Mavrochori, Drama
Encyclopedia
Mavrochori until 1927 known as Tisovo , is an abandoned village in the Drama Prefecture
, Greece
.
, about 1,5 km south of the Pochan River near the border with Bulgaria
. The nearest populated villages are Brashten
and Tuhovishta
in Bulgaria and Potamoi
in Greece. The ruins of the village of Pochan are on the other side of the Pochan River. Mavrochori consists of two quarters - the newer Tsiropska and the older Parpelska where, according to one of the legends, Mehmed Sinap once lived. The main Roman road
from Thrace
to Thessaloniki
passes through the Tsiropska quarter where a Roman bridge
is to be found.
document from 1464-65 under the name Tisina with Papelova. Papelova or Papil later became integrated part of the village and the name evolved to Parpelska Mahala. In this document all inhabitants of the two villages are listed. The population consists of Muslims and non-Muslims. The Muslims are just one family where the non-Muslims are 31 households, 6 unmarried and 4 widows. The village is mentioned once again in 1478-79 as Tisova with non-Muslim population: 85 households, 6 unmarried and 4 widows. The village appears again in an registry from 1519 with 46 households, 9 unmarried and 5 widows. Tisovo is also mentioned in 1530 with its population consisting of both Muslims and non-Muslims. The Muslims are 2 households and 1 unmarried whereas the non-Muslims are 37 households, 6 unmarried and 4 widows. Tisovо is also mentioned in an Ottoman
Jizya
registry from the 13th of March 1660. The register lists the number of Jizya
units for each village of the Nevrokop
Wilayah
whereas Mavrochori (Tisova) is listed as a village with 15 such. The village is mentioned again in 1723 with 16 Muslim households and a Mosque
.
The village is also mentioned in the book Ethnographie des Vilayets d'Adrianople, de Monastir et de Salonique published in 1878 which lists the number of the male population as of 1873. Mavrochori (Tissovo) is registered as a village with 140 male Pomaks
and 50 households. According to Vasil Kanchov
, as of the end of the 19th century, there were 200 houses in the village. He mentions that Mavrochori (Tisovo) is the largest village in Chech and that a weekly bazaar was held near the village. In his book Macedonia — ethnography and statistics published in 1900 Kanchov writes that the number of the inhabitants of Tisovo is 400 - all of them Pomaks
. At the end of the 19th century Mavrochori (Tisovo) is mentioned as a village with 162 male Pomak inhabitants and 50 houses by Stefan Verković.
After the Balkan Wars
Mavrochori was acceded to Greece
in 1913. The village (Tisovo, Τίσοβα) was populated by 682 inhabitants in 1913 according to a Greek
statistic. According to the statistic from 1920 at that time the village had 405 inhabitants.
In 1923/4 the Pomaks were expelled
from the village to Turkey and settled in the town of Demirköy
according to the Treaty of Lausanne
and Greek refugees
from Turkey were settled in their place. Up to 1928 the number of the refugees settled in Mavrochori had reached 47 and the number of the Greek families 15. In 1927 the name of the village was changed from Tisova (Τίσοβα) to Mavrochori (Μαυροχώρι). In 1928 the population had reached 187 inhabitants (including about 40 soldiers stationed at the border outpost in the village) and in 1940 - 87 inhabitants (including about 20 soldiers).
The village was abandoned during the Greek Civil War
and was never reconstructed.
Drama Prefecture
Drama is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the Region of East Macedonia and Thrace. Its capital is the town of Drama. The regional unit is the northernmost within the geographical region of Macedonia and the westernmost in the administrative region of East Macedonia and Thrace...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
.
Geography
Mavrochori is situated in the Chech region on the South-Western slopes of the Rhodope MountainsRhodope Mountains
The Rhodopes are a mountain range in Southeastern Europe, with over 83% of its area in southern Bulgaria and the remainder in Greece. Its highest peak, Golyam Perelik , is the seventh highest Bulgarian mountain...
, about 1,5 km south of the Pochan River near the border with Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
. The nearest populated villages are Brashten
Brashten
Brashten is a village in southwestern Bulgaria. It is located in the municipality of Dospat, Smolyan Province.- Geography :The village of Brashten is located in the Western Rhodope Mountains...
and Tuhovishta
Tuhovishta
Tuhovishta is a village in Southwest Bulgaria, part from Satovcha Municipality, Blagoevgrad.- Geography :...
in Bulgaria and Potamoi
Potamoi, Drama
Potamoi , until 1927 known as Borovo , is a village in the Drama Prefecture, Greece.-Geography:Potamoi is situated in the Chech region, at the mouth of the Dospat River on the left shore of the Mesta River.-History:...
in Greece. The ruins of the village of Pochan are on the other side of the Pochan River. Mavrochori consists of two quarters - the newer Tsiropska and the older Parpelska where, according to one of the legends, Mehmed Sinap once lived. The main Roman road
Roman road
The Roman roads were a vital part of the development of the Roman state, from about 500 BC through the expansion during the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. Roman roads enabled the Romans to move armies and trade goods and to communicate. The Roman road system spanned more than 400,000 km...
from Thrace
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
to Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
passes through the Tsiropska quarter where a Roman bridge
Roman bridge
Roman bridges, built by ancient Romans, were the first large and lasting bridges built. Roman bridges were built with stone and had the arch as its basic structure....
is to be found.
