Family Trees

Aegean Macedonia

Steve’s father - Lambro (1912-1999) was also born in the village of Zeleniche in the region of Lerin. Faced with difficult life, with no prospects he left in 1948 to work in the US city of Pittsburgh. He joined his brothers Kole and Slave who were already there as older migrant workers and united good brothers. Later, they would assist Lambro with buying a farm in Canada.

As an explanation, Lambro was very diligent and worked painstakingly to make money and fight for his own way in the new surroundings, and four years later he brought his entire family in Ontario. Fortune seeking tradition of this family goes back to his ancestors.

Steve's grandfather, Vane, crossed the great water in the early years of the last century to the eastern shores of the North American continent, where he remained for about three years. With the money he earned and many ideas to improve their lives, he returned back to the village.

However, in addition to money Vane returned with an extreme patriotic sentiment. He came with a great desire to do something together with like-minded people and heroes for the freedom of his people, for the liberation of Macedonia. Informers were always behind his heels. They measured his every single word, registered each contact and recorded his actions. In 1943 gendarmes caught him and he was sentenced to three years in prison. The reasons were his libertarian and patriotic ideas. He served his sentence in an awful prison, but he finally came out from behind the bars. But nevertheless his grandfather Vane was not still. Everyone knew and respected him. Vane created a network of Macedonian patriotic-cells in the Aegean part of Macedonia with dedication and secretly, very secretly.

Just to underline that, according to the family tree, Steve’s Great Grandfather, Vane's father came from Albania.

According to Steve’s words, Vane was the best grandfather ever who held in his lap Steve and his brothers. He used to tell them stories for long and make them asleep on his chest.

And certainly that the ancestors by his grand - grandfather and by his grandfather line had a strong influence on the development and formation of the young Steve. He simply absorbed all learning from his ancestors. And it is not by pure chance that he holds in himself such patriotic spirit unremittingly as something sacred, something most strongly. His grandfather and father were telling Steve the truth about their people through various legends, stories, songs and events, and they conveyed ideas and vows, as a sort of family tradition.

Steve finished the sixth grade in the village school with his many peers after World War II. Then moving and going to the Canadian country followed. In 1958, when he was already gone from his birthplace in the Aegean, he received an invitation to go back to serve his military service in the Greek army formations. However, he didn’t go, without surprise. Nothing could make him go back and be a soldier in the country he left. A Solomonic solution was found. He paid the fine and closed the case.

Meanwhile, he was making successful steps through life and business routes in Canada. He quickly dealt successfully with his perseverance, courage, skill and capacity regardless of what kind of business he went into. He chose those businesses that brought him a beautiful perspective, profit, name and reputation there in the immigrant environment.

With the woman in his life, Lilly, they decided for the first time in 1972 to cross the Atlantic Ocean and come to Europe, and thus to visit the Republic of Macedonia and their hearth and home in Aegean Macedonia.

It was also their first arrival on the Macedonian soil following the partition of this ethnic country. First they arrived in Croatia, and Zagreb was their staging post, from where they drove along the Adriatic coast by car, visiting Dubrovnik, Split and other cities and towns along the Adriatic. They came to Macedonia via Montenegro. Here they felt at home, as if they’d belonged here for ages.

During their 30-day stay in Macedonia, they spent most of the days walking through villages and visiting towns, amazed by the beauty of their motherland. They had great, wonderful time in Skopje, Bitola, Ohrid, Prilep, Gevgelija, Heraklea, Pelister, Stobi, Prespa and anywhere they went. Millennium traces of civilization in time and space were the most faithful identity card for their people and their biblical land.

They traveled in Aegean Macedonia too. For the first time since their moving to Canada, together they visited their birthplace, the village of Zeleniche, which according to literature belongs to Lerin as a municipality, but spiritually, it belongs to Kostur by its church. Again after many years, Steve walked through the neighborhoods and alleys of his childhood, reflected upon his early days and he stood with nostalgy on the house threshold where tears cannot be stopped. In Zeleniche he shared memories from the past with Lilly, telling detail after detail of memories that continually flooded back in those moments.

During the meetings with his beloved fellow villager’s great grief remained in Steve’s soul because they didn’t want to speak in their native Macedonian language, frightened that they could be denounced to the Greek authorities, something that he’s never forgotten, experiencing it as a curse when you are banned from the most sacred.

They left Europe and returned to Canada where they carried many memories supported with countless photos. All this was shown told and shown to their loved ones and many friends. For them that trip was an everlasting memorial which opened the path of truth and love of Macedonia.

