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Post by Administrator on May 17, 2007 9:24:04 GMT 10
The earthquake which rocked Castellorizo during the afternoon of 18 March 1926 was a deeply traumatic event for the islanders. While there were only 4 fatalities (Maria Agapitou Kelletsi (8), Mihail Ioannou Poullis (17), Eleni Yeorgiou Stambolli (25) and Asimina Nikolaou Nisyriou (65)), the event was to leave a lasting imprint on the collective memory of the island's community. Here is a photograph of a group of young men amidst the ruins of a house taken in the aftermath of the earthquake: In the middle stands Michalis Christ. Konstandinou (holding his hat). At rear, is Yeorgios Anast. Papanastasiou (leaning on elbow) and in the right foreground is Ioannis Mihail Stamatoglou (with hand on knee). Any other names would be appreciated. 130 houses were destroyed and another 231 seriously damaged by the quake, according to contemporary Italian reports. There was also significant damage to Castellorizian properties in Myra and Antifilo (9 fatalities), Finika (15 fatalities) and Fethiye (Makri). A larger earthquake that hit Rhodes on 26 June of that year caused further damage and delayed the relief effort significantly. It would be good to hear any stories of the impact caused by the earthquake on Castellorizian families. I recall my own grandmother measuring time by references to the earthquake ( 'itane prin/meta ton seismon') and I am sure others will have other stories to relate about this significant event in the island's twentieth century history. Nicholas, Sydney
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Post by Administrator on Nov 20, 2007 16:17:36 GMT 10
Katina,
Thank you for contributing to this Forum - please take the time to become a member (it's free and simple) as it makes communication far easier.
Tks, Nicholas
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Post by Administrator on Aug 12, 2007 17:37:56 GMT 10
Thank you, Sophie - I have amended the list above to include the additional details you have provided.
Nicholas
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Post by Administrator on Jun 5, 2007 19:15:51 GMT 10
Levis,
I have started a new thread for the Gravas family on the Genealogy board to encourage others to post information in answer to your request. I have also posted whatever information I have to hand.
Nicholas
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Post by Administrator on Jun 2, 2007 14:49:43 GMT 10
Milli,
The municipal policeman in your group photo is Christodoulos Passaris (also known as o Christodoulos tou Papa).
There are also members of the Hondros family in the photo - I will get back to you with details.
Nicholas
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Post by Administrator on May 28, 2007 16:26:12 GMT 10
Dear Milli,
I have cut and pasted the list of names you have provided for the wedding photo in your Picasa link - in italics are the further people I have identified thus far. I have also amended (slightly) some of the names based on other records I have in my possession.
The precise date of the wedding comes from a copy of the dowry contract for this wedding that appears in the dowry archive.
I will keep adding to the post as more names become apparent.
Nicholas Antoniou Mandatroukas/Alafantiane Spyrou Stamatikou, Wedding, 26 January 1930, Castellorizo
1. 2. Antonas Kyr. Antonas, shop keeper 3. 4. 5. Nikos Adamides 6. 7. Antonios Kappos, carpenter 8. 9. Yeorgios Stef. Paltoglou, (at the time Deputy Mayor) 10. Nikolas Pitsonis 11. Vartholomeos Pissas ('Papa Varthalamos') 12. 13. ……………Amygdalos (Nouris), butcher 14. Ioannis Manicaros (his wife is no.41, his daughter no.53 and his son no.45) 15. ………………. ( no. 42 is his wife) 16. 17. 18. 19. Yeorgios Stav. Moschos 20. Michalis Paldiris 21. 22. ………Mavrothalassiti 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. ..............Spyr. Stamatikos (brother of bride) 28 29. 30. 31. Evangelos Gravas ('o Syrianos') 32. Mrs Petromianos 33. Panagiotis Hatziyiannakis 34. Mrs Valsamias (Yiannis Valsamias is her husband) 35. 36. Mrs…………………Mandratouka (mother of the groom) 37. 38. Kyriakoula Stamatikou, sister of the bride (Kyriakoula married ……………Zorbas) 39. Chrisafina Spyr. Stamatikou, mother of the bride 40. Evanghelia Paldiri, nee Dekaristou 41. Sophia Manicarou, nee Karpathiou 42 ………Aunt of Peter Toparis– his father’s sister?? (her husband is no. 15) 43. Katerina Topari (Uncle Peter’s mother) now in Sydney 44. 45. Ilias Manicaros 46. 47. ……………………Valsamias (son of Mr Valsamias) 48. Nikolaos Ant. Mandratoukas (groom) 49. Alafantiane Spyr. Stamatikou (bride) 50. Mrs Nikandrou – sister of the groom 51. 52. Maria Paldiri 53. Kalliope Manicarou (later Alayialli, daughter of no.14 and no. 41) 54. Mrs Petromianou daughter carried the candle… 55. 56. 57. 58. ………………Toparis (brother of Peter Toparis) 59. 60. ……………..Russo
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Post by Administrator on May 27, 2007 21:32:02 GMT 10
Milli,
A great assortment of photos - just what this Forum is all about!
