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The modern building of Historical
and Ethnological Museum of Cappadocian Greeks at Nea Karvali
of Kavala
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Cappadocians were mainly occupied
with trade and certain cottage industries. Famous were their
rugs and pottery. Their trading activities created a marketplace
for products from areas of Asia Minor and the Orient. For
the past 200 years many Cappadocians emigrants, made fortunes
and returned to their homeland. Religion played a very important
part in the lives of Hellino - Cappadocians, because it was
the link which kept them united and which allowed them to
preserve their Hellenic spirit under the Ottoman rule. Most
of the Great Fathers of the Christian Orthodox Church were
born, taught and preached in Cappadocia, such as Saint Grigorios
Theologos , Saint Vassilios, Saint George, Saint John Rossos,
Sait Arsenios, Saint Vlasios and others.
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Historical and Ethnological Museum of
Cappadocian Greeks
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Cappadocia, the heartland
of Asia Minor, is where for centuries the famous Hittie civilization
flourished, a civilization abruptly interrupted, which left
its marks in archaeological findings and in the area ' s huge
troglodytic settlements{"inns"}. It is the area
in which numerous religions and philosophies first appeared,
clashed with each other, were developed and eventually destroyed.
Christianity began spreading into Europe from Cappadocia after
the second tour of Saint Paul. The founding fathers of the
Christian Church were raised in the troglodytic dwellings
so typical of the area. In the Bynzantine era the Christian
monastic movement reached an advanced stage of development.
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We cannot date with certainty
the arrival of the Hellenic element in Cappadocia. The passage
of Alexander the Great through the area left indelible traces
of Hellenic civilization. It is the time during which the
Hellenic element flourishes.
Under the Ottoman empire, Cappadocia
is a prosperous region, with developed trade. Under conditions
both known and unknown many Cappadocians lose their original
Hellenic language. From some point onwards they write using
the Hellenic alphabet in a mixed dialect based on Turkish,
which is also spoken, and which is called until today "Caramanlidika".
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By the Spring if 1924 it was
certain that the exchange of populations between Greece and
Turkey would be carried through. The ill -fated campaign of
1919-22 had already taken place and the Hellenic population
of Asia Minor had to begin the journey to the new homeland.
They collected their holiest,
most valuable possessions, the relics from the churches, the
holly icons, as well as the valuables from their homes, anything
that could be carried.
In August 1924, they began the
long journey of no return. Some through the port of Mersin,
others from the coast, they reached their new homeland, mainland
Greece, which showed itself sometimes hospitable but again,
sometimes not.Their new lives began in tents. Many died. The
refugee population was decimated by disease hand hardship.
Slowly they became accustomed to the new
conditions, built beautiful homes and villages and created
a new society, keeping their Cappadocian soul deeply hidden
in themselves.
Together with thousands of other refugees
from Cappadocia, the inhabitants of Karvali arrived outside
the city of Kavala, Macedonia, where in 1925 they established
their community, creating of purely Cappadocian village called
Nea(new)Karvali.
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In 1981 the youngest people of the village
following in the footsteps of older clubs, especially those
of the Educational Brotherhood "Nazianzos", which
had existed since 1884 in Constantinopolis, founded the "Stegi
Politismou of Nea Karvali", with various activities,
whose main aim is the cultural development and the improvement
of the lives of Karvaliotes.
One of their first tasks was to collect as
many items from the past as possible, a past whose traces
had already begun to fade with the passing of time. However,
the Cappadocian character of the people had not faded. They
therefore tried to preserve the historical and religious remnants
of their birthplace in order to bring to light the creations
and cultural achievements of Cappadocia.
They begun by putting together a large number
of objects, documents, books, photographs, holly icons and
traditional costumes and in 1989 they placed the foundation
stone of Historical and Ethnological museum of the Hellenic
- Cappadocian Civilization, which was completed and inaugurated
on March 26, 1995.
In this Museum of whole way of life of the
past is preserved .
Heavily encrusted Cappadocian costumes, called
"Tsouchades", that came from monastery workshop,
where monks embroidered them with wire or cord, marking the
traces of Byzantium. Rugs of the famous Cappadocian school,
decorated with leaves and lions. Cappadocian ceramic pots,
called "Lik - Lik", used for water, painted with
designs used since ancient times. Holly icons, jewelry and
embroidered articles are some of the other art exhibits of
the Museum, as ell as a rate ceramic piece, depicting the
struggle of Good versus Evil, which shows the path Cappadocians
followed from idolatry to Christianity.
In the Museum there is also exhibited a rate
collection of books from all the printing houses known batch
then, such as the Patriarchal printing house of Constantinoupolis,
and printing houses of Venice, Jerusalem, Smyrna, Moscow,
Alexandria. There are books of the 18th and 19th C., as well
as of the 14th and 15th.
In the Historical Archive of the Museum there
are kept hundreds of documents which record the steps of Cappadocians
from the past until today.
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