ZELENICHE – THE NATIVE PLACE OF STEVE

After those unpleasant moments in Lerin, we decided to continue our trip through the Aegean Macedonia and to visit the native place of Steve Pliakes. And we did so. After we left Lerin, we took the new road to Thessalonica, the town which was named after the sister of Alexander the Great, and built by her husband Cassander.

During the trip we started to talk about one of our visits to Thessalonica, which is a nice, seaside city and being a trade centre it attracts and even seduces the visitors with its beauty, Mediterranean climate, neighboring sandy beaches and numerous monuments. It is located on the Halkidiki Peninsula and it is famous for its many green areas, White Tower of Thessalonica (Beas Kule), the Salonica assassins, the numerous other cultural monuments, as well as for the monasteries at the Mount Athos (Sveta Gora), where a number of monks from the Republic of Macedonia have also spent a part of their lives.

But, not only Thessalonica with its location, trade, and coast and as a capital of Belomorska Macedonia, but also the entire Macedonian country is wonderful. What can one admires the most? The mystic Pella – the ancient Macedonian metropolis – through the divine waterfalls in Voden, the landscapes of Kostur, the beauties of the churches and the frescoes which are built in the rocks throughout the coasts of Mala Prespa? This serenity and openness is also enriched with the green areas of the mountains divided by the borderline, and the visitor can enjoy the shine of the numerous Macedonian mountains which look like a pearl.

That is the reason why the ancient Macedonians had built their metropolis in Pella which is at a distance of about hundred kilometers from Zeleniche, the native place of Steve Pliakes. One part of Pella is today available to the visitors, but its major part, according to the older inhabitants of Postol (Pella) is still under the ground. Because of the glory of the ancient metropolis of the Macedonian kings Philip and Alexander the Great who had set the Macedonian seed, in the tourist brochures the Greeks call that entire region Pella with its capital Voden (Edesa).

Each day a large number of tourists pass through Pella, and they keep for years their memories and the scent of the marble over which the great Philip and his son had walked as leaders of the ancient Macedonians.

We quickly left Lerin and took the road which led us to Voden, Pella and Thessalonica. We passed by a number of villages and reached Banica, from the west side. We used the new road to enter this large Macedonian village which is neither a village nor a town. In the centre of Banica we noticed several newly built buildings, including a hotel, and we recalled the memories of our last visit which was around 20 years ago. We also recalled the image of our friends in Toronto who originate from Banica and who are proud that being from Banica, they were the first Macedonians who had established a bank in Canada. Banica is a village with lot of beauties, and the inhabitants of Banica are characterized not only by prestige and progress, but also by controversies.

We left behind Banica and took the road which run beside the quarry and continued our trip using the three-line highway which climbs up to the hill and leads toward Kostur. After approximately 10 kilometers from Banica we connected to the junction toward the old road which led us straight to Ajtos. It took us short time to arrive in that large and beautiful Macedonian village which we have also visited about 20 years ago and had a pleasant time in the restaurant owned by our friends and our parents’ neighbors in Toronto. As soon as they came from Canada, they opened a restaurant in Ajtos, but from some reasons they closed their business and went back to Canada.

We drove along the main street in Ajtos and we stopped by to ask a young lady to direct us to Zeleniche. She spoke in English, but when she realized where we were from, she began to speak in Macedonian, in a dialect characteristic for Lerin area. She was very kind and informed us that the village of Zeleniche was the second village in row counting from Ajtos to Kostur. We thanked her and continued the trip to our final destination.

We headed to Zeleniche along the road which runs through a small but colorful canyon which hills are mainly woodless. Unfortunately, on that road we saw neither a vehicle nor a passenger, which can be explained with the fact that in such hot afternoons Greek people, like the people in Spain prefer to take a rest or to stay in a restaurant.

We climbed fast to the plain on which the village of Zeleniche is located. The first thing we have noticed was the sign with the changed name of Zeleniche – Sklithron written in Greek and Latin alphabet. During that long and at moments unpleasant trip only our great wish to visit the native place of our friend Steve Pliakes gave us a strong motivation and we finally arrived in the famous Zeleniche.