The wedding photo is especially good. I've already identified quite a few of the people (Yeorgios Paltoglou, Nikos Adamides, Yeorgios Moschos, Panagiotis Hatziyiannakis etc) and I will get back to you with all the names later this week after a closer look.
The Horafia group shot is also very good - again, I think I can pick out a few in this photo as well.
Thanks again, Nicholas
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Post by Administrator on May 11, 2007 14:11:01 GMT 10
As many already know, I have been in the process of building an archive of historical images of life on Castellorizo for some time. Thanks to the co-operation of many individuals who have made their treasured images available to me, and with the invaluable assistance of my colleague Nick Bogiatzis of Canberra, I have amassed and interpreted to date over 2,500 priceless photographs shot on the island in the period 1870-1948.
These photographs have been sourced not only from Castellorizian families worldwide, but also from public collections in France, Italy and the UK. Together, they form a remarkable record of life on the island, from the island's prosperity in the closing decades of the nineteenth century, to the dark days of the island's abandonment and destruction in the Second World War.
A selection of these photos will form the basis of a new book (to be released in late 2010) that will chart the island's absorbing history through these evocative images. An Island in Time: Castellorizo in Photographs will document through photographs the political events and social currents that shaped the island's fortunes through this critical phase of its modern history. It will be a comprehensive publication that will seek both to faithfully record and interpret these images and thereby form a lasting record of the island's more recent history.
Examples of these images will be posted from time to time on CastellorizoHistory.com and readers are encouraged to contribute to the archive through the Castellorizo Forum by adding additional photos, identifying people or locations in the photos and providing useful commentary on the images displayed.
Only by pooling the photographic legacy of the island that we all, in differing degrees, have at our disposal will we ensure that we are able to preserve, and interpret, for future generations the island's rich past and the material heritage that we carry with us today.
Nicholas
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Post by Administrator on Feb 14, 2008 8:06:43 GMT 10
Not many know that the Monastery of St George of the Mountain (Ayios Yeorgios tou Vouniou) on Castellorizo was erected by a saint of the Greek Orthodox Church, Anthimos.
Anthimos Kourouklis (1727-1782) was born on the island of Cephallonia. He was blind from the age of seven, and entered monastic life from the age of 25. He travelled to Mt Athos and spent a number of years there before journeying to the Holy Land. On his return in 1758, he visited Castellorizo and laid the foundations for a fortified monastery dedicated to St George on the small, fertile plateau above the island's town. He remained on the island until its construction was complete and the monastery formally consecrated in 1759. It is of special interest that the builder Anthimos used for the monastery's construction was a Rhodian, Hatzikonstandis, who married and settled on Castellorizo. His descendants are the members of the Protomastoros family.
On Anthimos' further travels, he was also to build a nunnery dedicated to the Theotokos on the Dodecanese island of Astypalaia. He is currently the most recent saint of the Orthodox church, having been canonised on 30 July 1974.
