An Ottoman house hosting refugees

The area of Thessaloniki known today as Ano Poli is located towards the top of a hill slope, which is why it used to be known as Bayir (the Turkish word for slope). Even though it experienced some residential development after the Ottomans conquered the city in 1430, it remained sparsely populated. During the 16^th and the first half of the 17^thcentury, it appears that Christians and Muslims co-existed in Ano Poli, while the city’s Jewish population lived in the city centre.

As the Muslim population increased during the second half of the 17^th century, the city’s quarters became more delineated and the number of mixed quarters declined. Christian populations were limited to the lower part of the city near the sea, while the Muslim populations clustered in Ano Poli. Most Ottoman houses were large and built out of stone, with yards and citrus gardens, windows overlooking the sea, and closed balconies known as ‘σαχνίσια’ (pronounced ‘sachnisia’; the equivalent in Western architecture would be ‘erker’ or ‘bay windows’). Since the denser urban fabric and the city’s sea walls obstructed air circulation in the low-lying parts of Thessaloniki, the Muslims preferred the elevated area of Ano Poli both for its excellent climate and the sense of security it provided due to its proximity to the Acropolis and Yedi Kule, which served as the headquarters of the city guard. As a result, new Turkish neighbourhoods were established all over the area and Ano Poli became the city’s main Muslim quarter. This delineation of the city along religious lines remained in effect up until 1912, or even as late as 1917 and 1924.

The next phase in the history of the area began in 1922 with the arrival of the Christian refugees from Asia Minor. By the end of 1924, the entirety of the Muslim population of Thessaloniki had left the city – an exodus which had already begun during the Balkan wars^[1]. The majority of this population had been residing in Ano Poli. The empty houses abandoned by the Muslims housed refugees and gradually became property of the National Bank of Greece as they had been designated ‘exchangeable’ assets. Because Ottoman houses were large, they could accommodate more than one family, in many cases undergoing modifications that would facilitate cohabitation. Another widespread practice among refugees was the appropriation of empty land in Ano Poli and the construction of numerous small houses using any material available, even utilising the city’s Byzantine walls. These are the so-called ‘καστρόπληκτα’ (pronounced ‘kastroplikta’ which means ‘castle-stricken’, ‘the houses threatened by the walls’). This was a turning point for Ano Poli, as the refugees who settled there en masse shaped the social and political profile of the area, while their houses defined its morphology for the next 60 years.  

^[1] It is hard to determine the number of Muslims who migrated from Macedonia between 1912 and 1915 due to the contradictory statistics presented by the Balkan countries for propaganda purposes. Indicatively, according to a recent study, this number ranges between 59,000 and 151,000. See Yannis Glavinas, The Muslim population in Greece (1912-1923). From incorporation to exchange, Stamoulis Publications, Thessaloniki 2013, pp. 47-60.

The photograph shows a three-storey house at 13 (used to be 9-13) Theofilou Street. The house has elements of neoclassical and eclectic architecture, with bold decorative elements and lavish interior décor. The building was modified in 1929 so that it could be divided into two dwellings for refugee families. Among other morphological changes, a wall was erected to split the yard in two and a stairwell was added to allow access to the second dwelling. Similar modifications were made to other Ottoman houses in Ano Poli which were granted to refugee families, such as the house at number 27 (today’s 25) of the same street. As Loukia Pistikidou writes:  

From day one Mother contacted the Settlement Office about our housing. They granted us half a room in a Turkish school at 27 Theofilou Street in Ano Poli, which is now a listed monument. The other half, separated by quilts, old blankets and sheets, housed a four-member family. Mother redeemed some more bonds, bought wooden planks and we used them to build a divider about two meters tall. We also turned one of the windows into a sink where we could wash up and wash the dishes and we settled in as best as we could. The water from the sink ended up out in the open but didn’t reach the street.

Fortunately, this former classroom had two doors, so we could isolate ourselves. We cooked in the room on a brazier. The other family was very annoying. The couple was always fighting about where they would resettle, but also about everyday problems. The daughter was constantly complaining and the son, almost old enough to be a man, was no better. We could find no peace. They fried food every day. The whole room reeked because they wouldn’t open the window, not even when they were frying food. The situation was unbearable, but we had no other option.

The building on 13 Theofilou Street was included in a restoration scheme implemented by the ‘Thessaloniki Cultural Capital of Europe 1997’ Organisation and housed the local branch of the Hellenic Literary and Historical Archive (ELIA) for 10 years.