Thessaloniki: Memories of a refugee in the Rotunda – See photos

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The exhibition is organized by the Ephorate of Antiquities of the City of Thessaloniki, as part of the commemorative events of the Ministry of Culture and Sports for the 100th anniversary of the Asia Minor Disaster

The exhibition “Thessaloniki 1922: Monuments and Refugees” focuses on the use of religious monuments as temporary shelter for refugees, but also on the transfer and rescue by refugee families of many relics from their regions of origin (Eastern Thrace, Constantinople, Asia Minor) , which launched tonight at Rotundathe general secretary of Culture Giorgos Didaskalou.

Representing the Minister of Culture, L. Mendoni, and reading her speech, Mr. Didaskalou noticed that the months that come to mind for that period are particularly intense and moving. “The region of Macedonia, centered on Thessaloniki, was one of the main recipients of the refugee wave. At the beginning of the 20th century, Thessaloniki was a multicultural, multi-ethnic and multi-religious city with Christian, Muslim and Jewish residents, a mixture of West and East,” he said among other things.

Rotunda

The exhibition is organized by the Ephorate of Antiquities of the City of Thessaloniki, in the context of the commemorative events of the Ministry of Culture and Sports for the 100th anniversary of the Asia Minor Catastrophe, under the general coordination of the head of the Ephorate, Elisavet Tsigaridas, edited by Flora Karagianni.

Through archival and pictorial material, the effects on the everyday life of Thessaloniki from the dramatic events of the decade 1912-1922 are highlighted, during which many monuments became places of settlement for refugees. Also presented is the drama that followed the Asia Minor Campaign and especially the refugee journey from Asia Minor, Constantinople and Eastern Thrace to Thessaloniki, when the refugee families brought with them their personal and ecclesiastical relics – mainly portable icons – from the their places of origin.

Rotunda

Rotunda

In the Rotunda, a monument that has stood in the heart of the city for 16 centuries and traces its entire history step by step, as Ms. Tsigarida pointed out, thirty-six of these relics are on display: portable icons, church utensils and antiquities.

The exhibition will run until December 31, 2022.

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