The village of Zeleniche is located about 50 kilometers south-western from Ajtos (where it belongs) and 3 kilometers western from the Zazerci Lake, in the valley which is spread in the foot of Kereta Mountain, which is a part of the Vich Mountain, on the main road from Sorovich (Amindeo) to Kostur. The village lies in a valley which is surrounded from all sides with high hills. It is considered that the village of Zeleniche has got its name because of the abundance of green vegetation around it. It is populated by Macedonians and Orthodox Turks (Prosvigi).

Zeleniche is one of the oldest villages in that region established before 1300. This village is mentioned for the first time in the Ottoman Ledger (Defter) from 1481 under the name Zhelenich. In XIX century Zeleniche is a large multiethnic village populated by Macedonian and Turkish population.

According to some Bulgarian documents, in 1900 in Zeleniche there were approximately 1,800 Orthodox Macedonian inhabitants, approximately 500 Turks and approximately 70 Roma, or, in total approximately 2,400 inhabitants. In that period the Macedonian Christians of Zeleniche were under the jurisdiction of the Bulgarian Exarchate. On the other hand, according to the Greek data, at the beginning of the last century there were 150 Muslim families, 150 exarcists and 65 patriarchists. But the truth is one and only. Zeleniche was from the beginning populated by Macedonians, and therefore there are two churches in Zeleniche – “St. Demetrious” (1864) and “St. George” (1867), which under all of those jurisdictions endured to watch over the Macedonian population in this large, beautiful and important Macedonian village.

According to the written documents, in 1912 there were 2,232 inhabitants in Zeleniche, and 2,219 inhabitants in 1920. After the emigration of 170 families, or 1,100 members of Turkish population in 1924, the village was inhabited by the refugees from Asia Minor, but there were also around 350 refugees from Caucasus and Istanbul. In 1927, like the all toponyms in the Aegean Macedonia, the village was renamed Sklitron, Despite the fact that the village was inhabited by refugees in the 1930es of the last century, the number of the citizens in the villages showed decrease due to the massive emigration of the Macedonians in the overseas countries, as well as in Bulgaria.

Due to the Civil War, approximately 60 families had left the village, of which about 30 families had gone over to the Former Yugoslavia, and around 30 families emigrated in the Eastern European countries. As a result, according to the 1951 Census, the number of inhabitants of the village was 1,153, in 1961 – 1,084, and in 1971 –853 inhabitants. Today there are approximately 600 inhabitants in the village, most of them being Macedonian Christians. The occupation of the inhabitants of Zeleniche is mainly connected to agriculture, especially growing potatoes and clover, and there are a number of families which are engaged in cattle breeding. It is interesting to mention that every year in August there is a Potato Festival.

The Macedonian people in Zeleniche, as well as in the entire Aegean or Belomorski part of Macedonia, based on its characteristics and customs, linguistically and ethnically is strange to the Greeks (Prosvigi). That was the reason why the Greek bourgeoisie, from the first moment after it had established its governance over Aegean Macedonia, had structured its policy toward physical extermination of the Macedonian people and alternation of the ethnical composition in Greek interest. Therefore, the national composition of the population in this part of the Balkans has gone through major ethnical changes, especially after the Balkans Wars and the division of Macedonia.

Before the Balkans Wars the Macedonian population in Aegean Macedonia was dominant. The Macedonians under the Greek rule were and still are exposed to the assimilatory torture and forceful emigration, in order to change the ethnical composition of Macedonia. Nonetheless, the Macedonians not only were there, but they are still there and they will be there, because it is not easy to disrupt one people from the place where it has lived with centuries despite all acts of violence and denationalization.

In the Aegean part of Macedonia, as well as in Zeleniche, the native place of Steve Pliakes, the crimes, the assimilatory policy over the Macedonians and the inhabitation with strangers (Turkmens) only of Orthodox confession continued all in order to change the ethnic composition of the population and to reduce the number of Macedonians. Thousands of Macedonians who were expelled and moved away are forbidden to visit their native places in that country of “democracy and miracles”, the phrase which was used by a journalist of the newspaper “New York Times”.

When we reached Zeleniche, we stopped at the parking of the hotel which was located on the both sides of the road to Kostur; there was a restaurant on the right side, and the hotel rooms were on the left side of the road. The view from the hotel was marvelous and one could see the Vich Mountain which is headed toward the sky and hides many secrets about the truth of Aegean Macedonia and Macedonian people, about the victories and losses during the Civil War in Greece.

