Περίληψη : Kirkintzes (today Şirince) is located on the west coast of Asia Minor, on a slope of mountain Ovacık Dağ, close to ancient Ephesus. The date of its foundation is uncertain, by the 18th century, however, the village was already in existence. In the late 19th century, Kirkintzes was inhabited by Orthodox Christians and few Muslims. Most of its inhabitants were local farmers. Άλλες Ονομασίες Çirkince, Upland Ephesus (Ano Ephesos), Şirince Γεωγραφική Θέση Western Asia Minor Ιστορική Περιοχή Ionia Διοικητική Υπαγωγή Muhtarlık of Kirkintzes, müdürlük of Ayasoluk, kaymakamlık of Kuşadası, mutasarrıflık of Aydın, vilayet of Smyrna 1. Location Kirkintzes (today Şirince) is located on a slope of Mt Ovacık Dağ at an altitude of 400-500 m, 4 km east of the railway line connecting Smyrna with Aydın, 59 km SE of Smyrna, 37 km W-NW of Aydın, 6 km E-SE of Ayasoluk and 18 km NE of Kuşadası. It comprised administratively the muhtarlık of Kirkintzes, which belonged to the müdürlük of Ayasoluk, in the kaymakamlık of Kuşadası, in the mutasarrıflık of Aydın and the vilayet of Smyrna. There are two theories on the origins of the village s name. According to one of these, it comes from the Turkish word kırkıncı, which means fortieth, although no explanation is supplied as to what it refers to. According to the second theory, the name of the village stems from the Turkish word çirkince, meaning ugly. As indicated in the Ottoman records and according to the inhabitants' testimony, the village was called Çirkince, but over time its inhabitants changed it to Kirkintzes. In Greek documents the village was referred to as Upland Ephesus. After the departure of the Orthodox inhabitants of the village and the settlement of Turkish people, it was renamed as Şirince, meaning beautiful. 2. History We have no precise evidence on the village s foundation. There are various views on its foundation date, ranging between the 11th and the 17th century. 1 The village was certainly in existence in 1747, when it is first mentioned by travellers of the time. 2 According to the most prevalent accounts, Kirkintzes first inhabitants came from Ayasoluk (Ephesus), having left their homes because of pressures from the janissaries. 3 In 1747 it is reported that Kirkintzes was inhabited by Orthodox Christians, but their number is not specified. 4 In 1832, the village numbered 300 households and approximately 1,500 inhabitants, all Turkish-speaking Christian Orthodox. 5 In the late 19th century the village was inhabited by Christian Orthodox and a few Muslims who were government officials, as tax collectors. For that same period (1892) it is mentioned that Kirkintzes numbered more than 4,000 inhabitants. 6 According to testimonies of its inhabitants, in the early 20th century, Kirkintzes had 1,600 households and 8,000 souls, although these figures seem to be inflated. 7 According to other sources, in 1919 its inhabitants were 7,000 (all Orthodox Christians), while in 1921, this number was reduced to 3,500 (3,491 Orthodox and 9 foreigners). 8 According to Arundell's testimony, in the early 19th century, the traditional attire of the men of village was not different from the traditional Turkish dress. The women covered their faces, and all men carried weapons. 9 Until the late 19th century, the inhabitants were all locals. A migration wave to the village begun in the years before the so-called Asia Δημιουργήθηκε στις 2/3/2017 Σελίδα 1/6
