Historical and architectural study on the Athenian refugee settlements after the catastrophe in1922

SEEKING REFUGE A historical and architectural study on the Athenian refugee settlements after 1922 1

Copyright 2019 Eleni Maria Dourampei & the University of Westminster

Typokinisi Press T. Oikonomou 4-6 Νeo Psihico 115 25, Athens, Greece Τ: 210.67.22.297 – F: 210.67.22.299 Email: info@typokinisi.gr 2

I would like to express my great appreciation to my supervisor Mr Davide Deriu for his advice and constructive suggestions to improve this dissertation and my family and close friends who helped me gather all the required information Eleni Maria Dourampei

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SEEKING REFUGE: A historical and architectural study on the Athenian refugee settlements after 1922

by

Eleni Maria Dourampei

Submission date: 09.01.2019 Dissertation Tutor: Davide Deriu Word count: 10,417

MArch Architecture (RIBA Part2) University of Westminster 5

Figure 01: The Great Fire of Smyrna, 1922

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“When the fire started, the wind was very strong and the fire started approaching the beach. Turks were entering homes at night and were killing. And the beach was full of dead bodies. Many of the Greeks were falling in the sea to be saved, but the people on foreign ships that were already in the sea, were throwing hot water on the people swimming to prevent them from survival�.

Stasa Isigoni, refugee from Smyrna

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Being away from my hometown, Athens in Greece, for more than 7 years now, made me want to explore the areas I have never visited in the past.

Having long walks around the neighborhoods with migrating history and observing the post-war buildings interested me the most. These buildings were mostly built by the refugees themselves after the Minor Asia Catastrophe from 1923 to 1935 and this made me want to delve more into their architectural, political, economical and cultural history.

After research, I realized that from the refugee settlements that still keep their heritage, some are forgotten and left decaying, and some are well maintained, renovated and reused in a successful way by their inhabitants nowadays, changing the current impression most of the Athenian people have nowadays. Last August 2018, I passed by the post war refugee buildings blocks along Alexandra’s Avenue in Athens, being curious to know why they are still outstanding in terms of appearance but also inhabitation.

My aim through this dissertation is to categorize the refugee settlements of Athens into state funded and self built after 1922, communicate how these urban centres exist into the modern architectural environment and see why some have had a better embodiment than others until today also in terms of inhabitation. This will be concluded with a summary of ideas and suggestions for future development and reuse of the abandoned structures.

All locations mentioned throughout this dissertation, refer to maps located in the middle of this book.

Figure 02: Refugee area in Athens, 1950-51, Center for Minor Asian studies

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Table of contents 1. Introduction

I.

II.

III.

IV.

Context of study Basic research question Purpose Methodology

2. Chapter 1 // Historical Background

I. Overview before the Minor Asia Catastrophe

II. The Minor Asia Catastrophe and the Treaty of Lausanne

III. Initial problems caused by the resettlement of the refugees

IV. First and temporary refugee settlements 3. Chapter 2 // Refugee settlements, creating new Athenian neighborhoods

I. Allocation

II. Typology

III. Locations

o Refugee settlements at Kokkinia/Nikaia

o Refugee settlements at Kaisariani

o Refugee settlements at Drougouti/Neos Cosmos

o Refugee settlements along Alexandra’s Avenue 4. Chapter 3 // Current Condition

I. Architectural adjustment and regeneration of the neighborhoods in the 21st century

II. Current Inhabitant’s adaptation to existing society 5. Conclusion

I.

II.

Potential redevelopment of the refugee settlements Resume

6. References 7. List of figures

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Figure 03: Syntagma square and the Parliament of Athens, Kathimerini, 2014

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Introduction During the start of the 19th Century there was a great incorporation of the Anatolian economy into the western world. The Greek population living in Anatolia was in a position to benefit much more from the opening of this economy, because they had all the advantages of education, languages and networks. In fact, they were much more urban and “bourgeois1” than native Greeks and their lifestyles were more European, they started building up houses and many times there were building around the presence of the Greek nationals and bankers (Herscher A., 2017). So western Anatolia became very much a place where, Greek dominance was exquisite and this led to an eastern potential of ethnic class.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a large amount of Minor Asia (see map, page 37) coast cities (Figure 04) such as Smyrna (today’s Izmir), Ayvali (today’s Ayvalik) and Alikarnassos (today’s Bodrum) (see map, p. 37) were inhabited by Orthodox Christian Greeks. From 1919 to 1922 a conflict started to arise between the Greeks and the Turks, Orthodox Christians and Muslims respectively and that led to the “Minor Asian Expedition2” also known as “Minor Asia Catastrophe” and a later mandatory exchange of population.

The Greek mainland never had a previous experience of large-scale colonization and it suddenly faced a mass reception of refugees between 1922 and 1924 with amounting to over 20% of its autochthonous population.

As a result, this wave of migration was part of a huge military and political crisis.

Figure 04: Minor Asian coasts, 2018, Author 1. Bourgeois is a middle class person, typically with reference to its perceived materialistic values or conventional attitudes.

2. The Minor Asian Expedition between the Grand National Assembly of Turkey with Soviet Russia and the Republic of Greece with United Kingdom.

The main constitution square called “Syntagma” (Figure 03) was also a place where the refugees were temporarily located pending their proper homes.

This “exile” of populations, led to the creation of new districts in Athens that started forming smaller towns, such as Kokkinia, Kaisariani, Drougouti -later Neos Cosmos-.

Exchange of population, was a way through which, the diplomats would describe, what would be going on between the two countries. First of all, when the Lausanne was signed and the decision for the exchange was made, most people had already changed countries, many had been shifted

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away forcefully and many had turned into refugees. So, it was not a question of populations being exchanged but a question of populations being forcefully displaced and ethnically cleansed. The decision for the exchange was signed but without consulting anyone who was actually involved in the actual move. This was a political decision made with reasons of security and an understanding of a political and a human level, which was really compulsory over the populations. After all, the exchange can be described as a result of human suffering and of forceful deportation of these people.

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The refugees that moved from Minor Asia to Greece, and arrived at the port of Piraeus, started building their homes by themselves, with any material they would find and they were naming the new areas as “New” cities (e.g. New Smyrna) (see map, p. 39) to remind them the places they came from. The descendants of the refugees were about 50 families.

So how was the urban fabric of Athens influenced after the arrival of the Minor Asian refugees in 1922? What is the relationship between the current condition of the settlements and the contemporary Athenian urban environment? How are these unique examples of monumental Athenian antiquity preserved and showcased through the modern history of the city, the urban memory of it and how have they changed throughout the 20th century, into the 21st, focusing on their architectural and political aspects?

All these are questions that will be answered throughout this paper.

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The purpose of this dissertation is to see how these refugee neighborhoods developed architecturally in history and how they changed the urban fabric of Athens. An architectural observation of their journey and an extensive comparison of the refugee homes, the materials used and different clutches are further investigated focusing on different areas such as Neo Cosmo (figures 3a and 3b), Kaisariani (figures 2a and 2b), Kokkinia (figures 1a and

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Figure 1a: Sheds at the refugee area of Kokkinia in 1930s, Loukopoulos Figure 2a: Sheds at the refugee area of Kaisariani in 1950, Papadimitriou Figure 3a: Sheds at the refugee area of Drougouti (Neos Cosmos) in 1930s Figure 4a: Complex at refugee area of Alexandra’s Avenue in 1936, Poulidis

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Figure 1b: Refugee home at the refugee area of Kokkinia, 2018, Author Figure 2b: Refugee home at refugee area of Kaisariani, 2018, Author Figure 3b: Complex at Neos Cosmos, 2018, Author Figure 4b: Complex at refugee area of Alexandra’s Avenue, 2018, Author

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1b), and Alexandra’s Avenue settlements (figures 4a and 4b). The ways they are preserved until this day and their inhabitation throughout the years will be also explored.

Athens in Greece has been through many changes and transformations after the “Minor Asia Catastrophe” and its peace was quickly exchanged with violence. It is really significant to note these points and focus on if and how architecture has improved the city and generally expanded and lifted the way of life of the refugees after their arrival. Athens became a city of the world, a place having political, cultural, financial and ideological conflicts through the decades and still ongoing, but also a place of arrangement of a route having a great national narrative, holds a rich heritage, treasures, hidden from the public realm for many years, supported by the arrival of the refugees.

My idea to focus on the influence the refugee settlements had for the city starts with a reveal of the historical and political background of the period of the exchange of population. After analyzing the historical, economical and political background, the dissertation moves on how the refugees originated from a modern urban environment, started integrating in the “empty” rural -as they were- areas in the Athenian districts and how the Athenians of the post World War 1 period responded to the big descend of the evicted Christian Greeks of Minor Asia (West Turkey). Moving on to how Athens was developing from a city into a Capital throughout the 21st Century, and in what matter refugees influenced this development. Last but not least, the current condition of these post-refugee areas is noted as far as the council’s decisions are concerned, focusing on what plans they have proposed to complete in the future and how the picture of these buildings will change.

