Imbros

Imbros, officially referred to as Gökçeada in Turkey (older name in Turkish: İmroz; Greek: Ίμβρος – Imvros), is the largest island of Turkey, part of Çanakkale Province. It is located at the entrance of Saros Bay in the northern Aegean Sea, also the westernmost point of Turkey (Avlaka peninsula). With an area of 279 km² (108 square miles), Imbros contains some wooded areas.

According to the 2000 Census, the island of Imbros had a total population of 8,875. The same census also reported 7,254 people in Gökçeada town, and 1,621 in the remaining villages. The main industries of Imbros are fishing and tourism. The population is predominantly Turkish but there are still about 300 Greeks on Imbros; large numbers of Greeks have emigrated.

The island is noted for the vineyards and wine produced.

History

In mythology

According to the Greek mythology, the palace of Thetis, mother of Achilles, king of Phthia, was situated between Imbros and Samothrace. The stables of the winged horses of Poseidon were said to lie between Imbros and Tenedos.

Homer wrote:

In the depths of the sea on the cliff

Between Tenedos and craggy Imbros

There is a cave, wide gaping

Poseidon who made the earth tremble,

stopped the horses there.

In antiquity

In classical antiquity, Imbros, like Lemnos, was an Athenian cleruchy, a colony whose settlers retained Athenian citizenship; although since the Imbrians appear on the Athenian tribute lists, there may have been a division with the native population. The original inhabitants of Imbros were Pelasgians. Miltiades conquered the island from Persia after the battle of Salamis; the colony was established about 450 BC, during the first Athenian empire, and was retained by Athens (with brief exceptions) for the next six centuries. It may have become independent under Septimius Severus.

Ottoman era

1900 onwards

Between Turkey and Greece

Before and shortly after the First World War the population of Imbros was ethnically Greek, with Greeks making up approximately 97.5 percent of the islands population in 1927.

Because of their strategic position near the Dardanelles, the western powers, particularly Britain, insisted at the end of the Balkan Wars in 1913 that the island should be retained by the Ottoman Empire when the other Aegean islands were ceded to Greece.

In 1920, the Treaty of Sèvres with the defeated Ottoman Empire granted the island to Greece. The Ottoman government, which signed but did not ratify the treaty, was overthrown by the new Turkish nationalist Government of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, based in Ankara. After the Greco-Turkish War ended in Greek defeat in Anatolia, and the fall of Lloyd George and his Middle Eastern policies, the western powers agreed to the Treaty of Lausanne with the new Turkish Republic, in 1923. This treaty made the island part of Turkey; but it guaranteed a special autonomous administrative status on Imbros and Tenedos to accommodate the Greeks, and excluded them from the population exchange that took place between Greece and Turkey, due to their presence there as a majority.

However shortly after the legislation of "Civil Law" on 17 February 1926 (Medeni Kanun), the rights accorded to minorities in Turkey were revoked, in violation of the Lausanne Treaty.

The Greek population

The island was primarily inhabited by ethnic Greeks from ancient times through to approximately the middle of the twentieth century. Data dating from 1922 taken under Greek rule and 1927 data taken under Turkish rule showed a strong majority of Greek inhabitants on Imbros, and the Greek Orthodox Church had a strong presence on the island.

Article 14 of the Treaty of Lausanne (1923) exempted Imbros and Tenedos from the large-scale population exchange that took place between Greece and Turkey, and required Turkey to accommodate the local Greek majority and their rights:

The islands of Imbros and Tenedos, remaining under Turkish sovereignty, shall enjoy a special administrative organisation composed of local elements and furnishing every guarantee for the native non-Moslem population insofar as concerns local administration and the protection of persons and property. The maintenance of order will be assured therein by a police force recruited from amongst the local population by the local administration above provided for and placed under its orders.

Thus, under the Turkish Republic, the islands were to be largely autonomous and self-governing, with their own police force. This provision was not guaranteed by anything more than the faith of the Treaty.