Minor Catastrophe and the expulsion of the Greek-Orthodox of Asia Minor. The immigrants were workers of varied descent, originating from places like Crete, Karpathos, Mytilene, Cyprus, Konya and Kayseri, and they numbered around 100 families. In 1914, during the first persecution of the Greek-Orthodox the village s Christian inhabitants were not expelled, possibly because the village s was isolated. Cretan Muslim refugees began arriving in the village between 1914 and 1917. The settlement of the newcomers caused friction with the villages inhabitants. There was fighting and murders. 3. Language The village s inhabitants spoke Turkish and the elderly did not know any Greek, although few could read Caramanli. Those who did speak Greek were the ones who had commercial dealings with cities where there was a Greek presence, like Aydın, as well as people originating from Greek-speaking areas. The village's priests conducted mass in both Greek and Turkish. The inhabitants, however, spoke Turkish between them. 4. Quarters and houses There were four quarters in Kirkintzes: Apano Machalas (from the Ottoman Turkısh mahalle, quarter), Kato Machalas, Gözlük Mahallesi and Aşaği Çarşı. The church of St Dimitrios was located in the Apano Machalas, on the northern part of the village. The church of Agios Ioannis (St John) was located in the Kato Machalas. The quarters were divided by a stream which flowed between them. On the northern part of the village was the Gözlük Machalas, i.e. the quarter of the hazel trees. The Aşaği Çarşı quarter (lower market) mainly contained coffee-houses. The village featured a square, around which coffee-houses and residences were built. The streets of the settlement were so narrow that not even a cart could pass through them. However, in the last years before the forcred migration of the Greek-Orthodox, lamps were installed to provide street lighting. Most of the houses in the village were two-storied, while there were also approximately 30 one-storey residences. These houses contained 2 to 6 rooms each. All the houses were roofed with tiles and did not have flat roofs. Each house was also equipped with a basement, which was used as a storage place or stable. The building materials came from Smyrna, except for the tiles and the lime which the inhabitants bought from Ayasoluk. The construction of the houses was usually undertaken by workers from Karpathos who had settled in the village. The Magara spring, located on Mt Profitis Ilias, provided the village with water. In 1892, following a donation by Chatzidimitriou, a drinking fountain was built in the Gözlük Machalas. 5. Economy Most of the inhabitants were farmers, and the village s main produce were figs. Apart from figs, olives, cotton, pulses and silk were produced. The local inhabitants maintained fig-orchards and several of these possessed fields, çiftlik or even stores in Ayasoluk, were they sojourned between June and September. Some of the residents were fig-merchants and a number of them funded the farmers. Seasonal workers from various places, like Sokya, Kuşadası, Aydın, Lesvos and Kos flocked to the village during the harvest time of the figs and olives. Some of the locals had different occupations, like people who had migrated here from Karpathos and Lesvos, who were builders. The women worked on silk production. This silk was used to weave shirts, scarves, table-cloths and bed-sheets. A large communal olive-oil press operated in the village, and the inhabitants could use it for a fee. Between Ayasoluk and Kirkintzes there were many water-mills, and there are references that Kirkintzes' inhabitants worked in these. Most of the shops of Kirkintzes were located in the Gözlük Machalas, where the inhabitants of the nearby Muslim villages could purchase wares. There was no market in Kirkintzes, and its inhabitants visited neighbouring villages, like Germencik at a distance of 17 km, and Tepiköy at a distance of 24 km. For major purchases, like the acquisition of clothing, they had to visit Smyrna. To grind Δημιουργήθηκε στις 2/3/2017 Σελίδα 2/6
