WITH THE ARRIVAL OF THE GREEKS THE PEOPLE OF KOSTUR FORGOT HOW TO LAUGH HEARTI

WITH THE ARRIVAL OF THE GREEKS THE PEOPLE OF KOSTUR FORGOT HOW TO LAUGH HEARTILY

The sky above Kostur was cloudy and the old mountains, laden with the bones of heroes, were full of unwritten history. Everything was silent. It seemed like the great exodus was finally over; the echoes of the song, the sound of gunfire, the blessing of a mother’s words to her children and the cursing of widows… My dear God, such terrible memories... it hurts me to think about them even today...

The finest and most beautiful things in my native Kostur cannot be seen or touched. They must be felt with the heart. But I know the people of Kostur were very proud by the very fact that they belonged to Kostur and to Kostur Region. But ever since the Greeks came here, the people of Kostur have forgotten how to laugh

heartily. This is what old man Krapov had said to me earlier. But from my own experience I remember my grandmother Ianka, who did not speak a word of Greek, whisper to me: “I have a lump right here in my throat. I swallow but the lump will not go down, I can’t free myself.” She was whispering because she did not want to be heard… because she was afraid of something… or someone…

“Kostur is old,” continued old man Krapov, “but we know very little about its age. It has been written in an age-old yellowed book that: ‘Kostur is situated on the Goritsa Peninsula’, on the western shore of the lake, at 690 metres above sea level and was named with a Latin name; the Latin name of the ‘beaver’, the creature with the best fur of all the animals that lived here.

According to Ottoman records, the people of Kostur were of Royal Lineage stretching back to Tsar Samoil who ruled here in Macedonia during the Byzantine period.

Kostur is a very old city and there are records of it that stretch back to Roman times. There is one piece of information from the Byzantine period which read: ‘The city of Kostur, for the first time, gained its independence and became an independent Macedonian national community sometime back in 990, when Tsar Samoil ruled’. Tsar Samoil freed Kostur and the city remained under Macedonian rule until 1385 when it fell under Ottoman slavery (1385-1913).

When the Ottomans ruled Kostur they built many significant buildings, some of which lasted to this day. A couple of these were: ‘The Great Gate’ and ‘The Fortified Neighbourhood’ among other special Turkish settlements.

There were three large settlements and fur-processing workshops and in between the settlements were Ottoman cemeteries. The Ottomans settled mostly in the ‘Dolcheto’ area. There were schools and three inns operating beside the ‘Kurshum’ (Bullet) Minaret and several seminaries.

At about the same period of time, in the 15th century, a Jewish community, consisting mostly of merchants, began to settle in

Kostur. The Jews were good people and very wise, they did not want power, they only wanted to make money. They respected family values.

In the 18th century Kostur’s population composition was: 940 Macedonian, 22 Muslim and 93 Jewish families. The city had around 12,000 inhabitants, of whom 7,000 were Macedonians, 3,500 Ottomans and 1,500 Jews.

In more recent years we lost the Ottoman, Jewish and Macedonian populations living in Kostur. We lost the Ottoman community with the Lausanne Treaty population exchanges between Greece and Turkey. We then lost the Jewish community to the genocidal Nazi’s in the Second World War when Nazi Germany invaded Europe and collected all the Jews. Then, between 1940 and 1950 we lost a great deal of the Macedonian community to Greek persecution and Greek genocide.

Then in 1923 the Greek government brought colonists and settlers, known as Prosfigi or Madzhiri, to Kostur and Kostur Region from Asia Minor, as it did in all of Greek occupied Macedonia. Around 28,000 (27,796) people were settled in Kostur Region alone. Around 640,000 (638,253) people in total were settled in Greek occupied Macedonia. The Greek aim here was, no doubt, to get rid of the Macedonians from their native lands and replace them with Turkish colonists and settlers who would have no choice but to be loyal to Greece.