The monastery was extended and restored by a local builder, Mastroyeorgis, in 1779. At this time, it featured 15 monks' cells, a residence for the abbot, a dining room and a library. At its centre stood the church (katholikon) dedicated to St George, built in a style characteristic of the region, surrounded by a pebbled courtyard (votsala). Regrettably, the church and the external walling of the monastery are the only remnants of the entire elaborate structure, though plans are underway to restore the monastery to its former grandeur.
Underneath the church, and accessible only via a small trap door, is the so-called 'catacomb' of Ayios Haralambos. Its origins are uncertain. This small shrine was used as a refuge during the early years of the Greek Revolution and, again, during the bombardments from the Turkish coast in the First World War.
Nicholas
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Post by Administrator on Dec 14, 2007 16:41:36 GMT 10
Among the more unusual foreign intrusions on Castellorizo is the occupation of the island between 1450 and (approx) 1470 by the Catalan king, Alfonso (then also the King of Naples).
With authority from Pope Nicholas V, Alfonso took the island from the Egyptian Mamelukes after a siege lasting almost two years. Alfonso's dream was to turn Castellorizo into a base for the Catalan fleet that operated in the eastern Mediterranean. Alfonso lost interest in the island soon after, and the local commander and garrison he had installed had little choice but to turn to piracy. As they did on other occasions, the Castellorizians seem not to have welcomed a Catalan 'liberation' of this nature and in November 1456 they delivered a petition to the King in which they expressed their fears regarding enslavement and abandonment.
A recent book (in Spanish) looks at this fascinating occupation in some detail based on surviving archival documents of the period held in Barcelona. For those interested in this period of the island's history who have at least a smattering of Spanish and/or Latin, the book is highly recommended.
The details are: Daniel Duran Duelt, Kastellorizo, Una isla Griega bajo dominio de Alfonso el Magnanimo (1450-1458), Barcelona 2003.
Nicholas
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Post by Administrator on Nov 5, 2007 6:19:33 GMT 10
Vanessa,
At the present time, Albert Gabriel's estate is under the control of a trustee who not yet approved publication or copying of his artworks for commercial purposes.
However, the catalogue of the exhibition I referred to above does include seven of his watercolours of Castellorizo, including two of the bombardment of the harbour in 1917. Details of the catalogue, which is available for purchase from the publisher, are as follows:
Albert Gabriel (1883-1972), Architecte, archeologue, artiste, voyageur published by Yapi Kredi Yayinlari, Istanbul (ISBN 975-08-1131-3).
Nicholas
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Post by Administrator on Oct 4, 2007 9:06:37 GMT 10
Albert Gabriel (1883-1972) was a French architect, archaeologist, painter and traveller whose large body of work recently featured in a major exhibition in Istanbul. While Gabriel's published works on his travels in the eastern Mediterranean have been widely-known for some time, his vast private collection of writings, paintings and photographs has remained untapped until recently and formed the centrepiece of the exhibition in Turkey. Included among Gabriel's private papers are a series of beautifully-executed watercolours of Castellorizo from 1916-1917, while the island was under French occupation. Seven of these formed part of the recent display and they have also been published in the official catalogue of the exhibition. Here is an example of one of Gabriel's watercolours of the harbour of Castellorizo in June 1916: These paintings are the earliest known artistic representations of Castellorizo in the twentieth century. Aside from their obvious artistic quality, they constitute an elegant record of the harbour life of Castellorizo in this period. Nicholas
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Post by Administrator on Oct 15, 2007 8:12:44 GMT 10
Evdokia,
You have recounted a very moving family story which adds great poignancy to the cemetery entry for your late uncle Iakovos.