History
The village has been first mentioned in an OttomanOttoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
document from 1464-65 under the name Tisina with Papelova. Papelova or Papil later became integrated part of the village and the name evolved to Parpelska Mahala. In this document all inhabitants of the two villages are listed. The population consists of Muslims and non-Muslims. The Muslims are just one family where the non-Muslims are 31 households, 6 unmarried and 4 widows. The village is mentioned once again in 1478-79 as Tisova with non-Muslim population: 85 households, 6 unmarried and 4 widows. The village appears again in an registry from 1519 with 46 households, 9 unmarried and 5 widows. Tisovo is also mentioned in 1530 with its population consisting of both Muslims and non-Muslims. The Muslims are 2 households and 1 unmarried whereas the non-Muslims are 37 households, 6 unmarried and 4 widows. Tisovо is also mentioned in an Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
Jizya
Jizya
Under Islamic law, jizya or jizyah is a per capita tax levied on a section of an Islamic state's non-Muslim citizens, who meet certain criteria...
registry from the 13th of March 1660. The register lists the number of Jizya
Jizya
Under Islamic law, jizya or jizyah is a per capita tax levied on a section of an Islamic state's non-Muslim citizens, who meet certain criteria...
units for each village of the Nevrokop
Gotse Delchev (town)
Gotse Delchev , is a town in Blagoevgrad Province of Bulgaria with a population of 23,573.In 1951 the town was renamed after the Bulgarian revolutionary Georgi Nikolov Delchev. It had hitherto been called Nevrokop ....
Wilayah
Wilayah
A wilāyah or vilâyet , or vilayat in Urdu and Turkish, is an administrative division, usually translated as "province", rarely as "governorate". The word comes from the Arabic "w-l-y", "to govern": a wāli — "governor" — governs a wilayah, "that which is governed"...
whereas Mavrochori (Tisova) is listed as a village with 15 such. The village is mentioned again in 1723 with 16 Muslim households and a Mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
.
The village is also mentioned in the book Ethnographie des Vilayets d'Adrianople, de Monastir et de Salonique published in 1878 which lists the number of the male population as of 1873. Mavrochori (Tissovo) is registered as a village with 140 male Pomaks
Pomaks
Pomaks is a term used for a Slavic Muslim population native to some parts of Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Albania and Kosovo. The Pomaks speak Bulgarian as their native language, also referred to in Greece and Turkey as Pomak language, and some are fluent in Turkish,...
and 50 households. According to Vasil Kanchov
Vasil Kanchov
Vasil Kanchov was a Bulgarian geographer, ethnographer and politician.- Biography :Vasil Kanchov was born in Vratsa. Upon graduating from High school in Lom, Bulgaria, he entered the University of Harkov, then in Russia. During the Serbo-Bulgarian War 1885 he suspended his education and took part...
, as of the end of the 19th century, there were 200 houses in the village. He mentions that Mavrochori (Tisovo) is the largest village in Chech and that a weekly bazaar was held near the village. In his book Macedonia — ethnography and statistics published in 1900 Kanchov writes that the number of the inhabitants of Tisovo is 400 - all of them Pomaks
Pomaks
Pomaks is a term used for a Slavic Muslim population native to some parts of Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Albania and Kosovo. The Pomaks speak Bulgarian as their native language, also referred to in Greece and Turkey as Pomak language, and some are fluent in Turkish,...
. At the end of the 19th century Mavrochori (Tisovo) is mentioned as a village with 162 male Pomak inhabitants and 50 houses by Stefan Verković.
After the Balkan Wars
Balkan Wars
The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe in 1912 and 1913.By the early 20th century, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia, the countries of the Balkan League, had achieved their independence from the Ottoman Empire, but large parts of their ethnic...
Mavrochori was acceded to Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
in 1913. The village (Tisovo, Τίσοβα) was populated by 682 inhabitants in 1913 according to a Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
statistic. According to the statistic from 1920 at that time the village had 405 inhabitants.
In 1923/4 the Pomaks were expelled
Population exchange between Greece and Turkey
The 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey was based upon religious identity, and involved the Greek Orthodox citizens of Turkey and the Muslim citizens of Greece...
from the village to Turkey and settled in the town of Demirköy
Demirköy
Demirköy is a town and district of Kırklareli Province in the Marmara region of Turkey. The inhabitants are mainly descendants of Muslims from the village of Tisovo and other villages from the Greek side of the Chech region who were settled in Demirköy in 1923/1924. The mayor is Muhlis Yavuz . The...
according to the Treaty of Lausanne
Treaty of Lausanne
The Treaty of Lausanne was a peace treaty signed in Lausanne, Switzerland on 24 July 1923, that settled the Anatolian and East Thracian parts of the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire. The treaty of Lausanne was ratified by the Greek government on 11 February 1924, by the Turkish government on 31...
and Greek refugees
Greek refugees
Greek refugees is a collective term used to refer to the Greeks from Asia Minor who were evacuated or relocated in Greece following the Treaty of Lausanne and the Population exchange between Greece and Turkey...
from Turkey were settled in their place. Up to 1928 the number of the refugees settled in Mavrochori had reached 47 and the number of the Greek families 15. In 1927 the name of the village was changed from Tisova (Τίσοβα) to Mavrochori (Μαυροχώρι). In 1928 the population had reached 187 inhabitants (including about 40 soldiers stationed at the border outpost in the village) and in 1940 - 87 inhabitants (including about 20 soldiers).
The village was abandoned during the Greek Civil War
Greek Civil War
The Greek Civil War was fought from 1946 to 1949 between the Greek governmental army, backed by the United Kingdom and United States, and the Democratic Army of Greece , the military branch of the Greek Communist Party , backed by Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Albania...
and was never reconstructed.
External links
- The village of Tisovo and the Pochan Cliffs - a movie in YouTube
- To Tisovo and Back - a gallery in Picasa Web Albums