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Chapter 1 Historical Background Overview before the Minor Asia Catastrophe

Figure 05: Greek lithograph celebrating the Young Turk revolt in 1908 and the re-introduction of a constitutional regime in the Ottoman Empire

3. The Young Turks, was a Turkish nationalist party in the early 20th century that consisted of Ottoman exiles, students, civil servants, and army officers.

The first outburst of this nationalism movement in the Ottoman Empire, were the Young Turks in 19083 (figure 05). After 1912, the Young Turks became more and more nationalistic and this nationalism meant utilizing the new demographic composition of the Anatolian territory (see map, p. 37) and also of the Aegean Sea region (see map, p. 37) in particular against the Greek presence. There were times after 1912, throughout until World War 1 and certainly during the war, of pushing out Greek populations from their villages resulting in hunger, exiles and poverty. The Young Turks were responding to the diminution, of the shrinking Ottoman Empire. And they said in fact “We don’t want to be with people who are not like us”, let’s get rid of those who are still in the Ottoman Empire. This generates a kind of mutual situation where both the Balkan Christians and the Turkish Muslims, see each other, as the other, and would rather get rid of each other.

During the 19th century the Greek state was expanding, and this expansion was dictated by an irredentist nationalism, not only in the privilege of Greece, but also the privilege of the entire Balkan territory (see map, p.

37). The Ottoman Empire began to experience nationalism at the end of the 19th Century and beginning of the 20th Century.

World War 1 broke out in the summer of 1914, and the Ottoman Empire joined the centre of Austria and Germany and it had to decide what to do with its non-Muslim community who were now liable to be conscripted into the army. But by that time, the government of the Ottoman Empire had abandoned the idea of an ethnic vision and was preparing the ground for an ethnic repeal in Turkey, having as an expression: “A Turkey for the Turks”. Therefore, it was decided that the non-Muslim minorities should not be harmed and instead of going into the army, they were placed in labor and forced to do hard work to support the army resulting many times in exhaustion and death (Pallis, A.A, 1929, p. 2). “My family and me were five children and I am the only one left. If they were not obeying the Kurdish Soldiers who have been very harsh with them, they would shoot them”.

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Soula Halou, refugee from Pontos (Mark Lex Eros, [video], 2011).

The idea of exchanging the Greeks of Asia Minor with Muslims living in Greece (figure 06) was first proposed by the Fritjof Nansen, a Norwegian who had been the League of Nations’ High Commissioner for refugees since 1919. The final decade in the history of the Ottoman Empire witnessed a tremendous uprooting of a whole range of ethnic and religious communities in the Balkans and Asia Minor began to see the creation of a homeland with a solid Muslim majority, as the political priority in Asia Minor (Pallis, A.A, 1929, p. 2). As a result, over a million Greek Orthodox Christians and Armenian Christians were driven from their homes. The area of Smyrna could remain under the Sultan’s sovereignty, but would be ruled by a Greek commissioner as an agent of the Allies, and could be annexed to Greece after five years, by a referendum. It was literally only a matter of days that officer Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (figure 07) was building up his nationalist movement who’s capital became Ankara (see map, p. 37), the centre that eventually prevailed throughout Turkey and created the new Turkish republic (Hirschon, 1998).

Figure 06: Muslim refugees arriving at the port of Smyrna from Greece, lifo.gr

In Smyrna the existence of the Greek army’s rival was a great joy for the Greek community and a great humiliation and dismay for the local Turkish community. Almost from the beginning scouting was taking place in the outskirts, Smyrna was getting pressurised to increase the area for the new people who were coming. On the one hand, Greeks were expanding and on the other hand, the national movement under Mustafa Kemal was gaining strength and confidence. The Greek army started marching deeper and deeper towards the east up to the point where it was within 50 miles from Ankara and this was on one hand very difficult to sustain far from the Greek borders and communicational lines with the Turkish nationalistic movement were not easy. So Mustafa Kemal Ataturk became able to inflict the devastating defeat of the Greek army in 1922 (Herscher A., 2017).

Throughout that retreat, the Greek army performed a scorched earth policy, which meant a distraction of many cities and townships throughout Asia Minor. All this constituted the reassurance with which Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and his army faced the infidel city of Smyrna when they entered it in

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Figure 07: Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881-1938) was an army officer who founded an independent Republic of Turkey out of the ruins of the Ottoman Empire

1922. In other words, it should be remembered that these are not peaceful times but times of extreme passions of a rapid nationalism, and these people had an ideology saying that no one can criticise people’s difference and it is a story of ethnic cleansing in the Balkans against the Muslims, in Turkey against non-Muslims but against the infidels and as Smyrna was the capital, it “should” be destroyed (Ocal I.,2018).

“My mother ended up in northern Greece and started planting tobacco.

She came to Greece in very difficult circumstances. My father came from a village from Pontos and he decided to come to Greece cause population exchange was taking place” Haris Psomiadis, refugee from Smyrna (Mark Lex Eros, [video], 2011).

From the summer of 1921 until August of 1922, Greece lined up to the highlands of Asia Minor, the largest army structures in the history of this country. 220,000 men many of them being militant since 1912 and 1917, integrated in a campaign which was ended. At the same time, life in Athens continued unabated. Theatres, dances, music, coffee shops, restaurants and cinemas meant that the heart of the city continued to beat heavily. As Mr. Vasilis Tzanakaris states in his book “Dakrismeni Mikrasia” translating “Crying Asia Minor”, “in the summer of 1921, Athenians were going to Syntagma square (Figure 02) where the military music plays peacefully every evening”.

Greeks avoided the fact that on the other side of the Aegean, a dramatic collapse of the Asian Minor front has already begun. The August of 1922, the capital was “deserted” and gendarmerie patrols were passing through the streets, ready to destroy any gathering that was going on (Hirschon, 1998). It was Saturday 27 August 1922; a steamboat named ‘Athinai’ arrived in Piraeus (see maps, p. 37 and 39) bringing back the first soldiers. In the evening of the same day, two more steamboats arrived, this time full of Asia Minor refugees.

The Minor Asia Catastrophe and the Treaty of Lausanne During the summer of 1914 there was an agreement between the Greek and the Ottoman Empire governments, which would evolve a transfer of

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Muslims from Greece to Turkey under pressure and vice versa. There was an agreement on both sides and both have been interested in having the biggest population possible after the First World War. The colonisation of the ethnic clans of the Greek Orthodox Christian Population at the Ottoman Empire in 1922, suffered through the destruction of the city of Smyrna. The Greek army had landed in Smyrna in 1919 to protect those populations, and it penetrated deep into the Anatolian territory and fought against the Turkish nationalists. In 1922 it suffered a huge defeat that recreated back towards Smyrna pranging with hundreds of refugees who left their homes (figure 08). In September of 1922 the Greek army moved away across the Aegean back to Greece, leaving the city of Smyrna full of Greek Orthodox Christian refugees, inhabitants of the city and those who had come from the middle land, the Ankaran people of the Turkish army (Hirschon, 1998). This had as a result the destruction of the city, the burning of Smyrna, the killing of many of the Greek Orthodox Christian population (figure 09).

Figure 08: Port of Smyrna. Greek people waiting to board on boats that will take them to Greece, Topical Press Agency

“When the fire started, the wind was very strong and the fire started approaching the beach. Turks were entering homes at night and were killing.

And the beach was full of dead bodies. Many of the Greeks were falling in the sea to be saved, but the people on foreign ships that were already in the sea, were throwing hot water on the people swimming to prevent them from survival”. Stasa Isigoni, refugee from Smyrna (“Smyrna 1922” [video], 2008).

In the middle of the fire, which was still going on and spreading panic among the people who on that west coast of Turkey were desperately trying to get away, mostly Greek and Armenian people reclaimed that all men would be recruited as prisoners and would be put in forced labor and prepare armor.

Women and children were demanded to leave quickly within a month. Even after the fires died down, there was still a scene of an extraordinary desperation among these people who were trying to get away as quickly as possible. “My grand mother, took some things that she thought were valuable, she tied everything in a piece of cloth and she headed to the port where they hoped for a boat to take them to the other side”. Anthoula Roumelioti

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Figure 09: The Great Fire of Smyrna, 1922

refugee from Smyrna (“Smyrna 1922” [video], 2008).

The Greek and Turkish diplomats eventually signed a treaty, which ended the Greco Turkish war 1920-1922. So in October, that finally ended the military operations but there was still thousands of Greeks in the midland of Asia Minor, some of them hiding, some of them in isolated villages still wondering how they were going to escape.

Figure 10: Eleftherios Kyriakou Venizelos

The present day shape of Greece and Turkey was determined and in a conference that began towards the end of 1922 in the Swiss city of Lausanne and the Great Powers, Greece and Turkey convened. Eleftherios Venizelos4 (figure 10) represented Greece and Mustafa Kemal Ataturk sent his friend Ismet Pasha5 to represent Turkey. During the Lausanne negotiations, the idea of a population exchange between Greece and Turkey, and especially a compulsory exchange, was on the table and is important, what advantages the countries evolved would have.

