Karaman Greeks: Prime Minister not One of Us

Residents of Kavala (the Proti village), where Karamanlis was born, described the new Prime Minister’s surname as ‘only a similarity’ since there were many families from Karaman in the region.

Resident Thomas Hacivasilos, 79, said two families came during the exchange but there was not a Karamanlis family among them. According to Hacivasilos, who worked for the family for nearly 50 years, the Karamanlis family moved to Proti from Halkidiki village. Hacivasilos then said that new Prime Minister Karamanlis was born in the house that today stands as a museum.

The clearest information concerning the new prime minister’s hometown is given by Pantelis Akakiadis, who came from Karaman to Kavala during the 1924 exchange. Akakiadis, born in 1916, said he came to Kavala from Guzelyurt when he was eight years old. He said hundreds of families went to Mersin by train and then came to Kavala by ship. Pantelis said his family, which at the time consisted of six siblings and his mother, settled in Nea Karvali, which means New Karaman. "We gave our former villages’ name to the new one in order to avoid feeling homesick.. Some people, who came with us, went to surrounding villages, but there was not Karamanlis family among those," said Akakiadis

Numerous Greeks, who had immigrated from Karaman during the exchange, live in villages around Kavala. The new generation of these people can also speak Turkish. 66 year old Partin Christoforidis was born in Nea Karvali village but he has been going to Karaman to see his father’s village for years. Christoforidis became emotional while telling about his father’s village, Gelveri, and he said that they had learned to speak Greek after moving there. Christoforidis collected aid in Kavala and brought it to Sakarya after the August 17 earthquake.

Pantelis Akakiadis, who still speaks Turkish fairly well, went back to his village for the first time in 1986. There he found the home he had remembered from his childhood. Stating he was still in contact with his friends there, Akakiadis said he still maintained contact with his friends there and added: "Micra Asya, which means ‘Small Asia’, to define Anatolia, is written on my identity card as a birthplace."

Timetheos Damianidi was also born in Greece and was taught Turkish. He said he had learnt Turkish from his family and that he plans to teach it to his children as well. Timetheos says: "I have very good friends there. We are as close as brothers today."