We walked through the steep street to the village, next to the hotel facilities. We had an opportunity to enjoy the beautiful view on the village, the village church and the street which is characteristic for that type of dense villages. The road leads to the both sides of the village. We chose the right side and approached the river. There are old and new houses, kindergarten and a number of different constructions, among which three drawbridges. We went to the end of the village and visited the home of a cattle breeder, an Asian Turk, who was very polite. When we asked him a question in Macedonian, he explained us in Greek using his hands and mimics, how to return to the main road, thinking that we have been lost in the village.

We returned along the western street of the village which led as by the beautiful new houses, among which was the house of the local priest. We could see big houses on the right side, and a fertile field on the left side, and we quickly reached the main road to Kostur, where there was another restaurant.

At that moment we were convinced why Steve Pliakes, like any other person, has felt strong desire for his native place. But God is almighty. God rewards and punishes; at the same time God nurtures the Macedonian seed all over the world, because it was spread since the time of Philip and Alexander, since the time of the Apostle Paul, and God nurtures it until nowadays. Therefore, everyone who has described Macedonia whether it was through traditions and legends, or through the traces on the rocks, constructions, archeological items, papyrus or whether it was an author of travel pieces and historian or a plain mortal, experiences the country as a biblical one, and they are fascinated by its richness and beauty, magic and pride.

We were curious to see the village once again. This time we passed by the village church and turned to the left. We made U-turn on the northern side of Zeleniche and we went back to the main road where the hotel was located. We entered the restaurant where the polite manager together with his associates welcomed us being aware that we were foreigners. We explained him that we arrived there in order to visit the village of Steve Pliakes and that he has recommended that restaurant to us. I wanted and asked to talk to the general manager of the hotel. The young man who was a son of the hotel owner spoke English and he told us that we were welcome and he offered us delicious drinks and food specialties of the house. Then we spoke in Macedonian with the owner who was very kind and although he was very busy, he devoted some of his time to talk with us about Steve’s village and to answer some questions of our interest.

After the abundant lunch we thanked the young man to his kindness, paid our bill and we gave him the books we had problems with at the border crossing. We asked him to hand over the books as a gift to his father in order to put them in the hotel because we wanted to make a contribution in the honor of this Macedonian village which is the native place of our great friend Steve Pliakes.

It was afternoon when the Sun was falling over the mountains on the west when we left behind the village of Zeleniche, the native place of Steve Pliakes. We made one more tour through the village only to see how it looked like in the afternoon hours and we took the road to Kostur on our journey to the native place of Lilly Pliakes, the village of Zhelevo.

From Zeleniche to Kostur we passed through the colorful slopes of the Vich Mountain, where are located several villages, among which is the Vlach’s village of Vlahovi. It is the native village of many distinguished persons of the Greek society who had been enemies of the Macedonian people, like it was Dora Bakoyani, the greatest female Greek minister of foreign affairs with Vlach’s origin. But, there is also the revolutionary village of Zagorichani. It is a famous Macedonian village, especially after the 1905 Andart slaughter. We mentioned and reminded of our friend Lefter Manche MD, who originates from Zagorichani and lives in Ottawa, Canada. He is a man of the world who with his knowledge, intellect, patriotic spirit and love toward his native land Macedonia has established the foundation “Dzidrovi Brothers” in memory of his brothers who had given their lives for Macedonia.

That part of Aegean Macedonia is abundant with many gorgeous places which must be seen. It looks like it was the village of Zeleniche which made great impression to us as one beautiful Macedonian area where Steve Pliakes originates from. He should be proud to be a Macedonian originating exactly from Zeleniche.

THE BLOODY WDDING IN ZELENICHE

On November 13, 1904, during the wedding held in the Zeleniche village in Florina, the Greek Andartes killed 13 Macedonians. Among the victims were the bridegroom, his friends, two children, and the activist of the Macedonian Revolutionary Organization Pando Mechkarov, a total of 13 people. Since then 113 years have passed, but the Greek genocidal policy toward the Macedonian people has not changed. And today, the Macedonian people are requested to change its name, identity, history ...!?

The appearance of Greek troops in Macedonia dates back to the Ilinden uprising in 1903, but not with such systematics as in the post-Ilinden period. Under the direct leadership of the Greek government, the efforts of diplomacy, church, education and weapons were combined. During this period, the Greek armed action, richly financed by the state budget funds, was massive and acted with particular vigor in the southern parts of Macedonia.

Athens' goal was to impose Greek domination in Macedonia. The armed intervention, aimed at the Macedonian Revolutionary Organization, stemmed from the famous Megali idea, which envisaged the expansion of the Greek state to territories in which there was no Greek population, or if it had, it was in minimal numbers. After the island of Crete, Thessaly and Epirus, the territorial aspirations of the Greek state were directed towards Macedonia.

