Περίληψη : Yeniköy or Neochori (Nechori) is located on the European shore of the Bosporus, between the Steni (İstinye) and Therapeia (Tarabya) areas. During the 17th century the Yeniköy district was comprised of three thousand households, including three Muslim and seven Christian quarters. In the 20th century, the Greek community began to decline demographically due to the translocation of inhabitants to more central areas of Constantinople, as well as the anti-minority persecution measures enforced because of the precarious state of Greek Turkish bilateral relations in the following decades, mainly as a result of the Cypriot question. Άλλες Ονομασίες Γεωγραφική Θέση Bosporus Ιστορική Περιοχή Bosporus Διοικητική Υπαγωγή İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality 1. Location Name Yeniköy or Neochori (Nechori) is located on the European shore of the Bosporus, between the Steni (İstinye) and Therapeia (Tarabya) areas. According to one version, the area was named after Vlachs from the Geni area that inhabited the district directly after the Fall. Consequently, it was named Geniköy, which over the years became Yeniköy. 1 Evliya Çelebi records that this specific village was named Yeniköy, because it was formed by a decree issued by the Sultan Suleiman I. 2 2. The Orthodox community 2.1. Population During the 17 th century the Yeniköy district numbered three thousand households, including many gardens and vineyards. According to Evliya Çelebi the village was comprised of three Muslim and seven Christian quarters. He also mentions and stresses the fact that no Jews resided in the area, adding with emphasis that if Jews would show themselves there, they would be murdered by the local Greeks and Lazoi (Pontic Greeks), who greatly hated the Jewish population. Muslims residing in the village originated in their majority from Trabzon. Finally, the writer adds that 200 shops were operating in the area. 3 According to Eremya Çelebi Kömürciyan, the vast majority of the Neochori inhabitants were Greeks. He also mentions Turks and a few Armenians residing in the village. With regard to their profession, most of the Greeks were boatmen or sea captains. Always according to Kömürciyan, rich captains and shipowners from Neochori sailed to Danube, the Black Sea and Kaffa (also known as Caffa, Theodosia and Feodosiya) in Crimea, chiefly transporting timber, grain, barley and millet. 4 According to Injijian, an 18 th century Armenian writer, even though Neochori was considered a village, it resembled a small city. Its inhabitants paid more taxes in comparison to other villages on the Bosporus and they were also forced to serve in the Ottoman fleet by providing a specific number of sailors. 5 Scarlatus Byzantius records that Neochori was probably the biggest of the villages on the Bosporus. According to this writer, the village was mostly inhabited by Christians, and had three churches, as well as the same number of parishes of the same name, the parish of Agios Nikolaos (St. Nicholas), the parish of Agios Georgios (St. George) a dependency of the Holy Sepulchre and the parish of Panagia (the Virgin Mary) in what is called Köybaşı or Chephalochorion. He also adds that the villagers are celebrated, Δημιουργήθηκε στις 19/2/2017 Σελίδα 1/6
