On the outskirts of the Kapodistrian municipality of Nafplio, in Iria village of Argolis, on Sunday evening, June 2nd 2024, the Dance Groups of Iria invite us to a historical retrospective of memory, from cosmopolitan Smyrna to the Asia Minor Catastrophe...
From Iria in 1919, on the line "Eski Shehir - Kutahya - Afyonkarahisar"... "It is not dawn to rise without sighing, to lean on the headrest and weep from the heart"...
A unique tribute to Smyrna, by the dance groups of Iria. Through the dance and the stories of our grandparents, which will be told by future generations, we travel back in time with modesty and great emotion.
The cultural club of Trachia village and the choir from the Dance Association of Argolis of the Municipality of Epidaurus participate.
Date - Time
Sunday, June 2nd 2024, at 20:30
Location
Courtyard of the Holy Church of Agios Konstantinos, on the beach of Iria.
Did you know that?
The Greek army had occupied Afyonkarahisar, Kutahya and Eski Shehir at the beginning of July 1921, having at the same time repulsed the counterattack of Ismet Inonou's forces, which had not, however, been completely defeated. The Turkish guerrilla movement had gradually grown stronger, and many of the former allies began to deal with the Turkish nationalists. After the Kutahya conference, which ended on 28 July 1921, and despite the fierce and heroic Greek attack, the Turkish third line of defense east of Sangarios (or Sakarya) river was not broken. Thus, on September 11th 1921, General Papoulas was forced to give the order to retreat and fortify west of Sangarios (or Sakarya) river. The expected result, the encirclement and the extermination or weakening of the enemy, was not achieved. On the contrary, on the battlefields thousands of Greek soldiers had lost their lives fighting heroically. The campaign of Sangarios marked the end of the offensive actions of the Greek army. The road to the final act of the drama was now open...
September 12th 1922 marks one of the darkest days of Hellenism, as Smyrna, one of the most prosperous and beautiful cities on the Mediterranean coast of Asia Minor, was destroyed by the Turks, sending hundreds of thousands of Greeks to a homeland they had never known.
Smyrna Catastrophe: this term refers to the events of the massacre of the Greek and Armenian population of Smyrna by the Kemalist army, as well as the burning of the city, which occurred in September 1922. This destruction began 7 days after the withdrawal of the last Greek military unit from Asia Minor and after the entry of the Turkish army and Mustafa Kemal himself into the city.
In 1922, after the Asia Minor Catastrophe, refugees from Constantinople, Cappadocia, Ionia and Pisidia arrived in the city of Nafplio.
