UNSUCCESSFUL MISSION IN TSARI GRAD - DIGGING A TUNNEL IN SOLUN

UNSUCCESSFUL MISSION IN TSARI GRAD - DIGGING A TUNNEL IN SOLUN

Figuring that conditions for the moment were not ripe for organizing something big at home, Merdzhanov’s group went to Sofia and linked up with Boris Sarafov, President of the Supreme Committee.

After some discussion, Sarafov approved their proposed plans and agreed to finance their actions.

After that S. Merdzhanov, Petar Mandzhukov and P. Sokolov left for Tsari Grad and, after a long deliberation, decided to assassinate Sultan Abdul Hamid. However, after months of studying the conditions and possibilities for pursuing this, they came to the conclusion that the possibilities of getting close to Abdul Hamid were limited. The only time the Sultan left the palace was when he went to prayer at the “Hamidie Dzhamisi” mosque, or on the fifteenth day of Ramadan when he went to the “Topkapi” mosque to celebrate the Prophet Muhammad’s holiday. Otherwise he remained in the “Ild’z Kioshk” (the palace in which the Sultan lived) which was like a fortress surrounded by high walls. His harem, buildings with living quarters, offices, gardens, ponds and the like were all inside those walls.

At first the assassins figured they could assassinate the Sultan with a bomb when he went to the “Tapkapi” mosque. However, they quickly came to the realization that their plan was cunningly unrealistic. While traveling to the mosque the Sultan was surrounded by thousands of soldiers. Besides, no one knew which road he was going to take; by wagon or by boat. Usually he went there one way and came back another way. He was also carefully guarded when he went to the “Hamidie Dzhamisi” mosque every Friday. Besides that he always held his audience about 300-500 metres away from himself and it would be very difficult to get close to him. On top of all that it was impossible to get permission to go inside the mosque and assassinate him inside. So their plans to assassinate him in those regards did not pan out.

Being convinced that they would not be able to assassinate the sultan, Merdzhanov’s group opted for bombing the Ottoman Bank building located on the main street which ran from Galata to Pera. The bank was owned by Western European capitalists. But due to the functions it performed, among other things, it also served as a treasury for the Ottoman state, and was considered more a state rather than a private bank.

Unfortunately the foundations of the Ottoman Bank could only be reached through an underground tunnel. To get to the bank’s foundations the Gemidzhii rented a two-storey warehouse close to the bank. The building was rented out to them by Nancho Ctoianov who had it adapted as a “warehouse” to serve the Exarchate Organ “Novini” printing house. The slow, quiet and careful digging of the tunnel began inside this building. Unfortunately the pace of the work was very slow. As soon as they began to dig they ran into very hard ground. Because of this, they contacted the Gemidzhii in Solun and asked them to send a man to Tsari Grad so that they could work by two’s in two shifts. Pavel Shatev was sent at the end of July 1900 to assist.

The work was hard and slow but centimetre by centimetre the tunnel was approaching the bank’s foundations. The Gemidzhii were happy with their progress but soon came to the realization that they would soon need dynamite to blow up the bank’s foundation, which they did not have and was not easy to come by. For this they sought advice from the Armenian revolutionaries with whom they maintained ties. Their friend, pseudonym Kozakov, promised to supply them with dynamite, but in order to get it he had to go to Batum. The dynamite actually arrived in Tsari Grad on a Russian ship, but due to carelessness it was discovered by the police and confiscated. Pretending to be a Russian subject, Kozakov barely managed to save himself.

Failure to acquire the dynamite caused immense disappointment among the Gemidzhii. Merdzhanov was so angry and frustrated he went mad for several days. Shatev wrote: “The three of us could hardly move. We were so melancholy we hardly came out of our apartments... We were so out of it nothing and no one could make us happy…” (P. Shatev, 116-117.)