their wheat they travelled to the Belevi village, were there was a flour-mill. 10 Kirkintzes inhabitants maintained close relations with Ayasoluk on account of the fields and çifliks they possessed there, as well as due to its railway station. 6. Local customs The largest festival of Kirkintzes was that in honour of St Dimitrios. All the coffee-houses of the village were open on that day. On New Year s Eve, the people prepared sweets, which they offered to visitors, and cooked chicken. The table was set in the dusk and was cleared on the 2nd of January. After the morning service, the people returned to their homes and the leader of the family split open a pomegranate to bring good luck to all members of the family. Those of the inhabitants that had the means, made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Before their departure and during the pilgrims return, ceremonies were organized in the village. Before the pilgrims departed they attended a service in the church of Agios Ioannis (St John), together with friends and relatives. Upon their return, their fellow-villagers greeted them with music. In total, their pilgrimage lasted approximately three months. 7. Administration Originally, up to 1915, the village was a müdürlük, but it became a muhtarlık, while the seat of the müdürlük was moved to Ayasoluk. In Kirkintzes there was a gendarmerie station with 10 gendarmes, as well as a post office, located close to the church of Agios Ioannis. The village s notables were more than four. They were elected by the village s inhabitants and were responsible for the collection of the taxes on behalf of the central administration. All men above the age of 20 partook in the vote. The balloting, under the supervision of the dimogerontia, took place in the courtyard of the church of Agios Ioannis, where the dimogerontia s offices were located. The members of the dimogerontia were the president, the vice-president, the secretary, the treasurer, the ecclesiastical committee and the school committee. The candidates had to be local, 45 years and over and financially independent. Education was not a necessary prerequisite for being elected, except for the candidate secretaries. The candidates for the new dimogerontia were nominated by the current members, which they were to replace. Sometimes it happened that one member of the dimogerontia retained his place for many years without elections due to his influence. The dimogerontia was responsible for collecting taxes, updating the lists of births and deaths, and generally carried out the commands of the Ottoman administration. It maintained the school and the churches and saw to the appointment and payment of teachers and priests. The dimogerontia s only source of income were the olive-oil press fees. 8. Church The village belonged to the diocese of Heliopolis and Theateira, the seat of which was in Aydın. The village had two churches, of Agios Ioannis and Agios Dimitrios. The largest one was that of Agios Ioannis, built in 1805 and repaired in 1904. This was the main church of the village, and a Gospel manuscript was kept there, thought to be the one written by St John. The church was a threeaisled basilica with a cupola, measuring 20.20 x 13.40 m. 11 Its courtyard functioned as the office of the dimogerontia and it was the place were the metropolitan received the flock when he visited the village. The church of Agios Dimitrios was a hall structure of moderate dimensions. Perhaps this is the church mentioned by travellers in 1747 these, however, do not cite its name. 12 Both churches were converted into mosques after the forced departure of the Orthodox inhabitants. There were many chapels around the village, like that of Profitis Ilias, Agia Triada (Holy Trinity), Archangelos (Archangel), Agios Georgios (St George), Agios Nikolaos Orphanos (St Nicholas the Orphan), Agia Kyriaki, Agios Konstantinos and Agios Athanasios. On the outskirts of the village was the site of Sütlü Panagia (Milky Virgin Mary), a place sacred to both Christian and Muslims. Its name derived from a rock from which water gushed (and sometimes milk, according to a tradition), considered to be Δημιουργήθηκε στις 2/3/2017 Σελίδα 3/6