First of all, from the Turkish point of view, the new Turkish government saw the exchange of land being for the Greek army minorities and so, it seemed ideal to a rather arrangement which was at least accepted by the whole community, which could not be dismissed later on by the Greek community as an evidence of Turkish cruelty and absurd behavior. From the Greek point of view, Greece was seeing that the process of expansion of their land almost all of the Orthodox Christian population of Anatolia was at a stage, impossible to be reversed in the close future, but they saw an opportunity to give apart from the country to most of the large Muslim populations to Macedonia and Crete (see map, p. 37) and hence free up land that could be used to absorb the enormous influx of refugees who were coming from other Minor Asian parts.

4. Eleftherios Kyriakou Venizelos was an eminent Greek leader of the Greek national liberation movement and a charismatic statesman of the early 20th century remembered for his promotion of liberal-democratic policies. <http://www.venizelos-foundation.gr/en/eleftherios-venizelos/biography/> 5. Mustafa İsmet İnönü was a Turkish general and statesman. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ismet_Inonu>

A compromise had been found with respect to who goes and who stays.

In other words, who would be affected negatively by the compulsory population exchange and vice versa. The decision was that the Greeks could remain in the dissembled city, the Patriot would stay in his agency in Istanbul (see map, p. 37) and the Muslims living in the western trace, in a part of Greece and near the west of the Turkish border, would be spread by the

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population exchange and outside those areas. These exceptions had as a result, every single remaining Muslim in Greece would be obliged to transfer to Turkey, and every single remaining Greek Orthodox Christian still in Turkey, would be obliged to transfer to Greece. These were the terms of the agreement, by the end of January 1923. In rhetorical terms with respect of the Greek refugees in Turkey most of them had left already, some of them under arrest and the number was growing, reaching up to less than 200,000 (Hirschon, 1998). The ones who already left couldn’t go back. In Greece the number of Muslims affected by the exchange, was about 400,000 and were mostly located in Greek Macedonia (see map, p. 37), but also in Crete (see map, p. 37) and various other parts of Greece, but the great majority of the Muslims affected, was in northern Greece.

A decision had to be made for the future of the Great port of Smyrna (figure 09), which was one of the most significant centres of culture, trade and interaction between people. It was decided that Greece authorities would occupy the Port of Smyrna and this was not a national gesture for Greece, it was a gesture about the lives of the Greek people because Smyrna was a centre of a very flourishing population and the idea of a Greek flag waving was a dream for everybody who lived and supported the “Megali Idea6”, which means the Great Idea of a greater Greece.

The initial problems caused by the resettlement of the refugees 200,000 Greek Orthodox Christian people were forced to flee the coastal provinces and move to the Greek islands of the Aegean Sea, directly opposite the mainland of Greece (Pallis, A.A, 1929, p. 2). Mostly affected, were the Greek businessmen and commercial farmers, as the drive behind the campaign was economic as much as it was political. The Ottoman government aimed to replace the non-Muslim bourgeoisie of Asia Minor, which completely dominated the modern industrial, financial and commercial sectors of the economy, with a ‘national’ Muslim, bourgeoisie of their own.

“Both my parents came in Cesme from Crete. It wasn’t easy to leave all their stuff in Crete. In Cesme they were willing to have the same but this didn’t happen. They had 10% of what they had in Crete, a house, a shop and a small field.” Turkish refugee (“Smyrna 1922” [video], 2008).

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Figures 11 and 12: The arrival of the Minor Asian refugees in Athens, 1922, archive of the Americal Red Cross, library of Congress

6. The Megali Idea, was an irredentist concept of Greek nationalism that expressed the goal of establishing a Greek state that would encompass all historically ethnic Greek-inhabited areas, including the large Greek populations that were still under Ottoman rule after the end of the Greek War of Independence (1821–1828) and all the regions that traditionally belonged to Greeks in ancient times (the Southern Balkans, Anatolia and Cyprus). <https:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megali_Idea>

As soon as the Greek farming population of eastern trace was about to move to Turkey and the armies would also have to leave, men, women and children were moving under conditions of heavy rain; heir transfer was disrupted by the weather and very difficult (figure 11).

Absorbing refugees whether in the rural or urban parts of Greece it was conducted by a remarkable position on the refugee commission, who had the job of allocating land in northern Greece. People coming from Turkey were looking for a new cultural way of life and jobs. Starting at the urban areas, and especially built places in Athens. This is like Kokkinia where particular design of simple refuge homes s is visible until today.

The arrival of the refugees in the port of Piraeus (see map, p. 37-39) and their journey up to Athens was presented scenes of overcrowding and chaos (figures 11 and 12). Athens was not prepared; it could not host thousands of people who needed shelter and protection. Athens was transformed, and became a city overrun by refugees, to the displeasure of many of the Athenians who saw their city being overrun. “And the locals did not see them with a good eye. Get out of here! Go somewhere else!” (Vamvakaris M. 1978, p.95) Supply sessions were set up in a number of places to aid from the, provisional shelters of refugees and Athens was seen as a city that ended up totally embezzled.

Figure 13: Workers at a textile factory, Greek Literature and Historical archives

Refugees were just living anywhere they could. These people because they were not meant to get away, in many cases they were used to a modern and sophisticated urban life. They were used to a life as merchants or successful craftsmen or small businessmen, in towns of Western Turkey, and these people were certainly modest having been influenced by the Western Turkish realm. With an understandable pride in respect to live their lives out of the mercy of relation, which was in some ways poorer in this living standard than the place, they once came from. “People who came from Smyrna were educated; we were imposed with the culture of Greece but also had some influence by the ottoman way of life” Greek Refugee (“Smyrna 1922” [video], 2008).

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The following years, Athens and Piraeus had 1,500,000 citizens overall, where the 40,000 of them were women after the Catastrophe (Hirschon, 1998). In reality, Athens received all these people with no infrastructure.

The refugees that were wounded were located in Tzanio hospital where the wounded soldiers were too. The biggest problem was, that the refugees from Thrace (see map, p. 37) were going to arrive in Athens as well.

The density of the population during 1922 and 1923 was very strong and the competent services insufficient. The first outbreaks of scarlet fever, typhus, meningitis, cholera and dysentery began to appear. The spread of illnesses partially prevented the regular illumination of accommodation, the meticulous cleaning of private and public areas by the refugees themselves and the construction of drainage traps (Theofanidis D, Fountouki A., 2018). On 15th of November 1922, newspapers wrote that the municipalities of Athens and Piraeus didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have enough water, and the municipal baths did not exist. Dirty waters ran in the streets of Athens and in many places rot inside the drains creating nests for diseases and the cars were circulating the dust everywhere.

Figure 14: Children ready to have their bath, Nea Philadelphia (see map, p. 39), 1922, Greek Literature and Historical archives

The Orthodox Christians, who were displaced from Greece to Turkey, had sometimes rejection and betrayal. Rejection came from a lot of people who could not accept them easily, and discriminated the fact they were unwanted foreigners who had come into these places without being invited. This resulted to a general suffering for both sides.

The native Greeks gained much from these people who came from across the Aegean. The Asia Minor, refugees were industrious, they had imagination, they were cosmopolitan people with an immense knowledge of the world that the natives did not have. They brought in skills that the natives didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have, they brought their education, their sensitivities; it was an incursion of culture among other things. An Asia Minor refugee, George Seferis a famous Greek poet (figure 15), was the first who won a Nobel Prize in Greece. He buries the bitterness of eviction and portraying the strength of their feelings in his poetry.

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Figure 15: George Seferis, 1921

In the relations of the Asia Minor refugees, in Greece after their settlement, was the up to statement ship that was conducted by Venizelos and Ataturk in 1930. The Ankaran conviction, among other things, canceled up any aims to compensation that would be part of the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Treaty of Lausanneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. That compensation was absolutely critical for the conditions under which, the expulsion of these populations was taking place. But because of various problems between the two countries both of them decided that they would simply cancel the remaining and not provide any further compensation to the refugees on either side of the Aegean. This affected the Greek side very severely and the people who were expecting to be given some recompense for their losses, found that their own politicians have betrayed them. The consequences of this was profound in terms of political orientation because these refugees in a large number abandoned the Venizelos party they had supported and started to lean towards left wing politics in greater numbers with long term effects on the politics and the alignment of the urban refugee quarters.

Figure 16: Minor Asian refugees, Attica, 1922, archive from Benaki Museum

Census in 1928 had counted in total 1,221,849 refugees where 1,104,216 of them were from the Turkish side, and 1,017,794 came to Greece after the Minor Asia Catastrophe. The native population was nearly 5 million back then, which means that the refugees were the 1/5 of the population of Greece and 135,581 were the kids under 6 years of age, meaning they were born in Greece after the Catastrophe (Mavrogordatos G. 2016).

