Objects in Motion

What objects did the refugees who came to Greece after August 1922 bring with them?

Refugee women from Asia Minor arriving in Piraeus on a boat / Petros Poulidis Collection, ERT Photographic Archive
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001

An oud from Prokopi, Cappadocia

Vasilis Kaptanoglou was born in Prokopi, Cappadocia, in 1907. At the beginning of 1922, he arrived in Piraeus with his mother and stayed in a makeshift shack in Tampouria with his brother’s family, who had arrived a few months earlier. Throughout his life, he never stopped playing the oud, the same one he had brought with him from Prokopi.

002

The icon of the Annunciation

Amid the makeshift shacks of Tampouria, Vasilis met Eleni Dimou from Chili on the Euxine Sea, another refugee who had arrived in Greece with her father and her two sisters. This icon of the Annunciation, originating either from Prokopi or Chili, holds immense sentimental value for their descendants.

003

The lantern from Sungurlu and the birth

Giorgos Papagiovanoglou, a wool merchant, was originally from Sungurlu, a town located between Ankara and Cappadocia. At the outbreak of the Asia Minor conflict, he found refuge in Constantinople and, then, in Ano Poli, Thessaloniki. He married Tarsi Vlisidou and the couple had twins in 1943. At the time, there was a curfew and a blackout in the German-occupied city. Using the lantern that the family had brought with them form Sungurlu, Tarsi and a neighbour lit their way towards the Anagnostaki clinic where Tarsi gave birth.

004

The Papagiovanoglou household items

At the outbreak of the Asia Minor conflict, Giorgos Papagiovanoglou found refuge in Constantinople, leaving his two sons behind, in Sungurlu, to reunite with the rest of the family later. After selling their entire wool stock, they arrived in Thessaloniki carrying a great amount of household effects and relying on their savings in English banks to rebuild their life. They resettled in a large Turkish house in Terpsithea Square in Ano Poli which they eventually bought.

005

The tapestry from Sungurlu

Odysseas Papaioannou, one of the twin grandsons of Giorgos Papagiovanoglou, grew up in Ano Poli in the house of Terpsithea Square. He grew up rich surrounded by great poverty and the resulting tension profoundly shaped his personality. He left the family home for a few years, but returned to it, restored it and preserved a number of the household items brought to Greece by his grandfather’s family. Among them, this tapestry with an oriental theme.

006

Two stone moulds for fishing hooks from Englezonisi

Georgios Trechas and Konstantinos Raspitsos were born at the end of the 19th century on Englezonisi, a small island in the Gulf of Smyrna with a population of around 2,500 people, mainly Christians. From a very young age, they started working as fishermen to provide for their families. Two stone moulds for fishing hooks, today in the possession of Konstantinos Trechas, Georgios’ grandson, are some of the few belongings they brought with them to Greece.

007

Memories from Englezonisi

Georgios Trechas, along with his young son Dimitris, and Konstantinos Raspitsos met again at the makeshift refugee settlement of Drapetsona where they started over: new homes, new boats, new lives. A wooden icon of the Virgin Mary is one of the few belongings they brought with them.

008

The carpet of the Papadopoulou family

The objects the refugees brought with them from their homelands remained in use for years. A carpet from Sourmena in Pontus was first used as intended and now, 100 years later, it has been turned into a decorative tapestry.

009

The samovar from Sourmena, Pontus

The objects the refugees brought with them from their homelands remained in use for years and later were often repurposed and given new life. The Papadopoulou family from Sourmena, Pontus, brought with them a samovar which they used as a ‘mouslouki’ (a tin water pitcher).

011

The everyday outfit of Sinasos women

In October 1924, the women of Sinasos brought their traditional outfits with them to Greece, as they considered them highly valuable both from a material and a sentimental standpoint. Some women even wore them during their first years in Greece before they were ‘hidden’ in closets for years to eventually be donated, usually by descendants, to the ‘Nea Sinasos’ Association Museum, where they are still kept to this day.

012

The formal outfit of Sinasos women

The women of Sinasos did not dance in public spaces, but only during private feasts in their homes and always accompanied by their fathers or husbands. During these feasts or other formal functions and celebrations, they would wear their ‘special’ traditional outfit, their version of formal wear.