Germanos Karavangelis (1866-1935), a Patriarchal Metropolitan in Kostur (Castoria) (1900-1907), was especially active in the struggle against the Macedonian Revolutionary Organization. He maintained close ties with the Ottoman authorities and was one of the organizers of the first Greek troops for armed action in Macedonia.

From 1904 to 1908, using the good relations of Greece with Turkey, the church-educational propaganda was complemented by an even more intensive dispatch of armed troops that were wreaking havoc on the Macedonian villages, forcing the population that left the Greek Church to return under its authority and to declare itself Greek.

Encountering a resistance by the Macedonian Christian population, as well as by the troops of the Macedonian Revolutionary Organization, the Greek armed propaganda became genocidal in character to a part of the ethnic Macedonian population. Namely, anyone who did not want to be a member of the Greek Patriarchate, i.e. did not declare himself Greek, was a target of torture and subjected to ethnic purge regardless of whether it was Macedonian, Vlach or Albanian.

In fact, Greece tried with the help of the weapon to return the Macedonians within the Patriarchate, which would show the Greek character of Macedonia. In order to return all those who approached the Exarchate, where worship was performed in Slavic language, Greek armed propaganda in addition to torture, terror, murdered those who did not declare themselves Greeks - patriarchists.

The first major attacks on the Greek armed troops against the Macedonians, with a final result – murder of the innocent Macedonian population, occurred in the autumn of 1904. It is the well-known attack on the village of Zeleniche distric of Lerin (Florina) or known as the Bloody Wedding in Zeleniche.

On November 13, 1904, during the wedding held in the Zeleniche village in Lerin, the Greek Andartes killed 13 Macedonians. The reason was the revenge for the defeat of the founder of the Andartes' Movement Pavlos Melas, who committed suicide besieged by the Turkish army. Namely, the Greeks opted for revenge, believing that the Macedonians deceived the Turks, saying that it has been the troop of Mitre Vlaot.

The proposal to attack the village of Zeleniche came from Captain Evtimios Kaudis and was supported by his deputy Georgios Katehakis (Captain Rouvas), who had a detachment of 60 people who entered Macedonia on October 20, 1904 and settled in the village of Lehovo. From there, on November 13, they headed towards the village of Zeleniche, where one resident of the village of Suljo of Turkish origin showed them the house where the wedding was held, in which the merchant Stefan Gatev organized a wedding of his son. Many of his relatives, friends and local Turks attended the wedding.

The Andartes attacked in the evening at 22:30 hrs. and started shooting all people in the house. At the same time, part of the troop shot those people who accidentally managed to escape. In the evening, the Greek Andartes killed 13 people. Among the 13 victims were:

1. Stefan Gotev - 44 years old - father of the bridegroom;
2. Grigor Gotev - 19 years old - bridegroom;
3. Dosi Stojnov - 38 years old;
4. Vladimir Stojnov - 13 years old;
5. Mihail Puchov - 32 years old;
6. Lambro Stoykov - 23 years old;
7. Pando Mechkarov - 35 years old activist of MRO;
8. Dori Almanov – 42 years old;
9. Argir Pandilov - Babata - 45 years old;
10. Maria Pandilova - 10 years old;
11. Lazar Kostavichin - 11 years old;
12. Dosta Lazova - 50 years old, and
13. Hussein Abdullah Kerim - 50 years old.

Elena Gotoveva from Zeleniche will later say: "This wedding was a folk wedding; there were no comits, no comits at all. All were peaceful peasants. There was not a single Greek in our village. There were only few Greek houses that received money from the Greek bishop Germanos Karavangelis from Kastoria. The Greek Andartes did not kill us to fear and say that we are Greeks ... "

At that time, the member of the Macedonian Revolutionary Organization Georgi Pop Hristov was in Ekshi Su and learned about the attack on the village Zeleniche. He, together with other representatives of the MRO, decided to strengthen village militias and ordered all villages to be protected and to attack the Andartes' troops if they saw them.

However, the number of Greek troops increased rapidly, mostly with mercenaries from Crete. During 1905, 800 to 1000 people were acting in the Bitola vilayet, and the attacks continued to increase in the coming years. Only in the attacks of the village of Zagorichani on March 25, 1905, as well as during the attack on the second bloody wedding in the village of Nevoliani in October 1905, about 110 Macedonians were killed. Then the attacks also spread in all parts of southern and central Macedonia, where the Greek armed propaganda behaved more fiercely and aggressively towards the peaceful Macedonian village population.

