Tourists In Paradise

Ulker Basak visits Şirince: a community named, renamed, lost, and found.

u.basak@phd.uniss.it

Ulker is a PhD candidate at the University of Sassari.

Fifty miles south of Izmir, Şirince Village was once home to several Greek Orthodox Christian families, including the Aksiyotis family. The story of Manoli Aksiyotis and his descendants affords insights into the enduring impact of the population exchange and the remarkable resilience of the people who called Şirince home. The community was reputedly established in the fifteenth century by emancipated Greek slaves, who sought to deter other settlers from joining them by naming the settlement “Çirkince”, meaning “ugliness” in Turkish. Renamed Kirkinje/Kirkintzes in the nineteenth century, the 1923 population exchange forced the Ottoman Greek residents to relocate to a town in northern Greece. While those exiled called their new home Nea Ephesos, or “new Ephesus”, the village they left behind was renamed Şirince (pleasantness).

If paradise really exists, Kirkinje/Kirkintzes (Şirince), our village, was a little corner of it.
Nicholas Doumanis, “Before the Nation” (Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2013), p. 50.

A journalist and writer, Dido Sotiriou (Διδώ Σωτηρίου/ Dido Sotiroğlu) was born in 1910 in Aydın, Western Anatolia, and was among those who had to migrate to Greece in 1922. In the aftermath of this experience “the desire to write grew inside me like an avalanche”, resulting in the 1962 novel Matomena Homata/ Ματωμένα Χώματα (Blind Stones), that later became a Greek television series (2008-9). Blind Stones was itself based on the experience of Manoli Aksiyotis, one among the hundreds of thousands of shadows thrown from one side of the water to the other by the exchange.

Born and raised in Şirince, Manoli fought against the Turks as part of the Greek army in World War I and spent the rest of his life in Greece. In Sotiriou’s version, the Greeks of Şirince are presented as mostly farmers tending “watermelon patches, walnut and almond groves, apple, pear, and cherry orchards, and bright blooming flower gardens”. Despite being an exclusively Greek village, Şirince apparently enjoyed harmonious relations with neighbouring Muslims, each community extending customary hospitality towards each other, especially at weddings and during Ramadan. The picture is one familiar from similarly nostalgic accounts of the pre-war Ottoman Empire:

Before the war; some of the Turks would stay as guests at the houses of their friends; they would eat and sleep with us. When they went to Turkish villages to buy livestock, horses, or milk, our people would also be entertained at the homes of their friends there. And when we encountered each other on mountain roads, we would greet each other warmly, saying “May your mornings be blessed,” reflecting the peaceful atmosphere of the time.

Manoli settled in Athens, where he took on a series of different jobs to sustain his livelihood. He married and had children, yet his heart yearned for Şirince, his hometown. He taught himself the Latin alphabet and in 1970 began writing letters addressed to “The Master of Şirince.” These letters eventually found their way to Mehmet Ali Dağlı, now living in Aksiyotis’ former home. Dağlı and family had arrived in Urla by ship from Drama, Thessaloniki, in 1923. Assigned to Şirince by the Ministry of Exchange, Reconstruction, and Resettlement (Mübadele, İmar, İskan Vekaleti), these former tobacco farmers soon discovered that the land in Şirince was not suited to that crop. Like many other exchangees, they had to learn new ways of surviving. Over time, the village’s livelihood shifted from olive and tobacco cultivation to fruit farming. Dağlı responded to Aksiyotis’ letters, beginning a correspondence that endured through the 1970s, a decade otherwise marked by territorial disputes between Greece and Turkey.

MEHMET ALI DAGLI (LEFT) AND MANOLI AKSIYOTIS (RIGHT)

In 1973, now in his eighties, Manoli finally returned to Şirince. Dağlı and his family warmly embraced Manoli, inviting him into their home, reliving cherished memories of times gone by. Manoli’s Kirkinje/Kirkintzes and Şirince were nonetheless different. There used to be numerous coffee houses in Kirkinje/Kirkintzes, and ornate mansions clustered around the central square. Kirkinje/Kirkintzes was also renowned for its skilled artisans and craftsmen: jewelers, tailors, masons. The exchangees who arrived in Şirince brought with them their culture, traditions, and architectural styles. There are notable architectural structures in Şirince such as the Church of St. John the Baptist and the Church of Saint Demetrios. Originally built as a Greek Orthodox church, it was later converted into a mosque after the exchange. Today, it serves as a historical monument, illustrating the shared history of the two communities.

Now the main source of income for the village, tourism began to develop in the 1970s. Local and Greek Travel agencies began featuring the village in their itineraries. For them, Şirince was also Meryem Ana Köyü (The Village of Virgin Mary), after the legend that claims the Virgin Mary was buried there. In the early years, Şirince focused on attracting Greek visitors, playing on ties born of the population exchange. Şirince now markets itself to a broader audience, including both domestic and international tourists.

ICONOSTASIS IN ŞIRINCE CHURCH

The tourism landscape in Şirince has witnessed a significant shift over the years. Marketing materials for Şirince highlight the village’s unique charm, traditional architecture, and natural beauty. While the village’s historical significance initially attracted tourists in the late 1970s, a focus on sustainability and eco-tourism has brought a new dimension to the visitor experience. Promotional materials seek to elicit nostalgia for a bygone era, while also promising an authentic experience. Şirince is described as an “enchanting village…where time seem to stand still,” where visitings can “immerse” themselves in the village’s “rich history…where echoes of its Greek history can still be felt today.” Local cuisine incorporating wild herbs such as arap saçı (mallow), rezene (fennel), and şevketibostan (purslane) are celebrated as a shared Turkish and Greek culinary heritage. On the other hand, there are also marketing strategies that endeavour to strike a more balanced approach, showcasing both historical and contemporary facets. In recent years, the surrounding mountains have been opened up to trekking, camping, and climbing, extending the tourist season.

I first studied population exchange while in Bologna studying for a master’s degree in International Cooperation on the Protection of Human Rights and Intercultural Heritage. As a PhD candidate at the University of Sassari in Culture, Literature, Tourism, and Territory, my research examines the sociocultural dimensions of the 1923 population exchange by examining the intricate dynamics of the spatial environment of exchanged cities. Given my roots in Izmir and a family history deeply impacted by migration, I have always been fascinated by the intersection of heritage, resilience, and identity.