Tenedos island,Bozcaada
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| Tenedos, Bozcaada in Turkish, is a small island in the Aegean Sea, part of the Bozcaada district of Çanakkale province in Turkey. Tenedos has a population of about 2,500. The main industries are fishing and tourism. The island has been famous for its grapes, wines and red poppies for centuries. The population is mostly Turkish but there are still about 30 ethnic Greeks on the island |
Presence of the greek population of Bozcaada
In all likelihood, the island was inhabited primarily by ethnic Greeks from ancient times through to around
the middle of the 20th century except for a hiatus of nearly half a century at the end of 14th - beginning of
15th century after Venetians evacuated it. Because precise census records are a recent phenomenon,
the detailed historic ethnic makeup of the islands must remain a matter of conjecture; however, a census
taken under Greek rule in 1922 showed a bare majority of Greek inhabitants on Tenedos.
Large numbers of mainland Turks were settled on the two islands, and Greek property was expropriated
by the Turkish government, which asserted security concerns. The adequacy of the compensation is
disputed. Guarantees that were made to all the Greek inhabitants of Turkey in the Treaty of Lausanne
were ignored, and the Turkish government implemented a policy of intimidation.
While the Cyprus dispute between Greece and Turkey escalated in the 1960s, the situation of the Greeks
of the two islands continually deteriorated. These events have led to the Greeks emigrating from both
islands. There remains only a very small Greek community on Tenedos today, comprising several dozen
mostly elderly people. Most of the former Greeks of Imbros and Tenedos are in diaspora in Greece, the
United States, and Australia.
Nowdays there is a Cathedral greek orthodox church in the town of Tenedos and also a communal
cemetery.
There is no active school however there are ruins of the old greek communal -minority's official school
next to the town of Tenedos.
In all likelihood, the island was inhabited primarily by ethnic Greeks from ancient times through to around
the middle of the 20th century except for a hiatus of nearly half a century at the end of 14th - beginning of
15th century after Venetians evacuated it. Because precise census records are a recent phenomenon,
the detailed historic ethnic makeup of the islands must remain a matter of conjecture; however, a census
taken under Greek rule in 1922 showed a bare majority of Greek inhabitants on Tenedos.
Large numbers of mainland Turks were settled on the two islands, and Greek property was expropriated
by the Turkish government, which asserted security concerns. The adequacy of the compensation is
disputed. Guarantees that were made to all the Greek inhabitants of Turkey in the Treaty of Lausanne
were ignored, and the Turkish government implemented a policy of intimidation.
While the Cyprus dispute between Greece and Turkey escalated in the 1960s, the situation of the Greeks
of the two islands continually deteriorated. These events have led to the Greeks emigrating from both
islands. There remains only a very small Greek community on Tenedos today, comprising several dozen
mostly elderly people. Most of the former Greeks of Imbros and Tenedos are in diaspora in Greece, the
United States, and Australia.
Nowdays there is a Cathedral greek orthodox church in the town of Tenedos and also a communal
cemetery.
There is no active school however there are ruins of the old greek communal -minority's official school
next to the town of Tenedos.
Ελληνικές κοινότητες___
Κωνσταντινούπολη
Greek Communities in Turkey___