along with the inhabitants of Mega Revma (Arnavutköy) and Therapeia (Tarabya), as the most skilled fishermen and oarsmen of Katastenos. 6 Yeniköy remained one of the most significant Greek-Orthodox communities of Constantinople, even after the 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey. According to archival data from the Ecumenical Patriarchate, in 1949 the local Greek community comprised of 135 families. 7 A few years later, in 1955, according to data provided by Christophoros Chrestides from his personal archive, the Greek community in Yeniköy consisted of 220 families. 8 Gradually, however, it began to decline demographically due to the translocation of inhabitants to more central areas of Constantinople, as well as the anti-minority persecution measures enforced because of the precarious state of Greek Turkish bilateral relations in the following decades, mainly as a result of the Cypriot question. 2.2. Ecclesiastical dependency Churches Holy water springs The jurisdiction of the Constantinople Archdiocese ends at Nechori. Areas north of there come under the jurisdiction of the Derkoi Diocese. The Agios Nikolaos church (St. Nicholas) was built in 1818. The graves of Alexandros and Stefanos Karatheodoris, both notable personages of the local Greek community as well as the Ottoman Empire in general, are located in the churchyard. 9 The church dedicated to the Dormition of the Virgin Mary Koumariotissa (of the Bearberries) is located on the road leading to Upper Bosporus on the left side. The name of the Bearberries comes from an icon that was discovered in an arbutus. 10 There was an arbutus forest neighbouring the area and that is the reason it was also called Komaron (meaning Bearberry in Greek). 11 As mentioned above, there were three parishes in the village. The Agios Nikolaos (St. Nicholas) parish and the Cephalaiochori district, around the church of the Virgin Mary of the Bearberries, were separated by a stream. The Agios Nikolaos (St. Nicholas) parish was one of the richest in the Archdiocese of Constantinople. The third parish, which also was the poorest, had been formed around the Agios Georgios (St, George) church, a metochion of the Holy Sepulchre. 12 A significant holy water spring (agiasma) in the area was the one dedicated to Agia Paraskevi and celebrated on July 26 th. In the past, the revenue from the holy water fountain was collected by priests of the Holy Sepulchre, residing in the neighbouring dependency. Other important holy water sources in the area are Panagia (Virgin Mary) of the Crib (Achouriotissa) and Agios Charalambos. Nowadays the holy water springs of Agios Therapon, Agia Blacherna, Agios Constantinos and Agia Eleni (Sts. Constantine and Helen), as well as the one dedicated to the Agia Triada (Holy Trinity), no longer exist. 13 2.3. Cemetery Transportation The Upper Neochori cemetery is located over the Agios Georgios (St. George) church, dependency of the Holy Sepulchre. The cemetery does not include a separate church, while the Agios Charalambos holy water fountain is located at its grounds. 14 Until the middle of the 19 th century, the connection between Yeniköy and Constantinople was achieved only through boats and coaches. However, when regular maritime itineraries were introduced, the village was connected to Constantinople. Consequently, with the arrival of the steamboat and the institution of regular services, the area became incorporated to the urban plexus and evolved into a suburb. As was the case with Therapeia (Tarabya) and Büyükdere, Yeniköy too became a popular summer resort for Christians, which is why it had so many hotels. 15 The district was also known and famous for its bakeries. Ships sailing to the Black Sea stocked on rusks from the village for the voyage. 16 Evliya Çelebi records 100 bakeries operating there making rusks. 17 2.4. Education A synodic letter written by the Patriarch Samuel Hantzeris records that as early as 1764 a school of common letters in Neochorion Δημιουργήθηκε στις 19/2/2017 Σελίδα 2/6
