Άλλες Ονομασίες Axo, Naxos, Hasaköy. Γεωγραφική Θέση Central Asia Minor. Ιστορική Περιοχή Cappadocia

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1 Περίληψη : Settlement of Cappadocia, near Niğde, with exclusively Greek Orthodox population that reached 4,000-5,000 in the end of the 19th century. People dealt with farming, linseed oil and commerce and immigrated to Central Asia Minor and the Pontus. Άλλες Ονομασίες Axo, Naxos, Hasaköy Γεωγραφική Θέση Central Asia Minor Ιστορική Περιοχή Cappadocia Διοικητική Υπαγωγή Mutesarrıflık of Niğde, vilayet of Konya Γεωγραφικές Συντεταγμένες 1. Anthropogeography Settlement of central Asia Minor, situated 28 km to the north of Nigde, 1 known also as Naxos and Hasaköy as well. Towards the late 19th century it was exclusively inhabited by Christian Orthodox people, whose population, according to estimates, amounted to approximately 4,000, or 600 families. 2 Different opinions are expressed by Asvesti and Iakovidis, who claim that the population of Axo was 5,000 and the families 1,200, 3 as well as Mavrochalyvidis, who mentions about families living in Axo. 4 On the other hand, Christopoulos suggests that Axo's population was smaller, estimating it at about 1,050 inhabitants. 5 At the time of the population exchange, Axo was inhabited by 1,112 families and the population amounted to 3,687 people. 6 All things considered, Axo was one of the Cappadocian settlements with the most dense Christian population. According to all existing sources, the inhabitants of Axo were Greek-speaking. However, we should not eliminate the possibility of a simultaneous use of the Turkish language, since local songs have been preserved in this language. 7 The older buildings of Axo, the old village, were in the centre of the settlement, sculpted on rocks and communicating with each other through a complicated underground network of arcades. Folk speech called them shelters or kereria. At the next stage of the settlement s development, the house was built on ground level, next to the former underground house. The new house accommodated the family, while the former one was used as a storehouse. Further development of the settlement resulted in the new houses being completely detached from the rock and the former architectural styles. Such developments have been noticed in other Cappadocian settlements as well. After the population exchange, the refugees from Axo sought shelter in Macedonia, Thrace and Crete. Most of them were settled at Palio, by the lake of Giannitsa, where they were allocated land from the drained lake. 2. Economy 2.1 Agricultural Production A significant part of the population of Axo was engaged in agriculture, at least until the mid-19th century, when several inhabitants left Δημιουργήθηκε στις 26/2/2017 Σελίδα 1/5

2 their homeland to engage in commerce. However, many people continued to work in agriculture until The land of Axo included both irrigable and dry fields. Irrigable fields produced wheat, barley, lentils, peas, chickpeas, Roman rocket and some vegetables, following the method of crop rotation. Dry fields produced rye and millet, used in dye manufacturing. There was small-scale viniculture, arboriculture and apiculture in the last 50 years before the population exchange. People in Axo were also engaged in stock farming, which was not particularly developed, aiming to cover mainly domestic needs. 2.2 Handicraft Production, Commerce and Emigration Many inhabitants of Axo were involved in the production of linseed oil, thus increasing their income from agriculture. Linseed oil was exported during winter and the people from Axo working in the presses ("maggania") travelled around the villages of the vilayets of Konya and Kayseri. Around Easter they usually returned to Axo to farm their land. Together with the production of linseed oil, several people working in presses gradually became engaged in linseed oil trade, which was a turning point for the settlement s economic history. After entering commerce, they steadily expanded their activities by purchasing various products during their travels mainly food and selling them in Axo. Others began as peddlers, travelling central Asia Minor before finally settling down as merchants (grocers and haberdashers) in various places. Some acted as middlemen by collecting the local productions of wheat, wool, opium, leather, cheese and butter and re-selling them wholesale to the merchants that came for this reason from nearby cities (such as Nigde and Ankara). These processes favoured emigration from Axo and other Cappadocian settlements, particularly after It was then that the community of people from Axo was created in the Christian quarter of Konya, numbering about 60 families. Other places of acceptance for the immigrants from Axo were Adana, Samsun, Bafra and Kavala in Macedonia, where immigrants worked in tobacco factories. A limited number of emigrants, in comparison with other Cappadocian settlements, were directed to Smyrna and Constantinople, while few of them reached America. According to the established emigration model, the immigrants from Axo usually settled alone in new places; they left their families behind in Axo and returned only to visit them. Pottery was also developed, producing vessels called karchinia. The production of vessels was an activity exclusively performed by women in spring and summer. The vessels were sold in several Cappadocian settlements. In Axo there were also a few craftsmen, builders, blacksmiths, tailors and woodcutters, who served local needs. 3. Admininstration and Community The community of Axo was under the jurisdiction of the mutasarrıflık of Niğde, which, in turn, came under the vilayet of Konya. A three-member ecclesiastical committee, in which one respectable parishioner represented each of the three neighbourhoods of Axo, managed the ecclesiastical property. A council of muhtars centrally administered the community. All parishioners of each quarter above 20 elected their representative, who held office for one or two years. 9 These were the senior muhtars ("muhtar-ı evvel"). Moreover, each quarter elected a deputy muhtar ("muhtar-ı sani") and a further represenatitive. All the above, together with the priests, formed the muhtar council ("heyeti muhtariye") of Axo. 10 The muhtars were responsible for the distribution and payment of taxes. Apart from state taxes, they collected the metropolitan s allowance. They entered all newly-born boys in the special registers that concerned the tax payed by non-muslims in lieu of miltary service, while from 1909 on they were assigned the task of enlisting Christians. Rural guards were also community clerks, each quarter having 2 of them, who were given the task of guarding the fields. Night watchmen assumed the responsibility of protecting the people from bandits. The muhtars worked at the parish s expense. Rural guards received a percentage of the production as payment, while night watchmen took 2 kuruş per house they guarded. There is no available information about intra-community disputes and misadministration. However, we know that in 1895 a six- Δημιουργήθηκε στις 26/2/2017 Σελίδα 2/5