Intercommunal relations

The Greek émigrés from Turkey assert numerous violations of the religious, linguistic, and economic rights guaranteed as matters of international concern by the Treaty, including freedom of the Orthodox religion and the right to practice the professions. Leaders of the Greek community in Turkey "voluntarily waived" these rights in 1926; but the Treaty provides (Article 44) that these rights can only be modified by the consent of the majority of the Council of League of Nations. The émigrés assert that the signatures to the waivers were obtained by orders of the police, and that Avrilios Spatharis and Savvas Apostologlou, who refused to sign, were imprisoned. The Greek government appealed this action to the Council and was upheld, but Turkey has not complied.

In addition, the following grievances apply particularly to Imbros:

In 1923, Turkey dismissed the elected government of the island, and installed mainlanders. 1500 Imbriots who had taken refuge from the Turkish War of Independence on Lemnos and in Thessalonica were denied the right to return, as undesirables.
In 1927, the system of local administration on Imbros is abolished, and the Greek schools are closed. In 1952-3, the Greek Imbriots were permitted to build new ones, closed again in 1964.
In 1943, Turkey arrested the Metropolitan of Imbros and Tenedos with other Orthodox clerics. They also confiscated the lands on Imbros belonging the monasteries of Great Lavra and Koutloumousiou on Mount Athos, expelled the tenants, and installed settlers; when the Mayor of Imbros and four village elders protested, they were arrested and sent to the mainland.
Between 1964 and 1984, almost all the usable land on Imbros, including all the land have been expropriated, for inadequate compensation, for an army camp, a minimum-security prison, reforestation projects, a dam project, and a national park.
Nicholas Palaiopoulos, a town councilor, was arrested and imprisoned in 1966 for complaining to the Greek Ambassador on the latter's visit to Imbros; he, together with the Mayor of Imbros and 20 others, was imprisoned again in 1974.
A crime wave has hit Imbros since 1964; the old Cathedral at Kastro (Kaleköy) was desecrated on the night of the Turkish landing on Cyprus; the present Cathedral was looted in March 1993; there have been a number of rapes and murders, officially blamed on convicts and soldiers, but none of them have been solved.
In July 1993, the Turkish National Security began a program to settle mainland Turks on Imbros (and Tenedos).

All of these events have led to the Greeks emigrating from both islands. Before 1964, the population of Imbros was 7000 Greeks, and 200 mainland Turkish officials; by 1970 the Greeks were a minority at 40% of the population, and there remains only a very small Greek community on Imbros today, comprising several hundred mostly elderly people. Most of the former Greeks of Imbros and Tenedos are in diaspora in Greece, the United States, and Australia.

Geography

Çınarlı : Çınarlı is the main town on Imbros, known as Panaghia Balomeni (Παναγία Μπαλωμένη) in Greek. Most of the settlements on Imbros were given Turkish names in 1926. Çınarlı is in the middle of the island; there is a small airport under construction nearby. Bademli köyü : Older Greek name is Gliky (Γλυκύ). It is located to the northeast of the island, between Çınarlı town and Kaleköy/Kastro. Dereköy : Older Greek name is Shinudy (Σχοινούδι). It is located at the center of the west side of island. Due to the emigration of the Greek population, (largely to New Zealand and the USA; some to Greece and Istanbul before the 1970s), Dereköy is empty today. However, many people return on every 15 August for the festival of the Virgin Mary. Eşelek / Karaca köyü : It is located at the southeast of the island. It is an agricultural area that produces fruit and vegetables. Kaleköy : Older name is Kastro (Κάστρο) (Latin and Greek for castle). Located on the north-eastern coast of island, there is an antique castle near the village. Kaleköy also has a small port which was constructed by the French Navy during the occupation in the First World War, and is now used for fishing-boats and yachts. Şahinkaya köyü : It is located near Dereköy. Şirinköy : It is located in the southwest of island. Tepeköy : Older Greek name is Agridia (Αγριδιά). It is located in the north of the island, and is home to the largest Greek population on the island. Barba Yorgo is a well-known inhabitant of the island. An extinct volcano is located south of village which is the highest point of island. Uğurlu köyü : It is located in the west of the island. Yeni Bademli köyü : It is located at the center-northeast of island, near Bademli. It has many motels and pensions. Yenimahalle : Older Greek name is Evlampio (Ευλάμπιο). It is located near Çınarlı Town on the road to Kuzulimanı port. Zeytinli köyü : Older Greek name is Aghios Theodoros (Άγιος Θεόδωρος). Demetrios Archontonis, known as Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, was born there on 29 February 1940. It has a famous café where Madam Dibek (elderly Greek lady) used to serve her special Turkish/Greek style coffee which is prepared in a hand mortar. After she died, her husband is now continuing her legacy. Others : Yeni Bademli köyü, Eşelek / Karaca köyü, Şahinkaya köyü, Şirinköy and Uğurlu köyü' were established after 1970.