Some time after the dynamite was seized, one by one, each of the four Gemidzhii were arrested on suspicion of being involved with importing the dynamite. As it turned out, the Ottoman authorities did not know anything about the dynamite and were unable to exact information from the arrested. The four were released after the Bulgarian diplomatic agent in Tsari Grad intervened. Because the three Gemidzhii were Bulgarian citizens, they were expelled to

Bulgaria. Shatev was sent back to Kratovo, his hometown. (After Merdzhanov, Mandzhukov and Sokolov arrived in Bulgaria, A. Kiprov was sent to Tsari Grad on a reconnaissance mission. Kiprov had made contact with the Central Committee in Solun and had promised Matov that he would inform him about the Tsari Grad tunnel. Kiprov went to the warehouse, inspected the tunnel, wrote an extensive encrypted report about it and dispatched it to Matov in Solun. The report arrived in Solun before the outbreak of the famous Solun contravention (January 1901) when the entire Central Committee was arrested. Unfortunately both Matov and Kiprov’s report fell into the hands of the Ottoman government. Without delay the Ottoman authorities deciphered the report and sent it to the Sultan. However, the tunnel was discovered some time after the arrests and prosecution of those who dug it.) And so, even though the attempt ended without a blast at the bank, it brought fear into the heart of the Ottoman Empire and reminded Europe that conquered nations do not rest but seek their rights.

* * *

In the meantime the Gemidzhii in Veles were preoccupied with the question of how to lay their hands on more money. It was decided to assign Meche and another member of the Veles Revolutionary Committee to kidnap a child, a student from a wealthy family, and exhort ransom money. It was agreed that the teacher Prnarov, who knew about the plan, would take the students on a stroll outside the city. Two armed men, dressed in Albanian clothes, would suddenly jump in front of the children and grab a child and Prnarov himself. Unfortunately, a quick intervention by the authorities discovered that the “Albanian robbers”, hiding in a cave with the child, were actually from Veles. They and the teacher were arrested and convicted. The Organization (MRO), however, did receive a “ransom” of 200 liras, but it is unknown if and how much of that ransom went to the Veles Gemidzhii. (H. Siliapov, The Liberation Struggles in Macedonia, Vol. 1, Sofia 1933, 248.)

The Gemidzhii left Veles and went to Solun with practically no money. They did not have the means to support themselves never mind to start anything meaningful. Kosta Kirkov came up with another idea. He decided to go back to Veles, grab the family’s

precious jewels from his aunt and return to Solun. The moment his uncle discovered what Kosta was doing, he went to Solun. But in order to get the jewels back he had to pay the Gemidzhii 50 liras. (S. Simeonov 8. According to other information, the jewels were worth 36 liras.) The Gemidzhii now had the money to start something small.

In the spring of 1900, the same time Merdzhanov’s group was planning to go to Tsari Grad Ortse was invited to go to Sofia. Ortse connected with Sarafov through Merdzhanov and told him what the Gemidzhii were trying to do but did not give him any details. Sarafov promised Ortse that he would help. The promised aid was going to arrive in Solun from Tsari Grad through Merdzhanov’s group. However, while the conspirators in Tsari Grad were regularly financed and did not complain of lack of funds, the Gemidzhii were almost constantly without enough money. Shatev, who in Solun kept correspondence with the circle in Veles, Tsari Grad and Bulgaria, claims that once or twice he received money from Tsari Grad in the sum of 20 Napoleons (French gold coins). This money was for the needs of the Gemidzhii. And, while Shatev was sent to Tsari Grad to help the local circle, he was also expected to expedite the sending of money to Solun. (P. Shatev, 84 and 89.) And so it seems that the Gemidzhii received very little help from their connections in Tsari Grad. But, according to Organdzhiev, the Gemidzhii received no help at all: “We were hoping to receive money from the Tsari Grad group, but we received nothing…” (T. Organdzhiev, 119. S. Simeonov wrote that because the promised money did not come regularly, Ortse personally had to go to Tsari Grad to investigate the issue. According to Silianov, because of the failure to receive the promised money, Kirkov was obliged to take his aunt’s jewelry.)

After meeting with Sarafov, Ortse returned to Veles and together with Pingov left for Solun.