3 member committee, appointed to manage the community affairs, invited the members of the ecclesiastical committee to account for the management of the ecclesiastical property. A few years later, the community s administrative structure changed and a communal body (dimogerontia), a school board (ephoria), and an ecclesiastical committee were formed. The emigrants from Axo to Konya played an important role in the reorganization of the community. 4. Religion There were 3 Orthodox churches in Axo: Agia Makrina in the upper quarter("mahalle"), Agios Georgios in the lower quarter and the Dormition of the Virgin in the middle quarter. There were also 5 chapels at different locations in the settlement. 11 The most important church was Agia Makrina, who, according to tradition, was the sister of St Gregory the Theologian. The church was built in 1843, together with several other Orthodox churches built all over Cappadocia. 12 According to Iakovidis, however, Agia Makrina was already built around Education There is evidence that education in Axo was organised very late. The first organised school in Axo is believed to have been founded in 1896, on the advice of the metropolitan of Ikonion (Konya). It was a four-class school, attended by the boys of the settlement. 14 The school seems to have remained open and 250 pupils are reported in The same number was recorded in the statistics of the diocese of Ikonion in 1905, although the school was reported to have two classes and only one teacher. 16 Mavrochalyvidis adopts a different opinion claiming that the school was founded in 1908, following the inhabitants and his efforts, with 5 classes and a kindergarten. It is also reported that there were 3 male teachers, one female teacher and one female preschool teacher, while the number of pupils amounted to a total of Societies Collective action was attempted in 1895, when the Fraternity of the Friends of Education of Axo was established, aiming to raise money for the school s construction and preservation. The merchants from Axo living far from the settlement played an important role in establishing the society. According to its memorandum of association, a ten-member board elected for a two-year term managed the society. Although some money was collected, the school was not completed due to disagreements over the construction site. As a result, the society fell into decline, while part of the money collected was used for building a community inn in Georgios Mavrochalyvidis from Axo re-established the society in 1906 in Konya, where he worked as a teacher. Its new name was "Agia Makrina The Charitable Fraternity of the People from Axo in Konya but its primary objective remained the same. The money was finally collected and the school was built in The society s second operation is closely connected to the abovementioned reorganization of the community and reveals the important role played by the migrants from Axo to Konya in the educational and communal issues of Axo. 1. Ασβεστή, Μ., Επαγγελματικές ασχολίες των Ελλήνων της Καππαδοκίας, (Athens 1980), p «Στατιστική της Επαρχίας Ικονίου», Ξενοφάνης, 3 (1905) p. 46; Αντωνόπουλος, Σ., Μικρά Ασία, (Athens 1907), p. 219; Κοντογιάννης, Π., Γεωγραφία της Μικράς Ασίας, (Athens 1921), p. 152; Φαρασόπουλος, Σ., Τα Σύλατα: Μελέτη του νομού Ικονίου υπό γεωγραφικήν, φιλολογικήν και εθνολογικήν έποψιν, (Athens 1895), p Ασβεστή [Asvesti], Μ., Επαγγελματικές ασχολίες των Ελλήνων της Καππαδοκίας, (Athens 1980), p. 108; Ιακωβίδης [Iakovidis], Μ., Αυτοβιογραφία: Πώς Έζησα το Δράμα μας (typewritten manuscript, ΚΜΣ, ΚΑΠΠ 83), (Athens 1974), p. 1. Δημιουργήθηκε στις 26/2/2017 Σελίδα 3/5