Nicholas
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Post by Administrator on Sept 4, 2007 8:14:56 GMT 10
Hello to all , I found an interesting item when surfing the net and I thought you may be interested. an atricle about Cyprus, stated that family names were handed down by way of the previous adult male name such as George the next male would be Johny George ( or of George ) then the next would be Jim Johny and similar until about early 1800s they started to stick to one surname. Can anyone else confirm this. this sounds very logical. Also I found that sme names starting wth "hadj " or similar are due to their ancestors having done the pilgrimage to the christain holy land , this pilgremage was know as the "Hadj" this may be in the muslim language , but has been passed on to the Greek pilgrims and Joined to their names. there seems to some minor changes to the spelling to some names. any comments on this . this may help some understand their surnames. Best regards, George Bayss George, Both propositions are correct. On Castellorizo, surnames usually originate from father's name (Alexiou, Antonas, Mihail), the place of origin (Roditis, Santoriniou, Spartalis, Livissianis), a physical or character description of a family member (Koufos, Maliaros, Taktikos), the work they did (Boyiatzis, Tsopanis, Tsigaros) or even a prominent member of the family (Iatrou, Papa...). Many of the surnames are of Turkish origin, but they also follow a similar pattern. The large array of surnames that adopt the prefix 'Hatzi', and its many variants, was a public acknowledgement that the person concerned had made the pilgrimmage to the Holy Land and had been baptised in the River Jordan. As you have observed, the term is a corruption of the Arabic term 'haj' which refers to the Islamic pilgrimmage to Mecca. Nicholas
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Post by Administrator on Aug 27, 2007 18:28:55 GMT 10
Allan,
With the approval of the author, I am preparing a translation and short commentary on the transcribed headstones.
As you have already observed, this is a wonderful piece of work that deserves to be seen by as many people as possible.
The translation should be posted in the next fortnight.
Nicholas
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Post by Administrator on Aug 2, 2007 18:26:24 GMT 10
In April 1920, in an atmosphere of increasing uncertainty, and aware of the possible transfer of their island to Italy, 105 of the male citizens of Castellorizo took the bold step of directing a signed petition to the French admiral in charge of the Syrian Division of the French Navy, Rear Admiral Mornet, during one of his passing visits. View the original petition at www.castellorizohistory.com/history.htmThe document may be translated to read as follows: Castellorizo, 15 April 1920
Petition of the Inhabitants of Castellorizo
To His Excellency the Rear Admiral of the Syrian Division,
Your Excellency,
The Castellorizians who have signed below have the honour to beseech you, if you please, to be kind enough to grant an audience to a deputation of the people of Castellorizo, which, as the only fit representation, seeks to convey to you the real situation of our island both from an internal point of view and from an economic perspective. For this purpose we appoint a committee comprising Messrs Evangelos Stamatoglou, Evangelos Kondylios, Nikolaos Kailis, Kyriakos Kiosoglou, Paraskevas Kakulas, Ioannis Konstantinides, Vasilios Loukas, Vasilios Tsakalakis, Apostolos Voyiatzis and Stamatis Stamatoglou.
Hoping that this request is well received by you,
We remain, obediently