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Figure 17: Temporary refugee camp in Kaisariani, 1922

Figure 19: Refugees in front of the old palace, Athens, 1922, archive of the Americal Red Cross, library of Congress

Figure 18: A refugee sitting outside a temporary tent in Kaisariani, 1922

Figure 20: Refugees in front of the ancient temple of Ifestos, Athens, 1922, archive of the Americal Red Cross, library of Congress

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First and temporary refugee settlements When the resettlement of the refugees occurred, it posed tremendous problems in Greece. The immigrants were settled firstly in camps (figures 17 and 18)and then in townships on the outskirts of the towns and cities, especially in the two big cities Athens and Thessaloniki (see map, p. 37).

These cities, had less than 200,000 inhabitants each before the exchange, and doubled in size after it.

The city of Athens was transformed; ten new neighborhoods started forming because of the move of thousands of refugees. They started settling even around archaeological sites (figures 19 and 20), public theaters (figures 21 and 22) and gardens, as this was because these open and wide spaces were easier for the refugees to settle temporarily at the centre of the city.

The population exchange mainly involved the transfer of the Central Anatolian Greek Orthodox Christians (Greek and Turkish speaking) and the Pontiac Greeks. The inflow of three quarters of a million refugees posed almost insurmountable housing problems in Greece and the removal of the 600,000 Muslims from the Greek territory would go towards alleviating the problem, as the vacated homes of the Muslims could be used to re-house the immigrants.

Figures 21 and 22: Refugees inside the Opera House, Athens, 1922, archive of the Americal Red Cross, library of Congress

Greece having to host 1.2 million new people on top of its existing 5.5 million, created an extraordinary crisis for the Greek society. A very big part of the acute humanitarian need that refugees arriving to Greece needed at that time, was met by American charities in particular such as the “Red Cross”but also, British charities like “Save The Children” (Theofanidis D,

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Fountouki A). This is the first time in modern history when so much emergency relief had to be amnestied for certain people.

People arriving to Greece were allowed one single piece of earth and people arriving to Turkey from Greece were obliged to come through the social experiment that was going on in Turkey at the time and was a discouragement of remembering all they left behind.

The return of old Athens and the influx of new residents began to reconstruct upwards in the ruins of the districts of the city, emerging new urban life and commercial traffic. The centre of trade and craft, got split by various sectors and stood over a large area around the big monastery, today â&#x20AC;&#x153;Monastirakiâ&#x20AC;?(figure 23).

The ancient glamour of Athens attracted the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new residents. Many influential factors in the new Athens were the people from Constantinopolitan neighborhoods. New Athens consisted of the 50% of the old one, and it started growing to the west areas, north and east of Athens. The rest of 50% of the old city, from the streets: Ifaistou, Pandrosou and Adrianou, was to be expropriated for archaeological excavations. But and the maintained part of the old city was maintained only as a geographical location and not as a structured area, as it was about to be separated from new streets and to be sliced to normal building squares. The shape of the basic shafts was an isosceles triangle with top the today Omonia Square, side parts of Piraeus and Stadiou streets and base Ermou Street.

In order for them to make an objective history, natives improved their places so the newcomers would have been impressed. People who moved from Turkey to Greece, never felt the Greek cities as their home, but they felt these settlements as their temporary homes. It was hard for them to forget the places where they were born and that they left on the other side of the Aegean Sea. Women were arriving in Piraeus Port with only the clothing on their backs without father or husband, which resulted, in them being used by slave traders.

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Figure 23: Monastiraki Square and the Acropolis view, 2018, Author

By the 1930s the Asia Minor refugees started asserting their cultural identity. Not only as refugees, that they have been described until now, but they started identifying themselves from their places of origin; describing themselves as Greeks, Asia Minor Greeks, or Constantinopolitan Greeks, Pontiac Greeks. This is the time when they start embracing the legacy of the places that they left behind and they wish to retain certain memories of those places. There is also a time of an establishment of institution in Athens, which preserves in a sense the Greek presence in Asia Minorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s literature, its folklore and all the other customs that Greeks had.

Another mission of the exchange of population in Turkey was the way in which this exchange as the previous existence of Greek and Turkish population was an official condition and a national ideology. The co-existence of Christians and Muslims was almost never admitted. The population of Anatolia was probably more than 20% Christians before the wars were almost forgotten. This was an empty land populated as they came in gradually after the 11th Century. The appearance of the Greek population buildings and the built environment, the houses, are almost never recognized until recently as in signs of different population that existed here in the same geography but more recently especially during in the 1990s. There has been an emphasis on nationalism worldwide, mostly on attempts to understand what was really happening and to create new identities to light up old memories.

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ALEXANDRAS

KOKKINIA DROUGOUTI

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KAISARIANI

Chapter 2 Refugee settlements, creating new Athenian neighborhoods Allocation The arrival of the refugees and their rehabilitation in Athens was a major issue for the Greek state as it was unprepared, and efforts of organizing the housing were really delayed. Despite the important work of the state to organize refugee shelters, the â&#x20AC;&#x153;un-zonedâ&#x20AC;? arbitrary construct a last resort for a large proportion of the economically weaker metrics. The housing for the middle and upper classes was undertaken by a private business initiative, driven by a series of economic measures and regulations. Thus, the central neighborhoods of Athens consolidated a type of urban build movement and made its appearance a peculiar system of exchange.

This is when the idea of the English Garden City finds favorable scope to the north and south suburbs of Athens, the Psihico and Philothei, New Smyrna, Faliro and other (see map, p. 39). These were the years of infrastructure and urban public policy interventions as the improved transportation increased the appearance of green squares and enhanced the quality of life for the residents and visitors in Athens. From 1900 until 1922 major changes were apparent. The victorious Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1913 almost doubled the Greek territory, while the rectified work of Eleftherios Venizelos, brought the city closer to the European standards. The establishment of the Ministry of Transport in 1914, the opening of the School of Architecture Engineers in 1917, the establishment of the Higher Arts Council in 1919, which was attended by personalities from the technical world of the country, the introduction of reinforced concrete in construction practice and a decree in 1919 favoring high-rise residential buildings, are typical expressions of political will for a western-style urbanization (Pallis, A.A, 1929, p. 2).

Figure 24 (page 30): Diagrammatic map showing the four refugee areas, 2018, Author

The eighteen years that separate the Asia Minor Catastrophe of 1922 with the Greek-Italian war in 1940, is one of the most exciting and contradictory periods of the Athenian history. Athens sees its population increasing by 145.4% and amounted up to 1,124,109 residents in 1940. A fierce tackle-housing problem of 230,000 expatriate refugees from Asia Minor and

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migrants from the countryside and abroad, essentially canceled the ambitious urban design of early 1910.

The rehabilitation and assimilation of the refugees after the Minor Asia Catastrophe is and has been the biggest peaceful event of the Greek state until then, which was called by Eleftherios Venizelos at the Contract of Ankara in 1930. In the contrary, the refugees of 1922 were considered expatriates, which meant that their uprooting was final and unchangeable and they must have settled in the new country and be treated as equal citizens.

There is a general conflict between ‘exchange of population’ and ‘ethnic cleansing’. The exchange of population was not unilateral but it was in a way a trading product between Greece and Turkey.

The discrimination refugees faced when first arrived in Athens was between the “bourgeois” and the “farmers” and it relies upon the places they were settled and the way they were treated. Almost half of the farmer refugees, used to be citizens of bourgeois areas, having, olive trees, vineyards, and allotments they were cultivating, often named “citadins cultivateurs7” (“Smyrna 1922” [video], 2008). The refugees started gathering at refugee villages, settlements and neighborhoods, as there was an issue of a rapid and necessary housing for them. Although the refugees and the natives were sharing common religious views, language and native identities, there was an immense chasm between them that led to an overall social isolation. The chasm, is reaching its peak when the refugees start land claims, labor market and several business activities both in small-scale trade and industrial businesses. This led to political conflicts as the refugee dividend ensures the electoral predominance of Eleftherios Venizelos.

The Refugee Rehabilitation Committee8 (RRC) has organized the 83% of the rural refuge rehabilitation to happen within 3 years and it had as a target, to equip every family with enough animals, tools, land and home (figures 25,26,27,28,29). In 1926 the settled refugees in rural areas were 551,936, in 1930 they were 578,844 and in 1938 they were 668,316, mostly in Macedonia and Thrace (see map, p. 37) areas (Loizos D., 1983). An exchange of homes, manors and fields between Turkey and Greece also occurred as far as the rural rehabilitation was concerned. Barren and grazing fields were

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Figure 25: A refugee abandoned home (1) in Kokkinia, 2018, Author

Figure 26: A refugee abandoned home (1) in Kokkinia, 2018, Author

7. French for “urban farmers” 8. Refugee Rehabilitation Committee: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

also given, leading to a destruction of the nomadic livestock and general farming systems that existed until then, forcing the refugees to seek employment in more urban areas.

Figure 27: Roof decoration details of refugee home (1), 2018, Author

Therefore, the urban rehabilitation of the refugees proceeded in very slow terms. It concerned the sponsorship of houses that have been built at compacted neighborhoods around the big urban centres like Athens, Piraeus and Thessaloniki where the 60% of the refugees settled. Until the end of 1926 only 72,000 refugees were settled and were economically independent. Although 52,000 homes were built until 1930, more than 30,000 refugee families were still living under self-built booths. In 1952, 35,248 refugee families were acquired urban rehabilitation and 14,241 of them were still living in slums, which were demolished a bit later, but in 1978, 3,000 families remained in the waiting list of a home (Loizos D., 1983).