4 4. Μαυροχαλυβίδης [Mavrochalyvidis], Γ., Η Αξό (typewritten manuscript, ΚΜΣ, ΚΑΠΠ 54α, 54β), (Athens 1959), p Χριστόπουλος [Christopoulos], Μ., Αι εις τας Μητροπόλεις Καισαρείας και Ικονίου Υπαγόμεναι Ελληνορθόδοξοι Κοινότητες (typewritten manuscript, ΚΜΣ, ΚΑΠΠ 45), (Chania 1939), p Ασβεστή, Μ., Επαγγελματικές ασχολίες των Ελλήνων της Καππαδοκίας, (Athens 1980), p Μαυροχαλυβίδης, Γ., Η Αξό (typewritten manuscript, ΚΜΣ, ΚΑΠΠ 54α, 54β), (Athens 1959), p Asvesti (Ασβεστή), op. cit., p.109, mentions families, while Iakovidis (Ιακωβίδης), op.cit., p. 1, refers to 400 families, representing according to him 33% of the total. 9. This was established years before the exchange of populations. Previously, only one muhtar was elected for the whole settlement. 10. Μαυροχαλυβίδης, Γ., Η Αξό (typerwitten manuscript, ΚΜΣ, ΚΑΠΠ 54α, 54β), (Athens 1959), p Μαυροχαλυβίδης, Γ., Η Αξό (typewritten manuscript, ΚΜΣ, ΚΑΠΠ54α, 54β), (Athens 1959), p. 7. For a different view see Antonopoulos (Αντωνόπουλος), op.cit., p., 219, and «Στατιστική της Επαρχίας Ικονίου», Ξενοφάνης, 3 (1905) p. 46, where it is maintained that four priests were performing mass service in the two churches of Axos. 12. Μαυροχαλυβίδης, Γ., Η Αξό (typewritten manuscript, ΚΜΣ, ΚΑΠΠ54α, 54β), (Athens 1959), p Ιακωβίδης, Μ., Αυτοβιογραφία: Πώς Έζησα το Δράμα μας (typewritten manuscript, ΚΜΣ, ΚΑΠΠ 83), (Athens 1974), p Χριστόπουλος Μ., Αι εις τας Μητροπόλεις Καισαρείας και Ικονίου Υπαγόμεναι Ελληνορθόδοξοι Κοινότητες (typwritten manuscript, ΚΜΣ, ΚΑΠΠ 45), Chania 1939), p Αντωνόπουλος, Σ., Μικρά Ασία, (Athens 1907), p «Στατιστική της Επαρχίας Ικονίου», Ξενοφάνης 3 (1905), p Μαυροχαλυβίδης [Mavrochalyvidis], Γ., Η Αξό (typewritten manuscript, ΚΜΣ, ΚΑΠΠ 54α, 54β), (Athens 1959), p Βιβλιογραφία : Αντωνόπουλος Σ., Μικρά Ασία, Αθήναι 1907 Ασβέστη Μ., Επαγγελματικές ασχολίες των Ελλήνων της Καππαδοκίας, Αθήνα 1980 Κοντογιάννης Π., Γεωγραφία της Μικράς Ασίας. Φυσική σύστασις της χώρας, πολιτική γεωγραφία, φυσικός πλούτος, Αθήναι 1921 Φαρασόπουλος Σ., Τα Σύλατα: Μελέτη του νομού Ικονίου υπό γεωγραφικήν, φιλολογικήν και εθνολογικήν έποψιν, Αθήνα 1895 Γλωσσάριo : muhtar Δημιουργήθηκε στις 26/2/2017 Σελίδα 4/5

5 Elected communal official, head of a quarter or a village community. mutasarrıflık A medium-sized Ottoman administrative unit that replaced the sancak during the Late Ottoman Period, after the administrative reforms of vilayet (valilik) The larger administrative unit in the Ottoman provincial administration system. The large provinces of the Ottoman Empire were previously called eyalet. The new regulation of 1864 introduced the vilayet as an equivalent of the French départment - albeit of smaller size. The governor of the vilayet was called vali and had extensive authority. Πηγές Ιακωβίδης, Μ., Αυτοβιογραφία: Πώς Έζησα το Δράμα μας (typewritten manuscript, ΚΜΣ, ΚΑΠΠ 83) (Athens 1974). Μαυροχαλυβίδης, Γ., Η Αξό (typewritten manuscript ΚΜΣ, ΚΑΠΠ 54α, 54β) (Athens 1959). Χριστόπουλος, Μ., Αι εις τας Μητροπόλεις Καισαρείας και Ικονίου Υπαγόμεναι Ελληνορθόδοξοι Κοινότητες (typewritten manuscript, ΚΜΣ, ΚΑΠΠ 45) (Chania 1939). Δημιουργήθηκε στις 26/2/2017 Σελίδα 5/5