013

Handmade ‘archaletsi’ (shoulder cover)

The young women of Sinasos went to the water pumps to fill their clay pots with water for everyday household use. To protect the shoulders of their painstakingly constructed outfits from wear, they placed an ‘archaletsi’ over their right shoulder, a handmade cloth cover which they had usually made themselves.

014

Some more shoulder covers

The ‘archaletsi’ could be plain or decorated, adorned with patterns, embroideries, charms, beads or other ornaments. The fact that these shoulder covers were detachable and were worn every day allowed their makers to create elaborate versions that could act as accessories to the traditional women’s outfit which was usually quite conservative in its use of colour and pattern.

015

The dessert spoons from Myriofyto, Eastern Thrace

Charoula Panagiotidou has kept objects brought to Greece by her mother’s family. She still uses all of them in her everyday life and shares their stories with her children and grandchildren in an effort to keep the history of her family alive and preserve the memory of the house, the village, and the life they left behind.

016

An embroidery from Myriofyto, Eastern Thrace

Charoula Panagiotidou has kept objects brought to Greece by her mother’s family, like this piece of white linen fabric with a colourful embroidered border and a small towel with a cross-stitched border, faded and worn with use.

018

A sewing machine from Sampsounta

Alexandros Oustampasidis and Anastasios Polychroniadis received a special permit from the Revolutionary Government and the Ministry of Hygiene allowing them to rent a boat and sail from Thessaloniki in order to reunite the refugees originating from the wider area of Amisos and assist with their resettlement in Macedonia. During one of these trips, Anastasios Polychroniadis was finally able to reunite with his own family, his wife, and his two children and they all returned to Thessaloniki. His wife, Elisavet Alsanoglou, brought with her this sewing machine.

019

From Sampsounta to Thessaloniki

Even though she had already sold most of her valuables to help her husband flee to Greece, Elisavet Alsanoglou still managed to bring with her a few objects which carried significant emotional or practical value. Eventually, what was handed down to her daughter, Maria, was a sewing machine, some kilim rugs, and a small silver box with the icon of Agios Georgios. These objects are today in the possession of Elisavet’s granddaughter, Martha Karpozilou.

020

A Holy Trinity for the whole neighbourhood

The family of Kyriakoula Moschou brought few items with them to Greece, mostly religious icons. Apart from carrying great value for their owners, these icons soon became symbols for the whole neighbourhood. They gave hope and instilled courage, helping the refugees cope with the hardships of their everyday life. The icons did not just stand for their faith in God, but were also symbols of the solidarity and the kindness that brought the neighbourhood’s residents together.

021

A sewing machine that still works

This sewing machine, which is still functional, encapsulates the entire story of the Michailidou family’s movement from Pontus to Russia and then to Greece. Anastasia Michailidou chose to carry this heavy and cumbersome object on this long journey, highlighting the practicalities and material choices that migrants have been faced with throughout history.

022

Half an icon of Agios Eleftherios

Half of an icon of Agios Eleftherios survives in Chania. We can see half the body of a saint dressed in blue, green, red and white holding a sceptre. The face of the saint is missing, but the name ‘Eleftherios’ remains. The wood on which the figure of the saint has been painted has been torn in half.

023

The icons of the Rakopoulou family

On her father’s side, Gogo Rakopoulou hails from Prousa, while on her mother’s side, her ancestors were originally from Smyrna. Their original surname is not known, since they adopted the surname ‘Tsichlakis’ upon their arrival in Chania. These four icons travelled with them and, after the family had settled in Greece, they adorned their homes and, later, their descendants’ homes.

024

The Virgin Mary icon of the Rakopoulou family

Gogo Rakopoulou describes how, when she took the icons out to clean them, she noticed that some of them had writing on them. As she says, one of the icons was probably her family’s diary.

025

The crimson wedding dress from Cappadocia

A crimson wedding dress from 19th century Cappadocia was donated by Alexandra Melita to the ‘Agios Polykarpos’ Brotherhood of Asia Minor Refugees in Chania. It is accompanied by a photograph of the couple.

026

An early 20th century scrapbook

Young Evangelia Meimaroglou’s scrapbook was donated to the Brotherhood by Mairi Meimaroglou-Markogiannaki. Leafing through its pages, we can catch a glimpse of what a personalized scrapbook from the beginning of the 20th century looked like.