1. Ilias Kondylios 2. Anastasios Astinomos 3. Panagiotis Hatziyiannakis 4. Mihail I Koutsoukos 5. Ioannis N Pitsonis 6. Nikolaos Kambouris 7. Stavros Hatzidiamandas 8. Mihail Kiosoglou 9. N A Moraitis 10. Mihail K Mihalakis 11. Paraskevas A Kakas 12. Ioannis Hatzistavrianos 13. ? ? 14. Spyros Papalazaros 15. Pitsonis N Pitsonis 16. Yeorgios N Boyiatzis 17. ? Efthimiou 18. Ioannis Atzemis 19. ? ? 20. Mihail Komninos 21. Paraskevas Economou 22. Yeorgios N Pitsonis 23. Yeorgios Berberis 24. K Mayiafis 25. ? ? 26. ? Nikolaou 27. I Sehopoulos 28. ? ? 29. A Vallianos 30. Andreas P Andreou 31. Vasilios Christou 32. ? ? 33. ? Komninos 34. ? ? 35. Yeorgios K Palassis 36. Savvas Pantelis 37. P Kailis 38. Emmanuel Y Pissas 39. Antonios Kondylios 40. Stavros Antonas 41. Emmanuel V Xanthis 42. Kyriakos N Symeon 43. Pantelis A Papaioannou 44. Yeorgios Yianardasis 45. Ant Nikandros 46. Panagiotis K Pitpazaris 47. Paraskevas Efstathiou 48. Vasilios Fitos 49. ? Kotzas 50. ? ? 51. Dimitrios Koutoupes 52. Kostas Liondis 53. Mihail Petrakis 54. Eleftherios Eleftheriou 55. Pantazis Mavrokordatos 56. Konstandinos Kouttelakis 57. Andreas D Savvas 58. Christofis Liondis 59. Christodoulos Papioannou 60. Pavlos A Tsolakis 61. Kostas Vallianos 62. Mihail Theofilou 63. Nikolaos Hatzifanis 64. M Bollos 65. Kostas Hatziantonas 66. Yeorgios Exintaris 67. Kostas ? 68. Andreas Magriplis 69. ? ? 70. Mihail Emm. Kailis 71. Markos Panagiotou 72. Kostas Iliou Hatziargyrou 73. Yeorgios Christofis 74. Stavrianos Y Moschos 75. Dimitrios ? 76. Andreas Marakas 77. Kostas Hatziyeorgiou 78. N Tsopanis 79. S Lakerdis 80. K Y Palassis 81. K M Voyiatzis 82. K Y Mandalis 83. Ch P Christofis 84. ? Gregoriou 85. N Iakovou 86. ? Finikiotis 87. Stavros P Kratsis 88. Mihail Th Atherinou 89. Stavros Voyiatzis 90. A Voyiatzis 91. Kyriakos Galettis 92. Stavros Y Zorbas 93. Ioannis M Passaris 94. K M Passaris 95. Nikolaos Karipis 96. ? ? 97. Nikolaos Karayiannis 98. K Pitpazaris 99. Yeorgios An Kakas 100. Haralambos Iliou 101. Nikos Themistoklis 102. Evangelos Sehopoulos 103. Dimitrios Papioannou 104. Nikos Papanastasiou 105. Vlasios K Antonas Besides conveying the unease of the local population in the face of a possible French withdrawal, the document betrays the concerns felt by the Castellorizians as the island's small economy had failed to revive in the immediate aftermath of WWI and a steady stream of emigration abroad continued. Nicholas
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Post by Administrator on Aug 14, 2007 16:12:57 GMT 10
The only Turkish family that lived on Castellorizo in the 1920s and 1930s was the Demi Kesimbey family. The father was the anti-Kemalist former kaimakam (governor) of Antifilo and he took refuge on the island with his wife and daughter after 1922. They remained on the island until the late 1930s.
Nicholas
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Post by Administrator on Jul 30, 2007 10:56:32 GMT 10
Until the island's revolt from Ottoman authority in 1913, there was always a small, but clearly recognisable, Turkish presence on Castellorizo. This is best preserved in the 18th century mosque that still adorns the Kavos promontory at the entrance to the harbour. But there are also other reminders of a Turkish presence on Castrellorizo.
The small domed hamam, or bath-house, close to the castle, is one of a number of similarly styled bath-houses in the Dodecanese. It catered for the small Turkish population which predominantly lived in and around the castle throughout the nineteenth century. Further along, one can still see the foundations of the small Turkish primary school (just near the windmill) which was partially financed by Loukas Santrape, the island's principal benefactor most famously known for his endowment that led to the erection of the boys' school in the Horafia.
Perhaps the most evocative reminder of a Turkish presence are the fragile remains of the Ottoman cemetery not far from the church of Ayia Paraskevi. While there has been some unfortunate damage done here of late, there are still Islamic headstones visible in the dense undergrowth that recall another time when local Greek and Turkish populations co-existed.
The Ottoman census of 1881-82 records that there were 225 adult Turks on the island, probably equating to a total Turkish population of around 400. Other texts, including the writings of the headmaster of the Turkish school on the island, refer to '50 Moslem families', a figure not inconsistent with the above estimate.