The Greek government gave exchangeable Muslim estates, monastic and public areas and fields that have been expropriated after the rural reform, of 8,000,000 acres, to the RRC. In addition, it gave two refugee loans in 1924 and in 1928, and plots surrounding the big cities for the erection of urban districts. The ministry of welfare was more responsible for the rehabilitation and the job establishment of the refugees then the RRC.

Figure 28: Internal gar- Figure 29: Window deden of refugee home (1), tail of refugee home (1), 2018, Author 2018, Author

The first urban rehabilitation areas in Athens were built in Kaisariani of Athens, and Kokkinia of Piraeus municipalities. Their construction was limited in terms of finance, time and infrastructure. The houses of the urban settlements were built with stones and bricklayers but also some of them were prefabricated wooden ones (figures 25,26,27,28,29) from the German company DHTG, as Germany owned compensations after the war. Some of the refugee families who haven’t been approved the care provision by the state, will start living in slums surrounding the refugee settlements.

Typology 9. The Foundation for the Aid of the Refugees (FAR) is founded in November 1922 as a Legal Person governed by Public Law

All houses constructed by the Foundation for the Aid of the Refugees9 (FAR), were characterized by a brief lodging, being wooden “coarse cuts” with bad construction and no maintenance, vulnerable to the period’s weather

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Figure 30: Stone remains at a refugee house (2) in Kokkinia, 2018, Author

(Morgenthau, H.). RRC, being influenced by the FAR example, started importing materials for “more stable models” with staff of 15 people on construction in architectural planning, static planning, legal issues, inspection and logistics, and a percentage of 90% refugees. Before the intervention of RRC, refugees initiated on building simple homes made out of mud and straw plinths, dried in the sun, having both men and women contributing their effort. Wooden constructions started seeming unprofitable because of the need for consistent maintenance, and so the RRC decided to continue the construction of the refugee homes, with local stones (figure 30) coated with plaster and roofs using local tiles (figures 27 and 29). This enhanced the houses with a combination of durability and cheap but also regular maintenance. Examples of refugee homes built after 1920 are part of the interwar modern architectural movement in Athens.

Figure 31: Alexandra’s Avenue refugee settlement facade, 2018, Author

Two were the types of houses that were constructed. One had one floor for two families and the other was of two floors allocated to four families.

Each family was allocated three rooms where one of them was operating as the living room or bedroom, the entrance to each house was made by using a staircase in a symmetrical layout located outside and each house was enclosed by a back yard. “The natural yellowish color of marble stucco (figure 31) in each apartment and the natural red of the roof tiles, create a pleasant and picturesque combination” (Morgenthau, H., pp. 339-340).

RRC decided to improve the conditions of habitat in the houses by replacing the tarpaper used to cover the lodgings, with tiling coverage. Apart from the semi-detached homes, three other types of homes were constructed.

Small free-standing one-storey houses (Kokkinia), rows of one or two-storey of houses each for six to twelve families (Kaissariani) and free-standing homes of two-storey for up to two families, and especially the richer ones.

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KEY GREECE ASIA MINOR A. ATHENS B. PIREAUS C. THESSALONIKI D. CONSTANTINOPLE (ISTANBUL) E. IZMIR (SMYRNA) F. BODRUM (ALIKARNASSOS) G. AYVALIK (AIVALI) H. CRETE I. ANKARA

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Figure 32: Diagramatic map showing Greece and Asia Minor separated by the Aegean Sea, 2018, Author

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KEY A. CENTRE OF ATHENS B. PSIHICO C. NEA PHILADELPHIA D. NEA IONIA E.FALIRO F. PIREAUS G. NEA SMYRNI (NEW SMYRNA) H. KOKKINIA (NIKAIA) I. KAISARIANI J. DROUGOUTI (NEOS KOSMOS) K. ALEXANDRAS AVENUE SETTLEMENTS L: PHILOTHEI M: NEA PHILADELFIA

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Figure 33: Diagramatic map showing several municipalities of Athens and the four refugee neighborhoods, 2018, Author

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Figure 34 (page 40): Diagramatic map showing the linear planning of the neighborhood of Kokkinia/Nikaia, 2018, Author

Locations Refugee Settlements at Kokkinia/Nikaia In 1927, the Ministry of Welfare created a service for the Administration of the urban refugee settlements, where the “Germanika10” settlements in Kokkinia, today named Nikaia, being a well-known example of these much lower quality constructions (Colonas Vasilis, 1998).

10. Germanika meaning “German” in Greek

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Figure 35: Refugee homes at the neighborhood of Kokkinia/Nikaia, 1930, Loukopoulos

In Kokkinia, entire building blocks of refugee residences started appearing (figure 35). These neighborhoods were developed above Laodikias Boulevard (see map, figure 34), parallel to Petrou Ralli Avenue (see map, figure 34) and the street names are inspired by Asia such as “Aydinion”, “Ikonion”, “Moudania”, Smyrna. Many of these buildings have been abandoned from the beginning of the 1990s and are still deserted “waiting” to be inhabited or renovated (figures 36,37,38,40,41). Some refugee homes are still hosting two and three generation refugees from the great persecution of 1922.

Figure 36: An abandoned refugee home (2) at the neighborhood of Kokkinia/Nikaia, 2018, Author

The architect and urban planner of the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), Efi Koursari, also responsible for refugee housing, has explained that a specific section of “Germanika” in Kokkinia belongs to a large residential project in Attica, since the first move of the Refugee Care Fund (RCF) along with the settlements of Kaisariani, Nea Ionia and Vyronas, on plots which were took and granted by the government (Dimitriadi F., 2015).

The foundation of the decision was the concession of a one-room apartment of about 36-40 m2, with a small kitchen and a common clean space per family of any member number. In Kokkinia, a special category is the “Germanika” on the northern side of the district, the sheds which are still 11. Meaning small sink in Greek

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Figure 37: Refugee home (2) at the neighborhood of Kokkinia/Nikaia, surrounded by apartment buildings, 2018, Author

Figure 38: Internal garden of a refugee home (2) at the neighborhood of Kokkinia/Nikaia, 2018, Author

inhabited, of German wood and asbestos pieces; a compensation from the German government since the First World War (Dimitriadi F., 2015).

The typology of the residences is clearly repetitive throughout the building blocks, with a layout of one-storey and two-storey building blocks of flats around the square block. At every central part of the settlement a combination of four two-storey, and one or two single-storey blocks is appearing and an open space with shared uses as for example the laundry area (figure 39).

Figure 39: Laundry area, 2015, Kolira

Figure 40: Refugee home (3) at the neighborhood of Kokkinia/Nikaia, 2018, Author

Figure 41: Internal garden of a refugee home (3) at the neighborhood of Kokkinia/Nikaia, 2018, Author

The buildings are mostly made of brickwork, reinforced concrete slabs, masonry or brickwork walls and roofs made out of French type tiles, with some of the building materials coming from the then pioneering pottery factory from the Dilavaris family (Michelis P.A., 1954, p 11-12). Particularly, stones or soil were incorporated on the construction of these houses whenever the refugees were able to bring them back after return journeys to their place of origin. These built elements were among the elements employed to transform space into place, to reconstruct a meaningful environment and to create a sense of continuity in the disruption of their expulsion (Hirschon, 1998, p24-26).

The design follows the logic of the modern movement in terms of the functionality and cleanliness of the floor plans, but the building treatment includes elements such as the bevel, mounted on radial wooden columns and trusses, the frames and the wooden railings of the extroverts (figure), which have a strong traditional character with generations of folklore and Ottoman architecture inspired by the Anatolia.

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Figure 42 (page 44): Diagramatic map showing the internal spaces formed by the planning of the apartment buildings and the linear planning of the neighborhood of Kaisariani, 2018, Author (also p. 48-49)

Refugee Settlements at Kaisariani The development of the population of Athens and Piraeus has caused colossal problems in the refugee districts, where there could be no mention of infrastructure projects, a street plan or transport routes.

Figure 43: View of Kaisariani settlement in 1924,donation from Manolas

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Figure 44: Kaisariani settlements in 1950, Papadimitriou

When Kaisariani area joined the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s plan in July 1923, it consisted of an area of 231 acres (figure 43) and the architecture was very similar to Kokkiniaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s even though away from each other. The first residential part of the city began practically several months after the installation and lasted until the year 1935. In May 1923, they initiated the construction of 500 wooden parapets (figure 44) and 1,000 brick-built rooms (Hirschon, 1998). The brickwork was the standard way to build refugee houses, as the brick structures could be incomplete and allowed individual usage interventions by the future inhabitants.

Specifically, every 10 or 12 houses were forming a square neighborhood block (figure 42). At the centre of each square, which was a kind of courtyard, were the common lavatories similar to Kokkinia (figure 51,p.48-49).