In a short period of time Greece changed the ethnic composition of Macedonia, one of its many genocidal acts against the Macedonian people. During the same period Greece imported around 1,150,000 people in its territory, all colonists and settlers from Asia Minor, all Christians but not ethnic Greeks,” concluded the old man who then went silent… but not for long.

* * *

A few moments later old man Krapov look up, pointed with his hand towards the mountain and said: “It is a wonderful sight to see Kostur from up there, from ‘Goritsa’. It’s a beautiful site...

You have not lived to see Kostur unless you have climbed the highest peak in ‘Goritsa’ and looked down on the city and the lake. The lake’s deep blue water is magically captivating. If you look closely you will see thousands of carp leaping in the clear blue water. You will witness the beauty of the clouds flying above and being reflected in the lake water. The lake is a magnificent marvel of nature especially with my most favoured city nestled by it… From time to time I go up there, to the top of the hill and look down at my little world. I also love to walk through the forest up there. While looking down I sometimes feel like the place is immortal and will live forever, just like the mountains. Other times I feel like it is a fragile eco system; the green growth, the birds and animals… all living harmoniously together. I often look down the winding road, curving along the peninsula with its unseen beauty, a paradise for lovers, with many café’s and restaurants. But the most beautiful of all the places are the many churches. The older churches were built before the Greeks set foot on this place. Many famous people have spent many nights here including some of our famous freedom fighters and rebel commanders belonging to Macedonia’s liberation movements. They used to quote Tsar Samoil whose slogan was: ‘This is my part of the world!’ Then, after the Greeks occupied Macedonia, the slogan became: ‘We want Macedonia without Macedonians’…” concluded Krapov, looking at me with a sad look on his face.

* * *

The old man turned his head and looked towards the lake. He then began talking again: “When you turn your back towards the lake, everything in Kostur is downhill. Streets climb up towards the houses and the houses stand one behind another as if wanting to hide from you. When you look up you see the elevation turn into hills, then to mountains and then to great big mountains starting with Mount Vicho. Then when a heavy breeze blows along the surface of the lake, water is pushed up the roads and into the wide yards of the houses. Under the village Aposkep, the water reaches as high as those large maple trees over there where the common grave is, where many Ilinden freedom fighters and rebels were buried.” He stopped talking but only for a moment.

The old man re-composed himself as if recovering from an overwhelming emotional reaction and with a raspy trembling voice said: “My ancestors… my roots… my ancestors are from Aposkep, the greatest revolutionary village in Macedonia…”

He then turned away facing north and while pointing into the distance he said: “There it is! Exactly 6 km north of Kostur resting at an altitude of 840 metres, at the foot of Mount Sveti Ilia. To the north it borders with the villages Setoma and Seshtevo, to the south it borders Kostur, the city, and the village Zhupanishta. To its east are the villages Tiolishta, Kondorabi and Fotinishta, and to the west is the village Sliveni.

Early in the twentieth century 750 residents lived in Aposkep, all Macedonians. There were 120 families living in two distinct neighbourhoods; east and west. Dividing the two neighbourhoods was a large natural spring, a major source of water for the village. It was said that the water flowed down from Lake Prespa. Villagers, even today, remember the phenomenon that the water flowing from the spring was warm in the winter and cool in the summer. They called it a gift from God.

The village was built in a very interesting location, which at one point in time was a huge dip full of lush vegetation encircled by mountains. Because of the location’s shape the Ottomans named it ‘APUS KUP’ which roughly translates to ‘Large Earthen Pot’. According to local lore, the village was founded when a member of the Tanaskovi family, a cow herder, lost a cow. When he went looking for it he found it grazing in this place which he thought would make an excellent pasture for his cows. After returning home, which was quite far from this place, he immediately told his relatives about it and advised them to go and build new homes in this location. And thus this fertile and rich in water piece of land became the family’s future habitat. Well, at least this is what the old folks told us back in the old days.

