Experiencing Thrace
Through a fieldwork carried out on August 2022 the research aims to form a multidisciplinary approach with the support of field notes, recordings, photography and cartography. The fieldwork started from Alexandroupoli on the south and extended until Didymoteicho on the north.
Alexandroupoli
The city, a multicultural urban center
Alexandroupoli is the largest city in Western Thrace and it is the capital city of Evros regional unit. It is an important port of northeastern Greece. The city is vibrant and welcomes a large mix of people. Due to its location Bulgarian and Turkish people can travel by car within few hours. Besides from the tourists the local population is also mixed with muslim minorities and people from Balkans .
Alexandroupoli
The Ethnological Museum of Thrace
The Ethnological Museum of Thrace was founded in 2002 by Mrs. Aggeliki Giannakidou, aiming to preserve the historical memory of Thrace and to study and showcase Thrace’s culture to the rest of the world. It is located in Alexandroupolis in a stone neoclassical building constructed in 1899. The exhibition consists items related to the everyday life of the people of Thrace throughout time such as clothing, instruments, agricultural machinery and tools as well as household items. The multiculturality and diversity of the population was evident through these everyday objects.
Evros Delta is quite detached from the nearby city Alexandroupoli, it can only be reached following a tour guide due to lack of signs to navigate inside the delta. It is a half an hour off-road drive entering the protected natural habitat zone and through the marshlands and canals. Encountering various animals such as wild horses, cows and birds, as well as many informal constructions near the water, boat houses, storages and docks whith fishing boats. It is an impressive site, but not very accessible since the road is not maintained and difficult to navigate, which is why there are not so many visitors, besides the ones following the tour.
Finishing the drive through the Delta last stop is at the dock of the tour guide company, where visitora enter one of the traditional boats of Evros river that are called ‘plaves’. From there boats move trough the primary canal towards the sea. From the almost 600 species of birds found in Europe more than half of them can be seen in the Evros Delta. Exiting towards the sea boats come across a group of flamingos resting on a piece of land and then later moving closer to the border where visitors can see in distance the two border point towers of the Greek and Turkish sides. All the land at a lower altitude belongs to Greece and the higher areas to Turkey.
Soufli, Didymoteicho, Kipoi-Ipsala
Visiting the town of Soufli and ‘The Art of Silk Museum’
The town of Soufli is one of the largest and more important urban centers of the area. ‘The Art of Silk Museum’ is hosted in a 1886 neoclassical building belonging to the Tsakiris family of silk producers. Its exhibition offers insights in the history of Soufli through artisanal activities, sericulture techniques and silk production. Mrs. Marina Timchenko, explains the great importance of silk production to the town and its residents, showing the process from the preliminary to the final stages of production. In fact this is not the only museum related to silk in the area, as in the recent years other buildings such as the ‘Tzivre brothers compound’ and the ‘Kourtidis mansion’ have been renovated in order to host such activities.
Soufli, Didymoteicho, Kipoi-Ipsala Soufli - Ottoman Architecture and Urban space
The ‘Kourtidis mansion’, consisting of two traditional buildings from 1883 with Ottoman characteristics, such as the protruding upper level supported on wooden structures. It hosts ‘The Silk Museum’ which is part of the Piraeus Bank Cultural Foundation and their program of renewal of various cultural spaces in rural Greece. Across the museum, an urban square was also projected as part of the program, creating spaces for events and urban life for the citizens. This town is a good case study of how the utilizattion of existing heritage buildings and their reuse as cultural spaces can have a positive impact on community.
Soufli, Didymoteicho, Kipoi-Ipsala Visiting Didymoteicho
Up north from Soufli town of Didimoteicho welcomes visitors. The central square that is defined by low rise buildings on the one side and the ‘Sultan Mehmed Bayezid Mosque’ on the other. The town is built around a Mosque, since it reflects its history and multiethnicity. It is an early 15th century Ottoman Mosque with a square plan, made in limestone and it is considered to be one of the biggest and most important Muslim monuments in Europe. Its current state is poor since, even though restoration works started in 2010, a fire burnt its roof and interior in 2017. However, the progrmme of its restoration is still expected to continue. If the works are concluded, it could bring a change to the urban life and image of the town as this monument could attract tourism and eventually bring the renewal of the surrounding environment.
Soufli, Didymoteicho, Kipoi-Ipsala Didymoteicho’s Architecture
Observing the town, one clear difference between Soufli and Didimoteicho is that the later is defined by abandonment. Even though in the past it was a very frequented urban center of the area, now many of the buildings that were hosting retail and housing have been left to decay. This is not only seen in the peripheral streets but also in the main street where many of the neoclassical buildings are unused and at a bad state. These together with the Mosque on the central square, create the feeling of a decaying urban scene, while at the same time offer great potential for development and reuse. It is evident that what has already happened in Soufli through private and public initiative, to repurpose for cultural purposes a lot of the town’s existing built heritage is only now begining to happen here with some private initiatives such as the renovation of a neoclassical building to host the ‘Folklore Museum’.
“Didyma Teichi” is a Cultural and Folklore Association founded at the end of 2001 by a group of people from Didymoteicho who love the folklore, customs and traditions of Thrace. Their aim is to collect, record and showcase them throughout Greece in the most authentic way. It includes theatrical, traditional dance and instrument, as well as choir groups for both adults and children. Every year it organizes its annual performance as well as its annual ball and it has also organized charity events helping the community. Throughout the years it has participated in numerous events and festivals around Greece and abroad, representing the Municipality of Didymoteicho and Thrace. Meeting some of the members of the association made it clear that even though a permanent space for rehearsals and meeting exists, there is a need for more spaces. Since its activities in the recent years have expanded and its members increased, it could take on a more dynamic role within the town and potentially inhabit it with its activities to a greater extent.
Soufli, Didymoteicho, Kipoi-Ipsala
Crossing the border from the Kipoi-Ipsala bridge
Finally the fieldwork ends crossing the border from the KipoiIpsala crossing point on the south part of the river. Here, there is a bridge connecting the two countries on top of Evros/Meric river, which is crossed by car. In the past the border crossing was made on foot only leaving the driver in the car but after the refugee crisis it is illegal to leave the vehicle. The bridge is marked with blue and white painted railings on the Greek side, red and white painted railings on the Turkish side and a distinct line on the crossing point. This is a crossing point with a lot of traffic since there is movement between the countries for touristic purposes mostly and the security checks are fast, making the passage easy.