miracle working. The metropolitan visited the village once a year, during the festival of Agios Dimitrios. The metropolitan showed special concern for the school, while he also managed the churches possessions. 9. Education Arundell first mentioned the existence of a small school in March of 1832. It comprised a teacher and ten students. 13 The same traveller suggested to the notables the creation of a school, but he couldn t secure their consent. 14 In 1885 a school was founded by the charitable foundation Homer of Smyrna. 15 In the early 20th century the village contained three schools, an all-male, an all-female and a nursery school. The boys school and the nursery school were situated in the courtyard of the church of Agios Ioannis. The boys school had two teachers. The school s building was erected in the 20th century, and it was called great school due to its size. The girls school of the village was located next to the church of Agios Dimitrios. Both these schools offered full elementary education, and had seven grades. A different teacher taught in every grade. The metropolitan s main concern, who oversaw the educational process, was that the students learn Greek and stop using the Turkish language. For this reason the schoolmasters had forbidden the use of the Turkish language, and a special overseer was charged with enforcing this prohibition. In the school-year 1921-1922 the girls school employed five teachers, and 250 schoolgirls studied there. The boys school had three teachers and 370 students, while 260 infants attended the nursery school. 16 1. Κέντρο Μικρασιατικών Σπουδών, Αρχεία Προφορικής Παράδοσης, Τμήμα Σμύρνης, Περιφέρεια Σμύρνης, Επαρχία Ιωνίας, no. Ι 21; Descuffi, J., Hazretı Meyrem Ana Evi, ο οίκος της Παναγίας: οδηγός δι επίσκεψιν (Istanbul 1953) p. 7. Research in the Ottoman archives is necessary to extract more precise information. 2. Foss, C., Ephesus after Antiquity: A late antique Byzantine and Turkish city (Cambridge 1979) p. 177. 3. Αθηνογένης, Α.Ι., «Το Ομήρειον Παρθεναγωγείον της Σμύρνης», Μικρασιατικά Χρονικά 1 (1938), pp. 137-158; Κ.Μ.Σ., Αρχεία Προφορικής Παράδοσης, Τμήμα Σμύρνης, Περιφέρεια Σμύρνης, Επαρχία Ιωνίας, no. Ι 21. 4. Foss, C., Ephesus after Antiquity: A late antique Byzantine and Turkish city (Cambridge 1979) p. 177. 5. Arundell, R.F.V.J., Discoveries in the Asia Minor: including a description of the ruins of several cities and especially Antioch of Pisidia 2 (London 1834) p. 266. 6. Descuffi, J., Hazretı Meyrem Ana Evi, ο οίκος της Παναγίας: οδηγός δι Επίσκεψιν (Istanbul 1953) p. 7. 7. Κέντρο Μικρασιατικών Σπουδών, Αρχεία Προφορικής Παράδοσης, Τμήμα Σμύρνης, Περιφέρεια Σμύρνης, Επαρχία Ιωνίας, no. Ι 21. The figures cited in this source have been subsequently corrected by another hand, and the number of the households has been filled in. 8. Κοντογιάννη, Π., Η ελληνικότης των νομών Προύσης και Σμύρνης (Athens 1919) p. 134; Σολδάτος, Χ., Ο οικονομικός βίος των Ελλήνων της Δυτικής Μικράς Ασίας (Ιωνίας, Αιολίδας, Μυσίας, Βιθυνίας, Λυδίας και Καρίας) 1800-1922 (Athens 1994) p.152; Νοταράς, Μ., Εις την Ιωνίαν, Αιολίαν και Λυδίαν (Athens 1972) p. 95. 9. Arundell, R.F.V.J., Discoveries in the Asia Minor: including a description of the ruins of several cities and especially Antioch of Pisidia 2 (London 1834) p. 270. 10. The Muslim village Belevi, which comprised 250 households, was located NE of Kirkintzes at a distance of 7 km. See Κέντρο Μικρασιατικών Σπουδών, Αρχεία Προφορικής Παράδοσης, Τμήμα Σμύρνης, Περιφέρεια Σμύρνης, Επαρχία Ιωνίας, no. Ι 21. Δημιουργήθηκε στις 2/3/2017 Σελίδα 4/6