Merdzhanov’s group thought that because of the “drastic actions” it took in Tsari Grad, Europe would see the Gemidzhii as “anarchists”. So, to avoid being labeled “anarchists” and to make themselves look like “revolutionaries”, the Gemidzhii prepared to take similar “drastic actions” in several larger cities in the European part of the Ottoman Empire, especially in Macedonia and Odrin. When the

digging of the tunnel in Tsari Grad was in its advanced stages, Merdzhanov’s group asked Ortse to start the same kind of work in Solun. Ortse accepted his proposal and invited his friends, who at the time were in Veles, to come to Solun. At this point in time Dimitar Koshtanov from Gorna Dzhumaia joined the Gemidzhii circle. Koshtanov was a trusted person who worked for the MRO Central Committee. He considered himself a “terrorist” but was very disappointed with the way the MRO Central Committee was handling things. As a result he left the MRO, joined the Gemidzhii and became one of the bravest members in its circle. At about the same time, in the spring of 1900, Pavel Shatev, who had finished his education in the gymnasium, was admitted to the circle so that, unlike the Tsari Grad circle, which numbered only three, the Solun circle was several times more numerous and more active at home, under quite different conditions.

After deciding that they would blow up the Ottoman bank in Solun, the Gemidzhii began to make plans to get close to the building’s foundations and acquire the dynamite. To get to the Bank’s foundation the Gemidzhii rented a small place near the bank and turned it into a barber shop. The place was located opposite the door of the hotel “Colombo” and because it was located on one of the major streets in Solun, it was necessary to furnish it with furniture appropriate for this part of the city. The Gemidzhii had to pay attention to every possible detail and to do that they spent more than ten Napoleons for the necessary barber shop furniture and tools. They registered Vlado Pingov as the owner of the barber shop. The place was ready and operational in about a week. Vlado Pingov was the “master” barber and Ilia Trchkov was his “apprentice”. Their first customers were the Gemidzhii themselves, and gradually other people, including foreigners, began to visit the barber shop. Of course, given the fact that Pingov knew very little about the craft, some unpredictable situations could not be avoided, comical in their form but with quite dangerous consequences.

One day a well-dressed foreigner came into the barber shop and asked to be shaved fast because he was in a hurry. Pingov shaved him fast but did not do a good job so the stranger asked him to square up his beard. But because Pingov did not know how to do it, he tried to persuade the customer that his beard was fine the way it

was and there was nothing to fix. But because the customer insisted, Pingov was obliged to fix his beard hair by hair. Fortunately the foreigner interpreted the whole situation as a “language misunderstanding”. However, this incident prompted the Gemidzhii to think more seriously about their staff, and because the barber shop was located in the French neighbourhood, it was bound to be used by foreigners more often. They also realized that visiting and having conversations with Pingov in the barber shop was dangerous. It was not desirable to even be seen in Pingov’s barber shop, especially by some rich and prominent person from Veles or from Ohrid. Ortse solved some of these problems by asking Mardzhanov to send him someone from Tsari Grad who spoke Turkish or Greek but did not know the Macedonian language. Merdzhanov consulted with the Armenian Committee and they found him such a person. The young man they recommended was an Armenian named Kristi who knew both the Turkish and Greek languages well. Kristi presented himself as a “Greek” under the name K. Aristidi and worked as a barber in Pingov’s barber shop. By employing a “Greek” in the barber shop, the Turkish police did not suspect that the store could be used for the needs of the Macedonian revolutionaries.

The most important part of the barber shop for the Gemidzhii was the barber shop’s basement which was located 1.5 metres below street level. Ortse, Shatev and Kostanov were responsible for digging the tunnel. Shatev and Kostanov began to dig in July 1900. First they dug out a three metre vertical hole and then proceeded to dig out the tunnel horizontally. The soil was fine and the digging of the tunnel was easy and fast. The difficulty was the lighting. There was no electric lighting and ordinary battery powered flashlights did not emit enough light, so the work was done with candles. The digging was done with a chisel and shovel. Under no circumstances were they allowed to use a pick.