027

Two small vases

Ourania Stamatiadou-Koutsogianni, the granddaughter and namesake of Ourania Stamatiadou, is a retired educator and the chairwoman of the ‘Englezonisi’ Cultural Association of Asia Minor Greeks of Nea Ionia, Magnisia. She is overwhelmingly generous with stories of her family and the rest of the Englezonisi refugees. Besides sharing her narratives, she also keeps two small vases brought to Greece by her family on a small display at the association’s offices.

028

A silver tray

A silver tray, two small vases and a silver flask engraved with the icon of Agios Georgios are all the belongings Ourania Stamatiadou-Koutsogiannis’ grandparents managed to bring with them to Greece. These objects are part of her family history, but also of the history of all refugees. Ourania believes that their value lies in their ability to disseminate and preserve refugee history.

029

A silver flask engraved with the icon of Agios Georgios

For Ourania Stamatiadou-Koutsogianni, the story of her grandparents, starting with their origins, then their exodus and the new life they built at the refugee neighbourhoods of Nea Ionia, is part not only of her family history, but also of the history of Asia Minor Hellenism in general, of the refugee movement of 1922 and the new refugee settlements which sprung up all over the country.

030

A silver tray. Scotland, Smyrna, Constantinople, Thessaloniki

Kleio used this tray in family ceremonies, mainly weddings where it was used as a display for the wedding wreaths. She polished the tray often and passed it on to her daughter, Anna Kyriadou. For Anna, this well-travelled tray encapsulates her family’s history.

031

The porcelain china set and the fish served with mayonnaise

The set was made in Bavaria and bought by Panaretos in Constantinople. It was a gift for Foteini who wanted a china set so that she could throw dinner parties just like her friends. It is uniquely decorated with a chrysanthemum pattern, while most china sets of the time were adorned with roses.

032

A dowry embroidery from Adramyti

The embroidery adorned with the name of Eirini Chantzara was passed on to her daughter, Popi, and then to her granddaughter and namesake, Eirini, who chose to donate it to the Folklife and Ethhnological Museum of Macedonia-Thrace in order to ensure its preservation.

033

Weighing products in every homeland: Sourmena – Kerts – Vatum – Piraeus

From grocery shop owner in Vatum, Pontus, to travelling greengrocer in Piraeus, Georgios Tsouchnikas and his family became refugees twice, both times carrying along their few possessions. Among them were these scale weights; important work tools, but also reminders of the shops he left behind and proof of his hope that he would be using them in his new life.

034

The icon of Agios Savvas

Savvas Leptourgidis, a retired journalist, was born in 1948 in the American Women’s Hospital in Kokkinia and grew up in Keratsini, in the refugee neighbourhood of Amfiali, where he still lives. This icon of Agios Savvas is not only a part of his own and his family’s past, but also a piece of his homeland’s culture.

035

The icon of Agios Nikolaos of Nea Alikarnassos

Refugees from Alikarnassos in Asia Minor arrived at Heraklion in Crete and founded the settlement of Nea Alikarnassos. There are two churches serving the needs of the community, Agios Nikolaos and Panagia Kamariani, built later. The church of Agios Nikolaos was founded by the refugees soon after their arrival and it was originally a wooden construction.

036

The icon of Panagia Kamariani from Alikarnassos

After the burning of Smyrna, the icon of Panagia Kamariani travelled from Asia Minor to Kalymnos with Marigitsa Takori, a refugee. Later, her children transported it to Athens where it was collected by a group of Nea Alikarnassos residents who took it to Heraklion.

037

The small icon display from Prousa

The small display contains an icon of the Virgin Mary, a pouch filled with soil and a note. This is a recent find by Michalis Kokkinos, a third-generation Asia Minor refugee, whose mother died in 2021.

039

The embroidered hairbrush case from Kars

The Museum of the Pontian Women’s Association, called ‘Embroidering memory’, was inaugurated in 2005. Several of the objects in its collection came from Pontus and Russia, traversing space and time. Among them, the embroidered hairbrush case of Elisavet Theodoridou (nee Grammatikopoulou) which came from Kars, Russia.

040

An embroidery from Trapezounta

The Museum of the Pontian Women’s Association, called ‘Embroidering memory’, was inaugurated in 2005. Several of the objects in its collection came from Pontus and Russia, traversing space and time. Among them, an embroidery from Trapezounta known as a ‘kourtinaki’ or ‘keimilio’, one of the two curtain panels covering an icon display embroidered in a paisley pattern (lahuri in Turkish), a pattern widely used in Pontus.