Aside from one Turkish family that remained on the island until the 1930s, the bulk of the Turkish population was evicted in 1913. The few that remained departed with the compulsory exchange of populations in 1923-24.
Nicholas
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Post by Administrator on Aug 14, 2007 15:06:17 GMT 10
Ben,
I think you're right about d'Adhemar. And, yes, Franco Quentin was the Italian governor in this period.
I'll get back to you with details of the British military administrators of the island when that information is to hand.
Nicholas
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Post by Administrator on Aug 13, 2007 10:22:53 GMT 10
Ben,
The provisional French governor of Castellorizo between 28 December 1915 and 16 January 1916 was Capitaine de fregate d'Adhemar de Cransac.
The first Italian governor of the island was Franco Quentin.
Nicholas
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Post by Administrator on Jul 23, 2007 11:27:38 GMT 10
This post was received from Ben Cahoon, the Editor of http://www.worldstatesmen.org: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi Nick, I am very interested in the historical leaders on Castellorizo. Can you tell me who the French governors were between 1915-1921 and the local leaders during the two periods of local autonomy 1828-33 and 1913-15? I have been looking for many years and have only just today found a partial entry for Raymond Terme as governor in 1918: 1828 - 1833 Greek administration during War of Independence. 1/14 Mar. 1913 - 1915 Autonomous. 28 Dec. 1915 - 1 Mar. 1921 Occupied by France. 1 Mar 1921 Italian administration. 11 Jul. 1922 Part of Italian Dodecanese Islands 9 Sep. 1943 - May 1945 British occupation. May '45 - 15 Sept 1947 British administration. 15 Sep. 1947 Greek administration. 22 Mar. 1948 Incorporated into Greece. Leaders1828 - 1833 No specific leader - governed by a local demogerontia (council) of 5 elected persons1913 -1915 Following the 1/14 March revolt against the local Ottoman authorities, the island was led by a local military administrator, Ioannis Lakerdis, until Castellorizo was formally made a sub-administration of the Greek Kingdom (under the authority of Samos) on 1 August of that year. A governor, Vasilios Tzavellas, was despatched to the island, but he was ousted by the locals in February 1914. Another Greek appointee, Kostas Stavrakis, arrived soon after from Crete, but he, too, was ousted in September 1914. Finally, the last Greek governor of the island, Odysseas Horologas, arrived in February 1915, and his 'arrest' by Lakerdis and his men, who had by now tied their fortunes to French intervention, led to the arrival of the French forces on 28 December 1915.French Governors: 17/1/16 - 18/7/17 Henry Marie Bourdoncle de Saint-Salvy 18/7/17 - 14/7/19 Le Camus 11/8/19 - 1/3/21 Raymond TermeThanks very much for your help! Ben bmc77@hotmail.com Editor www.worldstatesmen.org Nicholas Administrator -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ben, I have modified your post with the additional details which are italicised for your ease of reference - I trust this gives you the information you need. By the way, Castellorizo was never occupied by the Germans, but remained under British military occupation until the end of the War. Rgds, Nicholas
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Post by Administrator on Jun 14, 2007 17:34:18 GMT 10
My understanding is that Evangelos Y Mavros was mayor (and, earlier, deputy mayor) in the period after the Second World War. I have a document signed by him as deputy mayor in February 1949. If I can locate further information, I will post it here.