After digging a few metres horizontally, Ortse noticed that they were off course. They were going too much to the left and if they continued in that direction they would miss the bank. Having good knowledge of math, especially geometry, Ortse did some calculations and made the necessary corrections. Unfortunately this called for widening the tunnel and increasing the chances of the soil

collapsing on them. To prevent this, a certain amount of cement and a small amount of water were carefully brought into the barber shop. With the concrete they secured the tunnel.

At that same time the group in Tsari Grad reported that things were going badly there and asked for help. They also suggested that the tunnel digging in Solun be accelerated. And, as we mentioned earlier, Shatev was sent to Tsari Grad to help them.

The digging of the Solun tunnel was taken over by T. Organdzhiev and Ilia Popiordanov, who came to Solun from Veles especially for this. As they extended the length of the tunnel they ran into bad air, a problem that was solved by blowing air through a wide rubber hose. One person was sitting at the tunnel entrance blowing air while the other one dug. The tunnel was about 70 cm high and about 50 cm wide which forced them to work in a reclined position. Some of the excavated soil was scattered and compacted in the basement and the rest was taken out of the barber shop and thrown out into the sea or in other secure places.

On the way to the Bank the “diggers” ran into what appeared to be an old Roman wall, which was very difficult to break. As a result they only dug a small opening wide enough for one person to squeeze through. They called this place “Thermopolis”. After that there were no other serious obstacles. The tunnel was dug within a few months and the Gemidzhii now had access to the bank’s foundations. However, unexpectedly, it was far more difficult to obtain the required dynamite than it was to dig the tunnel. The Gemidzhii ran out of money and had to live under very difficult conditions. They spent very little supporting themselves in the summer and autumn, subsisting mainly on grapes and other fruits. Soon they had nothing to eat and became dependent on their compatriot Slavcho Korobarov, a student at the Gymnasium. Slavcho stole food from the boarding house and gave it to the hungry Gemidzhii, by throwing it over the boarding house wall.

Having no dynamite and no money to support themselves, the Gemidzhii once again realized that their plans did not pan out and they failed in their mission. They decided to leave Solun. The tools they worked with they buried in the tunnel. They also secured the

tunnel’s opening and cleaned up the shop nicely, leaving no traces of their activities or of the tunnel. In December 1900 they abandoned the barber shop and most of them returned to Veles. (T. Organdzhiev, 118-120; P. Shatev, 87-89, 204; Silianov 249, 251; S. Simeonov, 10-11.)

Fortunately their work in Solun was not jeopardized with the discovery of the Tsari Grad group’s activities. The Gemidzhii knew that too. Before Shatev was jailed in Kratovo he was escorted through Solun. In Solun, he deliberately passed by Pingov’s barber shop (the policeman escorting him did not know the city) so that his comrades would see that he had been arrested. A few hours later T. Organdzhiev appeared at the gendarmerie prison, and only by accident saw Shatev being escorted by a policeman to the jail. Shatev managed to tell Organdzhiev that even though Merdzhanov’s group had been arrested the police knew nothing about their activities. The tunnel had not been discovered and that everyone was okay. (It is interesting to note here that because P. Shatev did not have the money to pay for a ticket for the policeman who was escorting him, he and two other people in a similar situation had to go on foot from Solun to Skopje. The road led them through Kukush, Doiran, Strumitsa, Shtip, Sveti Nikole and then Skopje. From there Shatev traveled on a train to Kumanovo and on foot to Kratovo.)

In other words, the Gemidzhii had nothing to worry about and could resume their work. However, they, more than they should have, relied on the Tsari Grad circle for help, and were expecting it, although it was obvious that such help was hard to come by. And when Merdzhanov’s group was shut down, the Gemidzhii found themselves somewhat confused and helpless. They could not achieve anything in Solun on their own because they seemed to think and expected that Merdzhanov’s group was going to supply them the explosives. From now on, however, they would raise their own money and supply their own dynamite before planning any more such missions. But after this first serious failure, they spent the entire year (1901) in vain.