of Bosporus had been founded. Manouil Gedeon mentions that third oldest of the Bosporus schools is the one of Neochorion. First was the one of Mega Revma (Arnavutköy), as indicated by traces dating before the year 1750. Second was the one in Diplokionion (Beşiktaş), founded in 1763 and third the one in Neochorion; and I refer to schools of common letters. 18 In 1871 thanks to a donation by Christakis Zografos, the National Zografeion All-Girls School ( Zografeion Lycaeum) was established. 19 This school was later on made into a mixed school for both boys and girls and for many years operated as the communal school of Neochori. 20 In 1884 the community operated a primary school, known as Ioannideion, which had been founded in 1843. 142 students attended that school. At the same time, there was a Greek School with 44 students and the Zografeion Girls School with 140 students. In total, the number of male and female students attending the local schools amounted to 326. In 1949, however, 80 boys and girls were registered in the communal school. 21 A few years later, in 1955, the community operated a six-grade elementary school and a school soup-kitchen that provided food for 38 student and 38 indigent families daily. 22 After the events of September 6 th and 7 th 1955, the building of the Neochori Urban School, founded in 1870, was reconstructed. The Urban School was already being funded by the Association for School Support that had been established in the meantime. 23 2.5. Associations In his community as well as elsewhere, there is a boom with regard to the foundation of associations and societies from the mid-19 th century, within the wider framework of societal organization of the time. Societies operating within the Neochori community were the Agia Barbara (Santa Barbara) Society, as well as the Charitable Society of Ladies in Neochori of Bosporus, which was operative as far as we know during the 1860s. 24 During the time of the Moudros Armistice when several new associations were founded, the short-lived Greek Philharmonic Association The Renaissance also operated. 25 In 1950 two charitable societies are recorded in the area. 26 In 1955, however, there was one charitable society and an active educational association. 27 1. Taşçıoğlu, T., Yeniköy, Dünden Bugüne İstanbul Ansiklopedisi 7 (İstanbul 1994), p. 485. 2. Evliya Çelebi, Evliya Çelebi Seyahatnamesi 1-2 (İstanbul 1975), p. 317. 3. Evliya Çelebi, Evliya Çelebi Seyahatnamesi 1-2 (İstanbul 1975), p. 317. 4. Kömürciyan, E.Ç., İstanbul Tarihi. XVII asırda İstanbul (İstanbul 1988), pp. 42-43. 5. Taşçıoğlu, T., Yeniköy, Dünden Bugüne İstanbul Ansiklopedisi 7 (İstanbul 1994), p. 186. 6. Βυζάντιος, Σ., Η Κωνσταντινού πολις. Περιγραφή Τοπογραφική, Αρχαιολογική και Ιστορική (Αθή να 1862), p. 143. 7. Σταματόπουλος, Κ.Μ., Η τελευταί α αναλαμπή. Η κωνσταντινουπολί τικη ρωμηοσύ νη στα χρόνια 1948-1955 (Αθή να 1996), p. 291. 8. Σταματόπουλος, Κ.Μ., Η τελευταία αναλαμπή. Η κωνσταντινουπολίτικη ρωμηοσύνη στα χρόνια 1948-1955 (Αθήνα 1996), p. 172. 9. Γκί νης, Ν. Στράτος, Κ., Εκκλησί ες της Κωνσταντινού πολης (Αθή να 1999), p. 133. 10. Οικουμενικό ν Πατριαρχεί ον, Οικουμενικόν Πατριαρχεί ον Ημερολόγιον 2008 (Αθή να 2007), p. 1810-182; Γκί νης, Ν. Στράτος, Κ., Εκκλησί ες της Κωνσταντινού πολης (Αθή να 1999), pp. 134-135. 11. Gyllius, P., İstanbul Boğazı (De Bosporo Thracio), Eren (İstanbul 2000), pp. 127-128. Δημιουργήθηκε στις 19/2/2017 Σελίδα 3/6
12. Μή λλας, Α., Σφραγί δες Κωνσταντινουπόλεως. Ενορί ες Αγιωτάτης Αρχιεπισκοπή ς (Αθή να 1996), p. 484. 13. Ατζέ μογλου, Ν., Τα Αγιάσματα της Πόλης (Αθή να 1990), pp. 113-115. 14. Πάπας, Α., «Σημειώσεις επί των Ορθοδόξων Νεκροταφείων της Πόλης κατά τον ΙΘ και Κ Αιώνα», Η Καθ Ημάς Ανατολή Ε (Αθήνα 2000), p. 35. 15. Φραγκού δης, Γ.Σ., Η Κωνσταντινού πολις. Περιγραφή Τοπογραφική, Αρχαιολογική και Ιστορική Β (Αθή να 1901), p. 243. 16. Taşçıoğlu, T., Yeniköy, Dünden Bugüne İstanbul Ansiklopedisi 7 (İstanbul 1994), pp. 485-486. 17. Evliya Çelebi, Evliya Çelebi Seyahatnamesi 1-2 (İstanbul 1975), p. 317. 18. Γεδεών, Μ., Παιδεί α και Πτώχεια Παρ Ημί ν Κατά τους Τελευταί ους Αιώνας (Κωνσταντινού πολη 1893), pp. 55-58. 