11. Kara Pilehvarian, Ν., «Ο Σιριντζές, ένα χωριό του 19ου αιώνα στη Δυτική Μικρά Ασία», Δελτίο Εταιρίας Μελέτης καθ' ημάς Ανατολής 1 (2004) p. 99. 12. Foss, C., Ephesus after Antiquity: A late antique Byzantine and Turkish city (Cambridge 1979) p. 177. 13. Arundell, R.F.V.J., Discoveries in the Asia Minor: including a description of the ruins of several cities and especially Antioch of Pisidia 2 (London 1834) p. 264. 14. Arundell, R.F.V.J., Discoveries in the Asia Minor: including a description of the ruins of several cities and especially Antioch of Pisidia 2 (London 1834) pp. 262-272. 15. Σολδάτος, Χ., Η εκπαιδευτική και πνευματική κίνηση του Ελληνισμού της Μ. Ασίας (1800-1922), vol. 1: Η Γέννηση και η εξέλιξη των σχολείων (Athens 1989) p. 199. 16. Μιχαηλίδης Νουάρος, Μ., «Η εκπαιδευτική πολιτική της Ελλάδος εν εις την εντός της Ζώνης των Σεβρών Μικρασιατικήν περιοχήν», Μικρασιατικά Χρονικά 6 (1955) p. 51. Βιβλιογραφία : Σολδάτος Χ., Η εκπαιδευτική και πνευματική κίνηση του ελληνισμού της Μικράς Ασίας (1800-1922), Α': Η γέννηση και η εξέλιξη των σχολείων, Αθήνα 1989 Arundell R.F.V.J., Discoveries in the Asia Minor: including a description of the ruins of several cities and especially Antioch of Pisidia, London 1834 Foss C., Ephesus after Antiquity. A Late Αntique, Byzantine, and Turkish City, Cambridge Mass. New York 1979 Κοντογιάννης Π., Η ελληνικότης των νομών Προύσης και Σμύρνης, Αθήναι 1919 Νοταράς Μ., Εις την Ιωνίαν Αιολίαν και Λυδίαν, Αθήνα Δεκέμβριος 1972 Σολδάτος Χ., Ο οικονομικός βίος των Ελλήνων της Δυτικής Μικράς Ασίας (Ιωνίας, Αιολίδας, Μυσίας, Βιθυνίας, Λυδίας και Καρίας) 1880-1922, Αθήνα 1994 Μιχαηλίδης-Νουάρος Μ., "Η εκπαιδευτική πολιτική της Ελλάδος εις την εντός της Ζώνης των Σεβρών Μικρασιατικήν περιοχήν", Μικρασιατικά Χρονικά, 6, 1955, 3-72 Descuffi J., Hazretı Meyrem Ana Evi, ο οίκος της Παναγίας: οδηγός δι επίσκεψιν, Κωνσταντινούπολη 1953 Βολανάκης Ι., "Χριστιανικά μνημεία της νοτιοδυτικής Μικράς Ασίας", Δελτίο Κέντρου Μικρασιατικών Σπουδών, 13, 1999-2000, 20-23 Kara Pilehvarian N., "Ο Σιριντζές, ένα χωριό του 19ου αιώνα στη Δυτική Μικρά Ασία", Δελτίο Εταιρείας Μελέτης της καθ ημάς Ανατολής, 1, 2004, 97-122 Γλωσσάριo : Δημιουργήθηκε στις 2/3/2017 Σελίδα 5/6
dimogerontia Communal authority consisting of the elected community officials, known as archontes (potentates), proestoi (notables), epitropoi (wardens), dimogerontes or simply gerontes (elders). kaymakamlık Ottoman administrative unit that replaced the kaza during the late Ottoman Period, after the administrative reforms of 1864. müdürlük Small administrative unit in the late Ottoman Empire, subdistrict of a kaymakamlık, under the jurisdiction of a müdür. muhtarlık Small administrative unit in the late Ottoman Empire, mostly a quarter or a village, that was under the jurisdiction of a muhtar. mutasarrıflık A medium-sized Ottoman administrative unit that replaced the sancak during the Late Ottoman Period, after the administrative reforms of 1864. three-aisled basilica An oblong type of church internally divided into three aisles: the middle and the two side aisles. The middle aisle is often lighted by an elevated clerestory. In the Early Byzantine years this type of church had huge dimensions. 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 Κέντρο Μικρασιατικών Σπουδών, Αρχεία Προφορικής Παράδοσης, Περιφέρεια Σμύρνης, Επαρχία Ιωνίας, Τμήμα Σμύρνης, Κιρκιτζές, no. Ι 21. Δημιουργήθηκε στις 2/3/2017 Σελίδα 6/6