Along with the type of simple refugee residence, in the late 1920s, two-storey refugee apartment buildings started being built, similarly arranged in the square, along the old military road where the neighborhood developed much later, up to the height of the square and then until the elementary school Venizelos went. Later on, three-storey blocks of flats started being constructed on top of the existing (figures 47,48,49).

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Figure 45: Interior view of a Kaisariani home in 1950, Papadimitriou

Figure 46: A refugee home in Kaisariani, 2018, Author

Figure 50: “Vrysaki”, 1929

Figures 47,48,49: Apartment building constructed on top ofthe remains of a refugee home in Kaisariani, 2018, Author

Water supply was one of the main problems refugees in Kaisariani faced.

Domna Samiou, a very famous Greek singer recalls: “In Kaisariani, we were in a shack. A room was given to each family, regardless of the number of people. I do not remember any dimensions but I know is that it was one room. My father opened gaskets and made a kitchenette outside, so my mother could cook and we were using the space as a dining room. My father had a large barrel in the kitchen where he was collecting rain water, because with the rain water cleaned the hair and clothes better”. In the early years, the Kaisarianians took water from the so-called “Vrysaki11“, a faucet on the current Formion Street (figure 50), from where they were transferring water with plastic and ceramic containers (Dimitriadi F., 2015).

Just a little bit further, behind Hilton hotel, a pump was later placed sending water to a tank located on the street “Karaoli” near the settlements. Later in 1929, some taps were placed in public places and some in the houses.

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Figure 51: At the centre of each square, there is a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;gathering areaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, which was a kind of courtyard, 2018, Author

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Figure 52 (page 50): Diagramatic map showing the 6 building blocks forming the refugee complex at the neighborhood of Neos Cosmos, 2018, Author

Refugee Settlements at Drougouti / Neos Cosmos’s (MAP The refugee settlements in today’s Neos Cosmos, or in different terms, the neighborhood of the lost motherland, remains the first stop of many immigrants arriving in Greece, driven by the war and the economic crisis that destroyed their homelands (figures. The area took its initial name from the Athenian family named Drougoutis, which had its estates in the area (Zacharakis 2016). The name of the neighborhood may also be as such, due to a manufacturer named Douroutis, who was the founder of a silk factory (Biris K.).

12. “Italians” neighborhood took its name because they were built with money paid by Italy as compensation.

13. Today named Koumoundourou and Klathmonos.

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Figure 56: Initial refugee settlements at Drougouti, 1936, Spiropoulos

The first attempts to settle the refugees properly at Dourgouti, were made in 1924 with the construction of the “Italians “. The “Italians” were 24 one-storey houses in six rows (figures 53,54,55) at the area that housed a total of 100 Armenian families, mostly of Christian Catholic religion. They were named “Italians” because they were built with money paid by Italy as compensation. The first refugee apartment buildings were built between 1934 and 1936. The architects Dimitris Kyriacos and Kimon Laskaris built two blocks of flats each, following the principles of the Bauhaus movement (Christou C., 2014), having ground, first and second floors only (figure 56).

After their settlement, refugees faced the mistrust and hostile behavior of the locals. Refugee adjectives such as “turkeys”, “grown-ups” and “shots” were attributed to the refugees, while the pro-monarchist type of the season will be full of publications with intense anti-recourse. On the occasion of the 2004 Olympic games, the facades of the apartment buildings were restored, while a metal fence covered with climbing plants was also placed IMAGE (Uding, 2012). The refugee apartment buildings of the Interwar period are located along the streets of Voltairou and Andrea Syngrou.

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Figures 53,54,55: Initial refugee settlements at Drougouti, 1924, Goulielmos

Figures 57 and 58: Views of the refugee settlements in Neos Cosmos, 2018, Author

Figures 59: Details on roof of the refugee settlements in Neos Cosmos, 2018, Author

Figures 60: Entrances of the refugee settlements in Neos Cosmos, 2018, Author

In the 1960s, as part of the urban upgrading of the district, both the “Italians12” and the last remaining huts were demolished. Due to the country’s precarious financial situation, the construction of permanent homes has been very delayed, with thousands of families staying for a long time under wretched conditions in precluding complexes. Even public buildings in the neighborhood such as the central market, churches and schools were also operating in chapels. There were also several cafes, but also a cinema, often showcasing Turkish works.

At the top of the triangle, the construction of the palaces was in program: the geometrical top and the top of the governmental authority was at the end a symbolic coincidence. The orientation of these parts was not random; it was built in a way for the balcony of the palaces to enjoy simultaneously Lycabetus hill, Panathinaiko stadium, acropolis and the war and business ships of Piraeus. Piraeus and Stadiou street were interrupted symmetrical to the palaces from the corresponding squares named: “Mporsas” and “Theatrou13”. Which are very symmetrical something that is not that obvious in todays Athens view. They were leading to two roundabouts, which were in the sides of the city: to the west of “Kekropos” square where today’s Gkazi is located and east “Mouson” square where the Syntagma square is today.

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Figure 61 (page 54): Diagramatic map showing the 8 building blocks forming the refugee complex along Alexandra’s Avenue, 2018, Author

Figures 62: Perspective view of Alexandra’s Avenue building blocks, 2014, Stavrianidi

Refugee Settlements along Alexandra’s Avenue (MAP) In 1933, eleven years after the arrival of the expatriates in Greece, the erection of refugee blocks on Alexandras Avenue began. The complex of these refugee blocks was built between the years 1933-1935, and delivered also in 1936 under the plans of architects Kimon Laskaris and Dimitrios Kyriakou and then by officials of the Technical Department of the Ministry of Welfare and is one of the earliest examples of the modern movement in Greece.

This is the result of the action of a state apparatus organized layout, which was established for the first time, in a broader plan to accommodate the myriad of refugees from Asia Minor, which had flooded the basin of Athens.

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Figure 63: Perspective view of Alexandra’s Avenue building block, 2018, Author

These state funded settlements consist of eight buildings located next to each other, along with the Alexandra’s Avenue and altogether, it has 228 apartments of about 50 square meters each where refugees started setting up their lives from scratch (figure 63). All these residential apartments offer unique fenestration allowing air and light in from both sides of the buildings, they overlook to a balcony or yard outside, for the ground floor flats, and consist of a sitting room, a bedroom, a small kitchen and a tiny toilet.

They tried to meet the needs of people in an emergency, giving them little space in the best conditions of insulation, ventilation, and outdoor public spaces starting the creation of a vibrant neighborhood (figure 66). The collective memory of the city of Athens, expressed at the same buildings, rose as a heterotopic, different space between state and apartment buildings opposite of a stadium.

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Figures 64 and 65: Facade details, Alexandra’s Avenue building block, 2018, Author

Figure 66: Parking space/courtyard, Alexandra’s Avenue building block, 2018, Author

Figure 69: Clothes drying, 2014, Stavrianidi

Figure 67: Riots during Dekemvriana, 1944, Stasinopoulos 14. The term Dekemvriana refers to a series of armed conflicts that took place in Athens in December 1944 (figure 67) between the forces of Greece and the British that belonged to a broad political spectrum from social-democracy to the rightwing pro-revolutionary and former conquerors.

Figure 68: Refugees on the balconies of Alexandra’s Avenue settlement, 1938, Uding

They look like utilitarian buildings, in the line of German Functionalism with simple rectangular plates made of reinforced concrete and plastered masonry, “without a hint of decoration or other concessions in plastic searches” (Rampley, 2012). The only decorations that are still visible today and lens these aged buildings, are the traces of bullets of “Dekemvriana14” of 1944 on the facades (figure 65), and the colorful fabrics outstretched to the small balconies (figure 64 and 69) (Tzirtzilaki, 2014). It was the period when the left-wing forces clashed fiercely with the British forces and Government in Athens. Many left-wing militants had found refuge in the settlements with them acting as friendly ‘pockets’ and being damaged by the shells of the British, who bombed the Lycabetus Hill (MAP).

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Figures 70,71,72,73: Entrance interior views at Alexandraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Avenue building blocks, 2018, Author

15. Also known as Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium, is a football stadium and multi-sport center in central Athens, Greece.

16. HRADF leverages the State private property assigned to it by Hellenic Republic, according to the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s international obligations and the Medium-Term Fiscal Strategy and promotes the implementation of privatizations in the country, having full responsibility for the application of the respective policy.

In early 2007, 90 of the 228 apartments were still occupied, while the rest had come to the State to acquire, view a generic regeneration of the wider area of the Panathinaikos F.C. stadium15.

Out of the 228 apartments in the 8 building blocks, 137 are located in four buildings that are near Alexandras Avenue transferred to the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund16 (HRADF) and about 40 apartments belong to the ministry where the remaining 51 are privately owned (Drymiotis A., 2014).

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Chapter 3 Current Condition Architectural adjustment and regeneration of the neighborhoods in the 21st century Today, many of these settlements still exist, although since the 1960s many of them have been demolished and replaced by new multi-storey buildings.

There are neighborhoods such as Kokkinia, Nea Philadelphia and others, where whole areas exist, almost intact or with easily reversible interventions. The main characteristic of these neighborhoods is the existence of internal open areas, where social interaction still takes place (Papadopoulou E., Saryiannis G., 2007).