Places to see

Aydıncık/Kefaloz (Kefalos) beach: Best location for windsurfing
Kapıkaya (Stenos) beach:
'''Kaşkaval peninsula / (Kaskaval): Scuba diving
Kuzulimanı (Haghios Kyrikas): Ferryport with 24-hour ferries to Gelibolu–Kabatepe port and Çanakkale port.
Mavikoy/Bluebay: The first national underwater park in Turkey. Scuba diving allowed for recreational purposes.
Marmaros beach: Also has a small waterfall.
Pınarbaşı (Spilya) beach: Longest (and most sandy) beach on the island.

Population

Population change in Imbros

Town & Villages	1927		1970		1975		1980		1985		1990		1997		2000
Çınarlı (Panaghia Balomeni)	-	-	3578	615	3806	342	4251	216	767	70	721	40	553	26	503	29
Bademli (Gliky)	-	-	66	144	1	57	40	1	13	34	29	22	15	15	15	13
Dereköy (Shinudy)	-	-	73	672	391	378	319	214	380	106	99	68	82	40	68	42
Eşelek	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	152	-
Fatih	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3962	45	4284	32	4135	21	4180	25
Kaleköy (Kastro)	-	-	38	36	24	-	-	128	94	-	105	-	90	-	89	-
Şahinkaya	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	168	-	107	-	86	-
Şirinköy	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	189	-
Tepeköy (Agridia)	-	-	3	504	4	273	2	193	1	110	75	2	2	39	2	42
Uğurlu	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	460	-	490	-	466	-	401	-
Yenibademli	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	416	-	660	-	628	-	581	-
Yenimahalle (Evlampio)	-	-	182	143	162	121	231	81	359	59	970	27	2240	25	2362	27
Zeytinli (Aghios Theodoros)	-	-	30	507	15	369	36	235	72	162	25	130	12	82	12	76
TOTAL	157	6555	3970	2621	4403	1540	4879	1068	6524	586	7626	321	8330	248	8640	254

Ref: Gökçeada Municipality official page

Ref: Changes in the demographic characteristics of Gökçeada

People

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, spiritual leader of the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Erol Saygı; Turkish academician. (Saygı, E., (1985). Gökçeada :Imbros. Motif Basım LTD. STİ., Istanbul)
Ali Dağlı; The only shipowner who gave service to transport people and goods from mainland Turkey to Imbros, before the construction of Kuzulimanı Port.
Namık ?; Cinematographer, who run for many years, between 1960s-1980s, a small cinema saloon, with the help of his Greek wife.
Stavros Stavropoulos; Mayor, 1965-1970.

Notes

References

Oxford Classical Dictionary s. "Imbros"
Loeb Classical Library Athenaeus.
The struggle for justice : 1923-1993 : 70 years of Turkish provocation and violations of the Treaty of Lausanne : a chronicle of human rights violations; Citizen's Association of Constantinople-Imvros-Tenedos-Eastern Thrace of Thrace. Komotini (1993)
Website on the misfortunes of the Greeks. While tendentious, the section (in the middle of the page) about the islands is not strident, and asserts several matters of fact.
Text of the Treaty of Lausanne
Les îles d'Imbros et de Tenedos Source for population.
Homer - The Iliad - Book XIII - Reference is made to a cavern located between the rocky isles of Imbros and Tenedos supposedly the home of the God Poseidon