041

The icon of Agios Georgios

The Museum of the Pontian Women’s Association, called ‘Embroidering memory’, was inaugurated in 2005. Several of the objects in its collection came from Pontus and Russia, traversing space and time. Among them, an icon of Agios Georgios from the 19th century.

042

A Singer sewing machine

The Museum of the Pontian Women’s Association, called ‘Embroidering memory’, was inaugurated in 2005. Several of the objects in its collection came from Pontus and Russia, traversing space and time. Among them, a Singer sewing machine, first used in Trapezounta, in 1911, and then in Thessaloniki.

045

The icon of Agia Anastasia

The icon of Agia Anastasia is an heirloom of the refugee family of Nikos Dimopoulos who is the president of the ‘Agios Polykarpos’ Refugee Association in Heraklion. On his mother’s side, Nikos Dimopoulos’ family left Vourla, near Smyrna, and settled in Heraklion.

046

Bridal underwear from Englezonisi

The offices of the ‘Englezonisi’ Cultural Association of Asia Minor Greeks of Nea Ionia, Magnisia host a small exhibition of household items, clothes, and linen brought over by the refugees. Among the exhibits displayed, you can see embroidered, handmade, cotton, bridal underwear and everyday cotton undergarments.

047

Embroideries and dowries

The offices of the ‘Englezonisi’ Cultural Association of Asia Minor Greeks of Nea Ionia, Magnisia host a small exhibition of household items, clothes, and linen brought over by the refugees. Among them, the handmade embroideries and dowries of girls and women.

048

Household items from Englezonisi

A single burner gas stove, tea cups, and ornate saucers crossed the Aegean Sea, reached Nea Ionia of Volos, and were later donated by their owners to the ‘Englezonisi’ Cultural Association of Asia Minor Greeks of Nea Ionia, Magnisia, so that they could take their place in the community’s shared past and assist in their own way in the effort towards the preservation of its memory and history.

049

A graduation certificate from a school in Sinasos

The handwritten graduation certificate for Athanasios Ch. G. Toperidis from 1898, which is exhibited in the ‘Nea Sinasos’ Association Museum, is only one of the hundreds such certificates issued for Sinasos men and women over the course of the almost 100 years that the schools of Sinasos remained in operation.

050

The last day of school

On the last day of school, the students took a commemorative photograph which they brought with them to Greece along with their textbooks. A copy of this photograph can be found at the ‘Nea Sinasos’ Association Museum.

051

The medical instruments from Panormos

The family came to Greece in 1922. Anastasios Malkotsis (1869-1957) continued practicing medicine in Thessaloniki, in Agios Fanourios, Toumpa. From Panormos, he brought with him his leather medical bag with his medical instruments and tools (scissors, forceps, vials, syringes, needles, droppers) and the bronze plaque of his medical practice, inscribed with his name and profession in Greek and Armenian.

053

A necklace from Scholari in Eastern Thrace

Some time between 1914 and 1918, Athina, a widow and mother of one child, Chrysoula, born in 1913, arrived in Kataltza (today known as Choristi, Drama) dressed in her traditional outfit. Her journey started from Scholari after her husband, a soldier, died in battle. Her granddaughter, Athina Chorozi, remembers her wearing breeches and saying: ‘They kicked me out of my house with nothing but the breeches I had on! Everything I had of value I
stashed in my pockets and I wrapped Chrysoula in the crib liner, the one with the chariot.’

054

The icon of Agia Ekaterini from Malakopi

Christina Pavlioglou doesn’t know much about the icon, but remembers that her mother thought it could perform miracles and there was a vague family legend about it surviving a house fire. For Christina, her family’s refugee past is not only part of her own history, but also part of the wider history of mobility and the pattern of hardship and violence that displaced people have always had to contend with. �

055

The samovar from Russia

The samovar used to be a practical tool in the family’s everyday life. Today, it is a family heirloom of great sentimental value for Emmanouil Michailidis; a precious piece of his family past and the roots they put down in Nikaia.  

056

A sewing machine from Trapezounta

Ilias Vasileiadis’ sewing machine has been decommissioned for years and is now in the possession of his granddaughter, Vasiliki Tsouchnika; a precious family heirloom which secured the livelihood of her mother’s family for decades.