The land was very fertile and, in addition to it being used for pasture, in time most villagers began to farm and cultivate it including planting vineyards. Aposkep was one of the most famous

producers of wines using a widely popular grape later termed “Aposkepsko Grozie” (Aposkep Grape). Over the years both grapes and wine were sold in the Kostur, Lerin and even in the far Kozheni markets.

Soon after the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO) was created in Solun, with aims at freeing the entire Macedonian population from Ottoman autocracy, a local branch was established in Aposkep. The first organizers were Lazo Luarov, Naum Fotev Bozhinov, Lazo Ginov, Dine Trupanov and Stoian Bakalov.

Aposkep is located at the junction between three Kostur regions Koreshtata, Popole and Kostenariata. All these regions were organized by IMRO and anyone who wanted to travel from one region to another had to pass through Aposkep.

The Ilinden Uprising began on July 20, 1903 (August 2, 1903 by the new calendar) before which revolutionaries and local Aposkep fighters gathered at the St. Ilia Church on the mountain. Just before the revolt began 300 insurgents had gathered. Stoian Bakalov, one of their commanders, made a speech to urge Macedonians to fight, during which he said:

‘Brother Macedonians! The day which we awaited for years has arrived. Grab your guns and go out there and fight for your freedom, free yourselves from the Ottoman yoke.’ After that all the commanders lined up and gave speeches. Included among them were Lambro Braov, Pando Popovski and Tanas Iorgov. Minutes later another 60 villagers arrived, picked up guns and joined the ranks of the freedom fighting bands.”

Looking slightly angry, old man Krapov said: “And as you can see there were no Greeks… and there was nothing Greek here… They brought those miserable colonists from Asia Minor and established them on our lands which we worked so hard to make habitable and kicked us out… Now tell me, how long are we going to go on ‘proving’ to them that we are Macedonians? Can our past be deleted so easily? In these villages?! And especially here in Kostur… in the heart of Macedonia?!!”

The old man recomposed himself and continued: “I remember everything that my grandfather told me and he explained things in detail. He said nothing about our grandfathers, great grandfathers, and great – great grandfathers being anything other than Macedonian. There is nothing in our oral tradition or in our collective memory of us being anything but Macedonian… What else can I tell you?”

I clearly remember my grandfather Dorcho telling me that the Ilinden Uprising in Kostur lasted two and a half months and that the Macedonian population massively participated in it. Not only were they fighting with guns and giving up their lives but they also donated food, clothing and other necessities. Most of the fighters in the insurgency came from Kosur Region and many became casualties of the war with very large losses. Everyone suffered from that, especially the families of the bread earners who were killed. Unlike in other areas where the insurgencies lasted only a few days or at maximum a couple of weeks, the fighting in Kostur lasted nearly three months, without it being crushed. Military action was terminated only because IMRO General Headquarters ordered it. So, unlike in Krushevo for example, where the insurgents suffered defeat after ten days of fighting and had to accept capitulation, the insurgents in Kostur Region fought a guerrilla war, which was only ended by their own decision.

By October 14, 1903, when rebel General Headquarters decided to end all military action, the Kostur fighters had participated in 17 battles in which 4,170 rebels had clashed with 30,360 Ottoman soldiers. In that time 83 rebels and 513 Ottoman soldiers were killed. By the time the fighting ended 2,750 Macedonian homes had been burned down, which amounted to twenty-eight percent of the total number of houses in Kostur region. As a result of this 15,650 people were left homeless and 413 civilians were killed. They were killed in the countryside in retaliation by Ottoman forces.

With their contribution, the people of Kostur gave their all to the Ilinden Uprising which no one can deny. Their struggle lasted the longest and produced the largest number of victims. The fate of that struggle was such that unfortunately today it is almost forgotten.

The Ottomans, military generals in particular, have argued that by now they were accustomed and not embarrassed to admit that the Macedonian rebels during the Ilinden uprising had fought like lions and can be considered the heroes of that war.

Some have even said that: “Heroes have fought like Macedonian rebels…”