Nicholas
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Post by Administrator on Jun 14, 2007 9:59:21 GMT 10
In 1928, the Italian authorities permitted the first free municipal elections on Castellorizo and the other Dodecanese islands. Prior to this occurring, Castellorizo's municipal council had been appointed (rather than elected) by the Italian Governor of the Dodecanese islands based in Rhodes and, before Italian occupation, by the French naval authorities (in the period 1915-1921). This had conflicted with an Ottoman policy of allowing locally-elected councils ( demogeronties) substantial autonomy in municipal affairs. The 1928 ballot, which was held on 12 February, led to the election of the following: - Ioannis Lakerdis (mayor)
- Agapitos Xanthis (first deputy mayor)
- Mihail Spartalis (second deputy mayor)
- Konstandinos Konstandinou
- Kyriakos Mandalis
- Tsikos Galettis
- Paraskevas Kalaitzoglou
- Nikolas Tsopanis
- Mihail Savvas
- Pantazis Pantazides
- Yeorgios Zervos
- Dimitrios Antonas
Lakerdis' election was a significant endorsement of his standing in the local community and vindicated the earlier decision of the Italian authorities to appoint him to the mayoral position upon their arrival in March 1921. Municipal elections were held again in 1930 and 1932. Lakerdis was again returned, but on each occasion with a declining majority of his faction represented on the council. The 1932 results were as follows: - Ioannis Lakerdis (mayor)
- Yeorgios Paltoglou (deputy mayor)
- Anastasios Economou
- Ioannis Papapetrou
- Paraskevas Kakas
- Vasilios Fitos
- Kyriakos Antonas
- Evangelos Zervos
- Yeorgios Loukas
- Kyriakos Kiosoglou
- Kyriakos Mandalis
The period 1933-34 was characterised by broad-based discontent on the island, much of it aimed at Lakerdis, and most of which stemmed from the lifting of import duties (from a concessional 6% to 13%) and the transfer to Turkey of some of the smaller islets long used by the local population in various industries. This led to the so-called Mouzahres uprising, about which more will be written in a separate thread, and the removal of Lakerdis from power in April 1934. In the first municipal elections that followed Lakerdis' ousting, the following were returned: - Savvas Michalakis (mayor)
- Stavros Stamatoglou (deputy mayor)
- Panagiotis Fermanis
- Paraskevas Kakas
- Kostas Loukas
- Yeorgios Pispinis
- Nikolas Yeronikolas
- Kyriakos Voyiatzis
- Vassilis Hatziyiannakis
- Stavros Hatzidiamandas
- Stavros Voyiatzis
However, free municipal elections were not to last. On 8 March 1937, the Italian authorities, as part of a general tightening of their power, dissolved all municipal councils in the Dodecanese and replaced them with commissioners ( podesta) appointed by the Governor. On Castellorizo, Lakerdis' former deputy mayor, Yeorgios Paltoglou, was appointed to the position and he was to remain podesta until the Italian surrender in September 1943. Nicholas
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Post by Administrator on Jun 8, 2007 10:55:54 GMT 10
The history of the seaplanes that used Castellorizo as a stopover in the 1920s and 1930s is a fascinating one. With the advent of the first long-haul seaplane flights from Western Europe to the Near & Far East, stopover destinations were required at convenient and accommodating locations. The French airline, Air Union, was the first to choose Castellorizo as one of its stopover destinations in 1928 for flights to Beirut. Another French airline, Air Orient (later Air France) followed suit in 1929 and specialised in services to Saigon from Marseilles with stopovers in Naples, Corfu, Athens, Castellorizo, Beirut, Damascus, Baghdad, Bouchir, Djask, Karachi, Jodhpur, Allahabad, Calcutta, Akyabad, Rangoon, Bangkok and Angkor. The entire journey lasted 9 days (!). Not to be outdone, the British airline, Imperial Airways, chose Castellorizo as its stopover for flights from London to Haifa and Karachi from 1929 (via Paris-Brindisi by train, Corfu, Athens, Castellorizo, Galilee, Baghdad, Basra, Bahrain, Sharjah and Gwadar). This service was later extended to Darwin (in 1933) and Brisbane (in 1934). Finally, the Dutch airline, KLM, also ran a small number of services from Amsterdam to Cairo and the Near East that stopped at Castellorizo. The French and British airlines maintained small representations on the island until all services were terminated in 1937 with increasing tensions in Europe. Additionally, the Italian airline, Ala Littoria, while not stopping there, also had an office on Castellorizo during the 1930s to compete with the other airlines. For an example of an original Air Orient timetable for its Marseilles-Beirut journey with Castellorizo recorded as a stopover, see www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/airori.htmNicholas
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Post by Administrator on May 29, 2007 20:17:17 GMT 10
In late 1940, an American journalist, Dorothy Hosmer, was despatched by The National Geographic Magazine to report on life in the Dodecanese islands, then under Italian rule. Her article included a revealing section on the situation on Castellorizo as war approached. Featuring interviews with members of the Economou family and charming photographs of life on the island, the article is a fascinating snapshot of Castellorizo at this pivotal moment in its chequered history. In a sad irony, by the time the article had been published, the British had launched a bloody, but unsuccessful, commando assault on the island (in February 1941) and the island had been condemned to an isolated, siege-like existence, a situation that would persist until the Italian surrender in September 1943. View the article here: www.castellorizohistory.com/history.htmNicholas
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Post by Administrator on May 17, 2007 18:19:57 GMT 10
A good story and one that demonstrates that popular memory can sometimes be more reliable than we think.