Greece's attitude towards the Macedonian population has never changed. For decades, Macedonians have been exposed to threats, blackmail, terror, expulsions and committing ethnic genocide by Greece, but have never managed to break the Macedonian people.

Over 114 (as of 2018) years have passed since the bloody wedding in the Zeleniche village in Lerin, and the Macedonian issue remains open. As in the past, so today Athens requires the Macedonian people to change its name, identity, history... But does Athens think that the names of the victims of their genocidal politics can be forgotten? Certainly not! As long as the Macedonian people is not recognized by the Greeks, they will be permanently imprinted in their memory regardless of how much the history textbooks change, no matter how much the Macedonian monuments are destroyed under the dictation of the current politics.

ZHELEVO – THE NATIVE PLACE OF LILLY PLIAKES

The aim of our journey throughout Aegean Macedonia was to visit, not only the village of Zeleniche, the native place of Steve Pliakes, but also the village of Zhelevo, the native place of Lilly Pliakes. The village of Zhelevo is located exactly between the municipalities of Lerin and Kostur, but on the western side. Therefore, from Zeleniche we headed straight to Kostur in order to get informed on its historical development and to see the gorgeous nature offered by this beautiful Macedonian city.

Kostur, the city of fur and leather industry is located on the peninsula which divides the Kostur Lake in two equally attractive halves. The one part of the city which is heightened on the peninsula and is mirrored over the one half, and the other part is mirrored in the other half of the lake. The houses are built in a sequence one over another and at night when you look at them from the lake coast; it looks like you see an enormous Christmas tree with thousands of lampions which are mirrored in the golden lake.

By its geographical position, with the fertile valley full of fruit trees, the shiny blue Kostur Lake and the cultural-historical monuments, Kostur is an important tourist, cultural and economic region, attractive in all seasons. Kostur is a nice place for living, for rest and recreation. Due to its favorable climate conditions, the clean and fresh air, its altitude and all natural beauties of Kostur Lake and its surrounding, the restaurant and tourist businesses take increasingly significant place.

From the historical point of view, Kostur region is known in the ancient period as Arestida and it was located along the upper part of Bistrica River, and its capital Art was placed in the village of Rupishte. This is important to mention because it was the place of origin of the Macedonian dynasty Argeada that is the dynasty of the Macedonian king Philip, who moved later in Pella.

From the limnological point of view, it should be emphasized that Kostur Lake is a typical example of the lakes in the Aegean zone. It belongs to the group of desаret lakes, such as Ohrid and Prespa Lakes and it has all the features of that type of lakes: high temperature of the water during the summer period, wide coastal area with developed rich animal and vegetable world, characteristic configuration, specific appearance, unique climate conditions and interesting historical past.

When you are in Kostur and at the Coast of Kostur Lake you have a feeling that you are in Ohrid and Ohrid Lake, because Kostur resembles Ohrid by both its positioning and natural beauties. The nature has been very generous regarding the beauties of Kostur, which are unfortunately not exploited enough.

The city of Kostur is located on the south-western part of Macedonia, on the coast of Kostur Lake. Some educated people consider that the name was given after the rare animal castor which was bred in the area of Kostur Lake and which skin was used for manufacture of very nice and luxurious fur coats. There are also many churches in Kostur, well known basilicas and other historical and cultural monuments.

We made a tour around the city and the lake. We saw many shops for fur and fur products, which witnesses that the fur means life for Kostur. The pedestrians could hardly move along the narrow streets due to the heavy traffic which seemed like it challenged the visitors to see and feel the beauties of this lake city, a city which is beautiful in all seasons. After that we went to the eastern part of the city and we sat in the garden of a dissent restaurant located at the coast of the lake to rest for a while, to enjoy and admire the beauties of the city.

We were curious to get as more information as possible about the fur manufacturers in Kostur, the luxurious and expensive furs which hung in the numerous shops in the city, about the lake and the swans which complemented the beauty of the lake similar to Prespa Lake and we felt a desire to hear them speaking the Macedonian language in Kostur dialect.