19. Μή λλας, Α., Σφραγί δες Κωνσταντινουπόλεως. Ενορί ες Αγιωτάτης Αρχιεπισκοπή ς (Αθή να 1996), p. 485. 20. Büyükkarcı, S., Türkiye de Rum Okulları (Konya 2003), p. 156. 21. Σταματόπουλος, Κ.Μ., Η τελευταί α αναλαμπή. Η κωνσταντινουπολί τικη ρωμηοσύ νη στα χρόνια 1948-1955 (Αθή να 1996), p. 291. 22. Σταματόπουλος, Κ.Μ., Η τελευταία αναλαμπή. Η κωνσταντινουπολίτικη ρωμηοσύνη στα χρόνια 1948-1955 (Αθήνα 1996), p. 172. 23. Σταματόπουλος, Κ.Μ., Η τελευταία αναλαμπή. Η κωνσταντινουπολίτικη ρωμηοσύνη στα χρόνια 1948-1955 (Αθήνα 1996), pp. 109, 148. 24. Μαμώνη, Κ. Ιστικοπού λου, Λ., Γυναικεί οι σύ λλογοι στην Κωνσταντινού πολη (1861-1922) (Αθή να 2002), pp. 116, 185. 25. Μή λλας, Α., Σφραγί δες Κωνσταντινουπόλεως. Ενορί ες Αγιωτάτης Αρχιεπισκοπή ς (Αθή να 1996), p. 485. 26. Σταματόπουλος, Κ.Μ., Η τελευταία αναλαμπή. Η κωνσταντινουπολίτικη ρωμηοσύνη στα χρόνια 1948-1955 (Αθήνα 1996), p. 169. 27. Χρηστίδης, Χ., Τα Σεπτεμβριανά (Αθήνα 2000), p. 301. Βιβλιογραφία : Σταματόπουλος Κ.Μ., Η τελευταία αναλαμπή. Η κωνσταντινουπολίτικη ρωμηοσύνη στα χρόνια 1948-1955, Αθήνα 1996 Μήλλας Α., Σφραγίδες Κωνσταντινουπόλεως. Ενορίες Αγιωτάτης Αρχιεπισκοπής, Αθήνα 1996 Μαμώνη Κ., Ιστικοπούλου Λ., Γυναικείοι σύλλογοι στην Κωνσταντινούπολη (1861-1922), Αθήνα 2002 Χρηστίδης Χ., Τα Σεπτεμβριανά, Κέντρο Μικρασιατικών Σπουδών, Αθήνα 2000 Ατζέμογλου Ν., Τα Αγιάσματα της Πόλης, Αθήνα 1990 Βυζάντιος Σ., Η Κωνσταντινούπολις. Περιγραφή Τοπογραφική, Αρχαιολογική και Ιστορική, Β, Ανδρέας Κορομηλάς, Αθήναι 1862 Δημιουργήθηκε στις 19/2/2017 Σελίδα 4/6
Çelebi E., Evliya Çelebi Seyahatnamesi, 1-2, Neşriyat, Ü. (ed.), İstanbul 1975 Στράτος Κ., Γκίνης Ν., Εκκλησίες της Κωνσταντινούπολης, Εκδόσεις Καστανιώτη, Αθήνα 1999 Kömürciyan E.Ç., İstanbul Tarihi. XVII asırda İstanbul, İstanbul 1988 Οικουμενικόν Πατριαρχείον, Οικουμενικόν Πατριαρχείον Ημερολόγιον 2008, Επτάλοφος, Αθήνα 2007 Φραγκούδης Γ., Η Κωνσταντινούπολις (Βυζάντιον-Σταμπούλ). Περιγραφή της Κωνσταντινουπόλεως λήγοντος του 19ου αιώνος, Αθήναι 1901 Gyllius P., İstanbul Boğazı (De Bosporo Thracio), Eren, İstanbul 2000 Vassiadis G., The Syllogos Movement of Constantinople and Ottoman Greek Education. 1861-1923, Centre For Asia Minor Studies, 2007 Athens Taşçıoğlu T., "Yeniköy", Dünden Bugüne İstanbul Ansiklopedisi, 7, Türkiye Ekonomik ve Toplumsal Tarih Vakfı, İstanbul 1994, 485-488 Πάπας Α., "Σημειώσεις επί των Ορθοδόξων Νεκροταφείων της Πόλης κατά τον ΙΘ και Κ Αιώνα", Η Καθ Ημάς Ανατολή, Ε, 2000 Γεδεών Μ., Παιδεία και Πτώχεια Παρ Ημίν Κατά τους Τελευταίους Αιώνας, Κωνσταντινούπολη 1893 Büyükkarcı S., Türkiye de Rum Okulları, Yelken Basım-Yayın, Konya 2003 Δικτυογραφία : İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyesi http://www.ibb.gov.tr/en-us/pages/home.aspx Οικουμενικόν Πατριαρχείον http://www.ec-patr.org/afieroma/churches/index.php?lang=gr Γλωσσάριo : agiasma The holy water (as well as the sacred place from where the water spurts), which the faithful drink, sprinkle or wash themselves in order to be healed. metochion In the Byzantine period, metochion meant the estate that was conceded to a monastery for income purposes and operated as its dependency. Usually the metochia were located far from the monastery to which they belonged and included various structures, such as churches, hospices etc. Πηγές Kömürciyan, E. Ç., İstanbul Tarihi. XVII asırda İstanbul (İstanbul 1988). Çelebi, E., Evliya Çelebi Seyahatnamesi 1 2 (İstanbul 1975). Βυζάντιος, Σ., Η Κωνσταντινούπολις. Περιγραφή Τοπογραφική, Αρχαιολογική και Ιστορική (Αθήνα 1862). Gyllius, P., İstanbul Boğazı (De Bosporo Thracio), Eren (İstanbul 2000). Δημιουργήθηκε στις 19/2/2017 Σελίδα 5/6
Φραγκούδης, Γ. Σ., Η Κωνσταντινούπολις. Περιγραφή Τοπογραφική, Αρχαιολογική και Ιστορική Β (Αθήνα 1901). Δημιουργήθηκε στις 19/2/2017 Σελίδα 6/6