In 2009 the Central Archaeological Council (CAC) described the complex on Alexandra’s Avenue as a “monument” stating, “the buildings are of particular social and historical significance.” (The stigma press, 2014). Although the current situation of the buildings is that of collapse, they still are one of the most important architectural centres of the 20th century in Greece.

In 2001 the Public Real Estate Corporation with demolition threats purchased 137 apartments and then another 40. After many constraints, CAC declared, as previously said, in 2009, all listed buildings. Unoccupied apartments began to be slowly occupied by city’s displaced community like refugees, homeless and unemployed people.

In 2010, the NTUA has proposed to the Greek state a solution for the Alexandra’s Avenue blocks and the Greek state responded: “The Greek State is interested in the acquisition of the proprietary rights of the site known as Refugee Building Complex at Alexandras avenue, where eight apartment blocks are built, so as to develop and transform for the public benefit the whole area into a recreational park and a playground”.

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Figures 74,75: Cadastral photographs taken in 1930 and 1980, 2018, Athenian Cadastral Centre

Current Inhabitant’s adaptation to existing society Most of the self-built refugee homes that have been developed throughout the years, after their construction have turned into 4 and 5-storey apartment buildings forming examples of the modern architectural movement in Athens of ‘polykatoikia17’. Some still exist and are totally abandoned with derelict garden areas and rotten railing doors (figure 76).

Some apartments of the state funded complex of the six blocks of flats in Neos Cosmos, is occupied by immigrants who settled in the area after the 1980s, coming from the Balkans as well as from Arab countries along with the descendants of the inter-war refugees. Like the refugees from Asia Minor, the current refugees experience racism and xenophobia.

Nowadays the building blocks along Alexandra’s Avenue are at a live neighborhood who’s residents are mostly expatriates from Afghanistan, Syria, Africa, mostly immigrants and refugees who have chosen to live in these apartments and they seem rather satisfied. Among the building blocks, children play, women are doing laundry, clothes are drying outside the windows, people are on their balconies, radio sounds in different languages is perceptible and dissonance is many cars parked in the free space.

Figures 76: Entrance of a refugee home (2) at the neighborhood of Kokkinia/Nikaia, 2018, Author

17. Greek word for apartment building

Many apartments do not have electricity and water, but the squatters “steal” electricity and water cables and hoses from neighboring apartments. There are reports that talk about drugs and intense insecurity legal residents of the flats this all happens practically under the gaze of the police headquarters, which is very close, at a distance of about 100 meters (Drymiotis A., 2014). Athenians, who live around the blocks, have warned the municipality several times and requested for them to be evacuated as soon as possible resulting in having an assembly of the police on spot each week.

In August 2000, a letter was sent to the residents of the Alexandra’s Avenue settlements, by the Public Real Estate Company, written by Vasilis Kritikos, stating: “...that they should summon for negotiations in order to transfer

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willingly to the Greek State their rights in remaining...otherwise the state will proceed in compulsory expropriation” (Newsbomb, 2014).

Today, the apartments are inhabited again with residents who are mainly the owners who did not succumb to the blackmails by the state and remained in the buildings. Moreover, the region is one of the most popular pieces for construction companies and “plans gentrification”. People who live there now have struggles, self-organization, and solidarity, between the imaginary and the material reality; the concept of community is redefined as neighborhood evolves to community. The refugee squat in parts because they struggle for the right of housing and to be involved more in the neighborhood’s conclusions, the right to live for those who deprived their life, condemning them to ‘bare life’.

In 2012, a few hundred refugees started arriving in the existing refugee neighborhoods. But today, most of them have left the country, looking for their future in Northern Europe. People who remained, and without an alternative kind of shelter, started breaking into the buildings that were left empty and locked. The neighborhoods started being ‘horrified’ at the sight of “strange” men gathering in dozens of flats in the surrounding blocks, who were also sporadically caught with cuts on their hands.

As the current offer of the State towards the owners is 50,000 € per flat, the total cost for the purchase or expropriation will reach the sum of 11,445,000 €, this together with the construction cost for the park and one playground, an area of 14,000 m2, will come up to about 14,675,000 €, i.e. about 1,027 €/m2 (Newsbomb, 2014) .

Although the above offered price for each flat seems quite satisfactory (1,110 €/m2) but it does not include the respective land value for each property. If we are then to add to that price the land value corresponding to every apartment, we have the real value of 35 million dr. (103,000 €) per flat (Newsbomb, 2014).

As such exorbitant cost for the creation of a park and a playground is rather inadvisable and meaningless; it seems more likely that the demolished area

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will end up being fully exploited under the building specifications allowed for the size of the property. “it is important to ensure that what we have built will remain viable beyond 2018, financed by the national budget and with the support of the European Commission” Philippe Legerec the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has said.

The property exploitation - based probably on a self-funding system – through the construction of high output building blocks (office buildings, shopping centres etc) and the maximum use of the allowed built area, could return a net profit of about 12 billion dr. (35,220,000 €), despite the cost for the expropriation (11,445,000 €) and the construction of the new buildings (about 38,150,000 €) (Newsbomb, 2014).

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Conlcusion After ten years of economic recession in Greece and the number of homeless people rising up to 20,000 just in the city of Athens, having post-refugee shelter areas unpreserved and unused is something that must be changed rapidly. New needs arise, as refugees and immigrants with long-term residency in Greece, survive under destitute living conditions. Actions must be taken to make a stronger community alongside the new wave of the refugees that are coming in the future, to use space and the city sustainably.

“Very quickly recognized that it is now important to give local communities and municipalities the means, capabilities and tools that will enable them to play a key role in integrating refugees and ensuring the necessary social cohesion”, Dimitris Avramopoulos, Commissioner for Immigration, Home Affairs and Citizenship has said.

Thus, it is essential to maintain and regenerate the existing and available buildings, also keeping their surrounding areas into account, not only for historical and architectural purposes, but also in order to maintain a standard quality of life in the city, a more humane environment rather than a modern hostile one.

Although the housing program for refugees and asylum seekers in flats at several Greek municipalities expires at the end of 2018, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and Mayors is discussing the issue of its continuation in 2019, directly by the local government, under the supervision of the Ministry of Migration Policy. For the integration of the new wave of refugees, Thessaloniki’s mayor Yannis Boutaris, suggested that refugees should be used in agricultural work. He also said that the retention of refugee temporary camps would “only create a problem” and called for a new funding regime as “we are in danger of leading to a collapse of the assemblies.”

All the preceding statements can be considered ambitions of creating a new focal points of contemporary architecture within Athens. This insistence on the demolition of the existing apartments seems to solely serve overexploitation plans for the last remaining open space in the city centre.

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At the same time the Greek State adopts a different role to that of the arbitrator for the social benefit, and instead of taking a stand concerning the future of the city it appears to represent private interests.

It also became apparent from a research conducted by students from the National Technical University of Athens, that the area of Alexandra’s settlements, being the only unexploited but ‘alive’ refuge area, offers options for redevelopment, improvement and modernization without the resident’s expropriation and the demolition of the refugee complex.

The possibilities can include exploration of the existing operational network, through the development and distribution of the empty and available for sale flats. Also, construction of basic facilities to help the residents of the blocks and the neighboring districts to interact, and introduction of new common ‘interurban’ functions with accordance with the reform of the façades of the buildings. Last but not least, an installation and creation of new shared-use facilities within the framework of an architectural development program, based on centred point processes or general interventions and functional re-definitions, like open air green areas serving as playgrounds, would enhance the neighborhood and bring a variety of cultures, religions and nationalities closer.

We as Athenians are called in these circumstances, to defend the past and present of refugees and their habitation. This operation is very important since it is the only ‘refugee’ neighborhood in Athens being non properly reformed, but also for its symbolic character. New forms of action need to be taken for the current residents, that relate to their daily lives, the problems of the area.

On the whole, it is important to note that it is time for a debate between the interested parties and the Greek Government, so as to become evident that there are alternative steps to be followed, which do not require the resident’s expulsion or the demolition of the refugee blocks. This is a direction, which is scientifically and architecturally liable and more beneficial for the public interest, the Athenians, the residents of the refugee complex and the city of Athens.

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Documentary, “Smyrna 1922”, uploaded on 02/03/2008, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2B84CyLblk> Mark Lex Eros, 1922 – “The grande ‘rootlessness’ of the Greeks” / “Ο μεγάλος ξεριζωμός των Ελλήνων” , uploaded 20/03/2011, documentary, viewed September 17th 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QV7thpzBEU>.

