the architectural style of the island, particularly the side entrance of St Constantine:
The second is the foundation stone which is still in situ above the side doorway of the church:
It reads: This church named the Evangelistria was consecrated in 1849 in the month of November through the benefactions and donations of all pious Orthodox Christians. Lord have mercy.
Nicholas
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