058

The icon of Agios Nikolaos from Prusa

Margarita asked her grandmother to pass the icons on to her when she would no longer need them and Kallino agreed. After her death, Kallino’s three icons stayed with Margarita. The third icon is a relatively newer one, painted in the Russian style and depicting Agios Nikolaos.

059

The icon of Agios Athanasios from Sozopol

Thanasis Kalafatis owned an icon of Agios Athanasios brought to Greece by his family from Sozopol. The icon is signed ‘Them. Diamantopoulos’ and bears the date ‘1866’. Thanasis always had it in his bedroom.

060

The dowry from Kaisareia

My grandmother on my mother’s side was like a heroine out of One Thousand and One Nights. Her name was Narina, which became Maria in Greek, and she came to Greece from Yozgat in Kaisareia (Kayseri) with her husband, Grandpa Symeon, a merchant who traded in fur and carpets all over Europe. They arrived via Constantinople, leaving behind relatives as they were passing through Greece: some in Kavala, Vasilis and Ierousalim Katemidis in Thessaloniki, Aunt Veta and Uncle Giorgos Doxopoulos in Nea Ionia of Volos.

061

A lamp from Yozgat in Kaisareia

‘Grandma Narina was the only grandmother I got to know and spend some time with. She used to call me “yavrum”’, says her granddaughter, Erifyli Souvatzidou. Now, ‘the dowry from Kaisareia’ belongs to Erifyli along with her sweet memories of Gradma Narina and the refugee house in Kokkinia.

062

The seals from Sinasos

Even though none of the institutions of Sinasos would survive the resettlement in Greece and the new circumstances after the Exodus, its residents painstakingly packed and moved an array of community objects and registers, alongside their own personal belongings. Despite the fact that the three seals they brought to Greece were never used, they still attest to the meticulousness of the organising system the residents of Sinasos had to leave behind and its importance to them.

063

The blessing of the icons, organised by the ‘Agios Polykarpos’ Brotherhood of Asia Minor Greeks of Chania

On Saturday, May 28, 2022, the ‘Agios Polykarpos’ Brotherhood of Asia Minor Greeks of Chania commemorated the centenary since the Asia Minor Catastrophe by organising a blessing of the icons that their refugee ancestors had brought with them from their homelands. They chose the church of Agios Nikolaos due to its deep connection with the town’s refugee history. It was the main church of Splantzia, an area which received a large number of refugees since its Muslim residents had already abandoned it, leaving their homes behind.

064

The icons brought to Crete by the refugees

Around 30 icons were transported to the church for this ceremony. Some of them were in good condition, others were more fragile; some depict more obscure saints, others more recognizable ones; some have well-established origins and history, others remain a mystery.

065

Thirty icons in motion

The role of these icons is two-fold according to the Brotherhood. On the one hand, they constitute evidence of the religiosity and piety of the refugees both when they lived in Asia Minor and after they resettled in Greece. On the other, they link refugee descendants to their ancestors’ homelands.

066

The Virgin Mary: a symbol of protection

Holding baby Jesus, showing tenderness and mercy, being blessed and full of grace, giving life, mourning, praying; these are just some of the iterations of Virgin Mary, the ‘Mother of God’, in the Orthodox tradition and art. As descendants of refugee families, the members of the ‘Agios Polykarpos’ Brotherhood of Asia Minor Greeks of Chania are responsible for the preservation of the icons their Asia Minor ancestors brought with them.

067

A dowry agreement from Marmara Island

On September 5, 1909, a dowry agreement was signed by Father Gavriil Papazoglou, an Orthodox deacon and father of the bride (Soultana Papazoglou), and Ioannis Livanos, father of the groom (Nikolaos Livanos), for the upcoming ‘first marriage’ of the young couple.

068

A lamp from Panormos

Efterpi Marki, daughter of Epameinondas and Olga Antoniou from Korissos, Kastoria, told Areti Kondylidou that the family had brought a big part of their household with them. Only some bronze cookware survives, along with three ‘precious’ items, one of which is a bronze petrol lamp. Efterpi considers this lamp to be the most valuable item in her household and she is extremely proud of it.

069

A coffee grinder from Panormos

Epameinondas Markis was born in Panormos of Asia Minor in 1901. He didn’t finish school because he was in the habit of throwing marbles at his teacher. He became a carpenter’s apprentice in Kontoskali, with his father handing over all responsibility for the boy to his master. In 1917, he was to be conscripted into