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List of Figures Figure 01, p.6: The Great Fire of Smyrna, 1922 <https://www.reddit.com/r/europe/comments/9fegbj/on_this_day_96_years_ago_ the_great_fire_of_smyrna/> Figure 02, p.8: Refugee area in Athens, 1950-51, Center for Minor Asian studies < https://www.lifo.gr/articles/greece_articles/123756> Figure 03, p.12: Syntagma square and the Parliament of Athens <https://www.athenswalkingtours.gr/blog/index.php/2016/06/13/ new-bus-line-connection-piraeus-port-to-syntagma-x80-enables-you-to-join-the-athens-walking-tours/> Figure 04, p. 13: Minor Asian coasts, 2018, Author Figure 1a: Sheds at the refugee area of Kokkinia in 1930s, Loukopoulos < https://doramanataki.blogspot.com/2015/03/blogpost_86.html> Figure 2a: Sheds at the refugee area of Kaisariani in 1950, Papadimitriou < http://www.domnasamiou.gr/?i=portal.en.domna-talks&id=300> Figure 3a: Sheds at the refugee area of Drougouti (Neos Cosmos) in 1930s < https://www.lifo.gr/articles/archaeology_articles/123667> Figure 4a: Complex at refugee area of Alexandra’s Avenue in 1936, Poulidis < https://www.lifo.gr/articles/greece_articles/123756> Figure 1b: Refugee home at the refugee area of Kokkinia, 2018, Author Figure 2b: Refugee home at refugee area of Kaisariani, 2018, Author Figure 3b: Complex at Neos Cosmos, 2018, Author Figure 4b: Complex at refugee area of Alexandra’s Avenue, 2018, Author Figure 05: Greek lithograph celebrating the Young Turk revolt in 1908 and the re-introduction of a constitutional regime in the Ottoman Empire < https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Turks> Figure 06: Muslim refugees arriving at the port of Smyrna from Greece, <https://www.lifo.gr/articles/archaeology_articles/123667> Figure 07: Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881-1938) was an army officer who founded an independent Republic of Turkey out of the ruins of the Ottoman Empire <https://www.biography.com/people/mustafa-kemal-ataturk-20968109> Figure 08: Port of Smyrna. Greek people waiting to board on boats that will take them to Greece,© Topical Press Agency/Getty Images <www.lifo.gr>

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Figure 09: The Great Fire of Smyrna, 1922 <https://www.reddit.com/r/europe/comments/9fegbj/on_this_day_96_years_ago_the_ great_fire_of_smyrna/> Figure 10: Eleftherios Kyriakou Venizelos < https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleftherios_Venizelos> Figures 11 and 12: The arrival of the Minor Asian refugees in Athens, 1922, archive of the Americal Red Cross, library of Congress Figure 13: Workers at a textile factory, Greek Literature and Historical archives Figure 11: Kaisariani 1924 <http://2gym-kaisar.att.sch.gr/oldwebpage/index.php?q=mikraasia&print=true> Figure 12: Temporary settlements in Kaisariani 1924 <http://2gym-kaisar.att.sch.gr/oldwebpage/index.php?q=mikraasia&print=true> Figure 14: Children ready to have their bath, Nea Philadelphia (see map, p. 39), 1922, Greek Literature and Historical archives Figure 15: George Seferis, 1921 < https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giorgos_Seferis> Figure 16: Minor Asian refugees, Attica, 1922, archive from Benaki Museum Figure 17: Temporary refugee camp in Kaisariani, 1922 < http://www.domnasamiou.gr/?i=portal.en.domna-talks&id=300> Figure 18: A refugee sitting outside a temporary tent in Kaisariani, 1922 < https://www.lifo.gr/articles/archaeology_articles/123667> Figure 19: Refugees in front of the old palace, Athens, 1922, archive of the Americal Red Cross, library of Congress Figure 20: Refugees in front of the ancient temple of Ifestos, Athens, 1922, archive of the Americal Red Cross, library of Congress Figures 21 and 22: Refugees inside the Opera House, Athens, 1922, archive of the Americal Red Cross, library of Congress Figure 23: Monastiraki Square and the Acropolis view, 2018, Author Figure 24 (page 30): Diagrammatic map showing the four refugee areas, 2018, Author Figure 25: A refugee abandoned home (1) in Kokkinia, 2018, Author Figure 26: A refugee abandoned home (1) in Kokkinia, 2018, Author 74

Figure 27: Roof decoration details of refugee home (1), 2018, Author Figure 28: Internal garden of refugee home (1), 2018, Author Figure 29: Window detail of refugee home (1), 2018, Author Figure 30: Stone remains at a refugee house (2) in Kokkinia, 2018, Author Figure 31: Alexandraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Avenue refugee settlement facade, 2018, Author Figure 32: Diagramatic map showing Greece and Asia Minor separated by the Aegean Sea, 2018, Author Figure 33: Diagramatic map showing several municipalities of Athens and the four refugee neighborhoods, 2018, Author Figure 34 (page 40): Diagramatic map showing the linear planning of the neighborhood of Kokkinia/Nikaia, 2018, Author Figure 35: Refugee homes at the neighborhood of Kokkinia/Nikaia, 1930, Loukopoulos < https://www.lifo.gr/team/lola/60328> Figure 36: An abandoned refugee home (2) at the neighborhood of Kokkinia/Nikaia, 2018, Author Figure 37: Refugee home (2) at the neighborhood of Kokkinia/Nikaia, surrounded by apartment buildings, 2018, Author Figure 38: Internal garden of a refugee home (2) at the neighborhood of Kokkinia/Nikaia, 2018, Author Figure 39: Laundry area, 2015, Kolira < http://popaganda.gr/volta-sta-prosfigika-tis-nikeas-se-mia-gitonia-pou-miazi-skiniko-tisfinos-film/> Figure 40: Refugee home (3) at the neighborhood of Kokkinia/Nikaia, 2018, Author Figure 41: Internal garden of a refugee home (3) at the neighborhood of Kokkinia/Nikaia, 2018, Author Figure 42 (page 44): Diagramatic map showing the internal spaces formed by the planning of the apartment buildings and the linear planning of the neighborhood of Kaisariani, 2018, Author (also p. 48-49) Figure 43: View of Kaisariani settlement in 1924, donation from Manolas < https://www.lifo.gr/team/lola/60328>

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Figure 44: Kaisariani settlements in 1950, Papadimitriou < http://www.domnasamiou.gr/?i=portal.en.domna-talks&id=300> Figure 45: Interior view of a Kaisariani home in 1950, Papadimitriou < http://www.domnasamiou.gr/?i=portal.en.domna-talks&id=300> Figure 46: A refugee home in Kaisariani, 2018, Author Figures 47,48,49: Apartment building constructed on top ofthe remains of a refugee home in Kaisariani, 2018, Author Figure 50: Vrysaki , 1929 <http://2gym-kaisar.att.sch.gr/oldwebpage/index.php?q=mikraasia&print=true> Figure 51: At the centre of each square, there is a ‘gathering area’, which was a kind of courtyard, 2018, Author Figure 52 (page 50): Diagramatic map showing the 6 building blocks forming the refugee complex at the neighborhood of Neos Cosmos, 2018, Author Figures 53,54,55: Initial refugee settlements at Drougouti, 1924, Goulielmos < https://www.lifo.gr/team/lola/60328> Figure 56: Initial refugee settlements at Drougouti, 1936, Spiropoulos <https://www.mixanitouxronou.gr/se-pia-periochi-tis-athinas-i-bougada-ginotan-ipethria-ke-i-apochetefsi-itan-ena-avlaki-pou-pernouse-exo-apo-ta-spitia-o-agonas-ton-prosfigon-na-kratisoun-orthia-tin-paragkoupoli-pou-katerree-se-kath/> Figures 57 and 58: Views of the refugee settlements in Neos Cosmos, 2018, Author Figures 59: Details on roof of the refugee settlements in Neos Cosmos, 2018, Author Figures 60: Entrances of the refugee settlements in Neos Cosmos, 2018, Author Figure 61 (page 54): Diagramatic map showing the 8 building blocks forming the refugee complex along Alexandra’s Avenue, 2018, Author Figures 62: Perspective view of Alexandra’s Avenue building blocks, 2014, Stavrianidi < http://www.kathimerini.gr/759372/opinion/ epikairothta/politikh/ta-prosfygika-ths-lewforoy-ale3andras> Figure 63: Perspective view of Alexandra’s Avenue building block, 2018, Author Figures 64 and 65: Facade details, Alexandra’s Avenue building block, 2018, Author

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Figure 66: Parking space/courtyard, Alexandra’s Avenue building block, 2018, Author Figure 67: Riots during Dekemvriana, 1944, Stasinopoulos < https://www.greekarchitects.gr> Figure 68: Refugees on the balconies of Alexandra’s Avenue settlement, 1938, Alexandras balconies old people <http://rosemaryyong.blogspot.com/2012/02/alexandras-avenue-refugee-building.html> Figure 69: Clothes drying, 2014, Stavrianidi < http://www.kathimerini.gr/759372/opinion/epikairothta/politikh/ta-prosfygika-ths-lewforoy-ale3andras> Figures 70,71,72,73: Entrance interior views at Alexandra’s Avenue building blocks, 2018, Author Figures 74,75: Cadastral photographs taken in 1930 and 1980, 2018, Athenian Cadastral Centre Figures 76: Entrance of a refugee home (2) at the neighborhood of Kokkinia/Nikaia, 2018, Author

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