However, we were short of time and we could not stay much longer. After the pleasant time spent in Kostur, we decided to go to Zhelevo, but this time from the other side, from the direction of Gramos to see that part of Aegean Macedonia where a large number of Macedonians lost their lives during the Civil War. We took the road to the legendary village of D’mbeni, the native village of numerous famous and recognized persons, among which is the donor and humanist Atanas Blizakoff. He lived in Gary, Indiana, in USA and he has established the largest Foundation for the Macedonian youth – students of the University “Sts. Cyril and Methodij” in Skopje. The author of this book is proud to underline that he is a lifelong member of this Foundation. My good friend of whom I am proud, the famous academician Antonie Shkokljev Doncho is also from D’mbeni. We are co-authors of four historical works about Macedonia.

The village of D’mbeni is located approximately 20 kilometers north-western of Kostur, in the south armpits of the Lokvata and Vinjari Mountains, at altitude of around 1,000 meters. It is surrounded with mountains covered with lime stone, which leads us to conclude that it is a part of the western Macedonian mountain chain.

Regretfully, the Greek official authorities were persistently trying to wipe out the traces which reminded that Macedonia was an ancient Slavic country. They continually invent laws, decrees, rules, amendments … After the Balkans Wars and the “Peace” Treaty of Bucharest followed by the division of Macedonia, all names of the populated places as well as the toponymes in the Aegean part of Macedonia were replaced with Hellenic (Greek). As a result of that government policy in November 1926, the village of D’mbeni was renamed into Dendrohorion.

The village of D’mbeni is within the area of Koreshta where in the past there were 34 villages spread all over the eastern and western sides of Bistrica River. All villages in Koreshta are exclusively Macedonian, except one from which in the turbulent years, its Macedonian population was completely expelled and Albanians – Muslims were inhabited.

D’beni has never lost its Macedonian spirit and mark, although it was constantly enslaved by foreigners. For centuries its population has carried on it fighting spirit and love toward its native land and ancestors’ fireplaces, which was constantly attracting the Macedonians which were dispersed all over the world. Thanks to it, the population of this part of Aegean Macedonia has eternally remained faithful to the fighting revolutionary and patriotic traditions.

The wide asphalt road which runs up to the hill on the northern side of Kostur, only about 10 kilometers, more precisely from the road which splits for the village of Kostur, continues toward Gabresh, Drenoveni and other villages. These are Macedonian villages, but the most of their inhabitants have emigrated after the Civil War. Today only you can see in those places are the high walls of the houses with broken windows and without roofs. This view causes sorrow, fear and horror. We stopped by the road and watched the houses with open drawers and broken balconies which were grieving for their owners. That sad image causes a thrill in the passerby and all he wants is to forget it as soon as possible. We felt there like the open windows were greeting us and telling that in the past there was a life, and the walls of the old Macedonian houses were crying together with the ruins and the roaring of the river which echoed in the wilderness in order to remind us of the wars waged on Gramos.

From the village of Gabresh, the native village of many famous and recognized businessmen like Steve Stavro, John Bitoff, Kosta Nikoff and many others, where we set our eyes on the valley, we took the road to Zhelevo, the native place of Lilly Pliakes.

The village of Zhelevo is pure Macedonian village, which is located on the edge of Lerin – Kostur municipality, but it belongs administratively to Kostur. It is one of the largest villages in this region. Zhelevo is located at the foot of Bigla Mountain and it is positioned at an altitude of about 1,000 meters. It has been from the beginning a pure Macedonian settlement. However, due to political and economic reasons after the Ilinden rebellion and the World War I, especially after the defeat of the Democratic Army of Greece in the Civil War, many inhabitants of Zhelevo had moved to the overseas countries, Canada, USA and Australia as well as to other European countries.

It should be noted that the zhelevci were active after they arrived in Canada. According to the written documents, in 1907 they formed a beneficial association "Zhelevo" in Toronto. The current auxiliary brotherhood "Zhelevo", however, was formed on October 1, 1921. It has developed a number activities including that in 1928 was initiated construction of the well-known Zhelevo Home. In 1929 it was created youth association named "Motherland". The "Zhelevo home" was re-initiated in 1946 and on 26 August the same year a land was bought. House officially opened on 10 July 1948. The House owns land for cotiches, golf courts and other property.

It is interesting to note that "Zhelevo Home" was held meeting, which decided to build a Macedonian Orthodox Church "St. Kliment Ohridski" in Toronto. The first president of the first Macedonian church in Canada was Spiro Sander from Zhelevo.