From my reading of other dowry contracts, it was a loose convention on the island that if one party to a marriage died early, then at least some of the dowry would be returned. This differed from case to case. In some instances, nothing was returned and disputes arose. In others, just the jewellery and cash were returned, while in others, as appears to be the case here, even the real estate was given back.
It would be interesting to hear if others have heard about this practice through their own families.
Nicholas
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Post by Administrator on Jun 4, 2007 14:28:14 GMT 10
Nick Bogiatzis and I recently tracked down an obscure source (Simmonds) who says that, by the time of his visit in 1861, the number of divers on Castellorizo had "halved" from what it had been only some years earlier. According to Simmonds this was because many of the young men of the island found it "more profitable to engage themselves as seamen in the regular trading vessels."
The surge in the island's trading activities might therefore explain why there is so little written about the sponge industry on Castellorizo. It also probably provides at least a partial answer to the question why so little is recorded about the activity in popular memory.
Nicholas
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Post by Administrator on May 15, 2007 12:22:53 GMT 10
While it has been accepted that the sponge fishing industry was very active on Castellorizo in the nineteenth century, there are few first-hand accounts that attest to such activity on the island.
One of the most valuable sources comes from a French diplomat who recorded in 1839 that between 290-300 divers would travel to Tripoli from Castellorizo each year and that they would dive along the Syrian coast, as far as Alexandretta, to depths of 29 fathoms (!).
These young Castellorizians were apparently 'managed' by a certain Tuscan by the name of Bigliotti who was based in Rhodes. He would advance them the necessary funds to see them through the winter, but would commit them to a contract during the summer months that would compel them to sell the sponges they fished at a pre-determined price, thus ensuring his profit.
Much later, an Ottoman official recorded (in 1886) that Castellorizo had some 100 sponge workshops, more than Kalymnos, and second only to Simi (which apparently had 150).
What is intriguing about all of this is that these practices had ceased on Castellorizo by the first decades of the twentieth century and, since then, sponge diving has all but disappeared from popular memory among Castellorizians.
It would be fascinating to know if anyone has access to any family records or ancestral reminiscences of the sponge fishing industry on Castellorizo. Traces of an activity that was clearly so important for the islanders in the nineteenth century must surely remain somewhere in the Castellorizian network!
Nicholas
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Post by Administrator on Jul 25, 2007 7:54:02 GMT 10
Congratulations on generating this site! My sister Katherine and I would like to begin some research on those who left the island to migrate to the USA and Australia, and their reasons for doing so. I am also after sources of information about our paternal grandfather Manolis Economos who married Eftihia Georgiadis. Any information and /or sources would be much appreciated. Joy, Are you able to give me more details about your paternal grandparents? Where were they married? Approximately when? Do you know their parents' names? This sort of information will help me to trawl through various indexes. Nicholas
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Post by Administrator on Jul 25, 2007 7:51:07 GMT 10
Ben,
I have started a new thread for your request - see 'Political and colonial leaders of Castellorizo' on the History board.
I have also included some new details. More to follow...
Nicholas
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