The increase of urban density in Ano Poli after the arrival of the 1922 refugees

This is the juxtaposition between two maps of the same area, at the same scale, but at two different times: in 1916, before the arrival of the refugees, and in 1995. The area depicted is the north-western part of Ano Poli from Evrimedontos Street to Eptapyrgiou Street. Up until 1912, Ano Poli was sparsely populated and inhabited mostly by Muslim populations. The Muslims chose to settle in Ano Poli mainly for its safety and climate, since the area offered inhabitants clear views and clean air. Whether they belonged to wealthy families or people from lower economic strata, the dwellings in Ano Poli adhered to the traditional architectural style and were constructed using the traditional techniques ‘τσατμάς’ and ‘μπαδγατί’ (pronounced ‘tsatmas’ and ‘bagdati’), two forms of the wattle and daub building method. Several of the houses had courtyards. The population density of the area, especially its northern parts, started to increase at the end of the 19^th and the beginning of the 20^th century after the arrival of Muslim refugees from Bosnia in 1878, when Bosnia was annexed by the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Even so, until 1922 there was an abundance of vacant, undeveloped land in Ano Poli, particularly along the northern walls. After the signing of the Lausanne Treaty and the population exchange agreement between Greece and Turkey, a significant portion of Thessaloniki’s refugees settled in the houses which used to belong to the Muslim community of Ano Poli, while many also built new makeshift dwellings.

According to Hastaoglou, ‘In Ano Poli the refugees settled within the already established urban fabric. Besides legally settling in exchangeable properties acquired through auctions, a large number of destitute refugees occupied all kinds of open spaces, constructing small dwellings in the yards of old houses and in vacant land abutting the walls. This way of settlement led to the extreme segmentation of the finite amount of urban land that was available, resulting in the creation of minuscule land plots, some smaller than 40 square metres, which were covered with tiny dwellings. Whether terraced or detached, the houses submitted to the existing topography and demanded the full extent of their tenants’ imagination and ingenuity to transform into actual living spaces. These dwellings can be viewed as the last expression of an authentically traditional vernacular architecture due to their improvised construction and the fact that they were made using materials that could be found in the vicinity; mud and reeds, wood, and parts of old buildings. The practice of “plucking” stones from the walls also dates back to this time.’