When we speak about the village of Zhelevo, it should be emphasized that it is a picturesque mountainous village located on the road Lerin – Kostur. There, the Bigla Mountain, above the village, is the well of Bistrica River which cuts the area of Koreshta and it flows in Thessalonica Bay. It is a mountain river with small waterfalls and trout, which water is utilized for irrigation of the green and succulent meadows and fertile fields on the both sides of the mountain foot.

At the entrance of the village we noticed a sign which indicated the name of the village Andartikon, written both in Greek and Latin alphabets. However, Zhelevo is a large Macedonian village and autonomous municipality in Lerin District. It is spread out behind the road which runs from Kostur to Prespa and with another leg toward Lerin. According to the legend, the old village was located even higher on the mountain at the place called Lazina. This village is very old and it is mentioned in the oldest Turkish documents. It has been Macedonian village from the beginning and it has not undergone any changes until today.

According to the Bulgarian documents, Zhelevo was mentioned as a settlement populated by approximately 1,200 inhabitants and more than 250 houses. It had the largest number of inhabitants in 1913 (1,415 inhabitants), and then the number started to decrease, that is around 1,000 inhabitants in 1940, 605 inhabitants in 1961 and 418 inhabitants in 1971. According to the local people, there are approximately 400 inhabitants living in the village today.

The number of inhabitants shows a decrease due to the massive emigration in the period between the two World Wars when lot of families had moved to Bitola, the village of Porodin, to Bulgaria as well as to the overseas countries. During the Civil War approximately 200 families had left the village which moved mainly in former Yugoslavia and the Eastern European countries. The inhabitants of Zhelevo had mainly moved to Canada, especially to Toronto, where there is a large Zhelevo colony.

Zhelevo is a village of dense type with typical Macedonian houses and spacious balconies. It is similar to the other Macedonian villages from the regions of Lerin and Kostur, such as: Oshchima, Rulja, Besfina, Breznica, Smrdesh, Gabresh, Pozdivishte, D’mbeni, or it looks like the villages from the other side of Preval toward Prespa.

According to the old traditions, the village of Zhelevo has gotten its name after the word “zhilevo”. More precisely, on the spot where the old village existed, there were high and large trees with long and big roots (“zhili” in Macedonian). Based on the word “zhila”, the village was called Zhilevo, and then replaced by Zhelevo. But, it is only a legend. The truth is that the people from Zhelevo and from that entire region of Aegean Macedonia have spread their roots all over the world and that Macedonian blood is circulating through their veins (vein = zhila).

The hard-working hands of Zhelevo inhabitants had built the two village churches: the old “St. Nicholas”, dating from 1713, and “St. Atanas”, which is built more recently and which walls are painted with picturesque frescoes by the diligent hands of the fresco painter – the artisan Gjorgji and his son Nikola from Lazaropole. We visited Zhelevo in the afternoon and saw all the beauties of the village. We also talked to a number of inhabitants, among which was a couple from Zhelevo who live in Toronto. The meeting was really warm-hearted, Macedonian-style, and it was held in one of the three restaurants on the road.

On this occasion we should emphasize that Zhelevo is the native place of numerous famous emigrants, especially in Toronto, among which the first Macedonian who has graduated in Toronto, is the painter Foto Tomev, to whom the author of this book has devoted special texts. In Zhelevo was also born the first President of the Macedonian Orthodox Church “St. Clement of Ohrid” in Toronto, the well known Spiso Sanders, as well as his son Jimmy Sander, who was the first President of the national organization “United Macedonians” in Toronto.

We left Zhelevo in silence and headed to Lerin. We reached the ridge of the mountain where the ski center “Bigla” is located. From there we could watch the new windmills placed on the hill above the village Psoderi. Then we stopped at one plateau from which we could see a large part of Lerin, the village of Armensko, a part of Pelagonia and several villages put in a row along the road from Lerin to Voden and Thessalonica. There we enjoyed the beauties which were a gift of the Mother Nature, and recalled the narratives about komitas (solgers) who had shed their blood for Macedonia, somewhere on Bigla Mountain, betrayed by the priest Stavros from the village of Psoderi.

At those moments we wanted to forget the ugly historical truths and everything bad that was made to the Macedonian Orthodox people from the Aegean Macedonia, in hope that it will not happen again. We prayed to God to be just and to help the tormented Macedonian people from God’s Aegean Macedonia to enjoy all the human rights, obligations and benefits described in the UN declarations.

Edited with permission from: Steve Pliakes Monograph by Slave Katin