Μy friend, you are seriously very objective. You talked to us about the Ottoman Ioannina,also you call Thessalonika Salanik and Alexandroupolis Dedeagats and now about Komotini which you call Gumulcine. But when you were in Turkey you didn't call Istanbul Constantinople and the Prince's Islands Pringiponisia (Πριγκηπονήσια).Why?
my advising the turkish name for a city shouldn't be seen as calling the city by its turkish name. here's my turkey playlist (86 videos). at least 5-10 touch on greek history. shared a visit to corfu, and talked about how the ottomans couldn't conquer it. but, in the end, i just mention whatever happens to have caught my attention at that time. the constantinople-istanbul story is well-known; but may edit some video on the various 100+ churches in istanbul, or the self-proclaimed "last mohicans" a balat-area business run by greeks, turks, and jews, or on the ecumenical patriarchate of constantinople and how the archbishop chosen must be greek, but have been born in turkey and, given the shrinking greek population, spells the death of the jurisdiction. been lazy on that. ruclips.net/p/PLnrWepwzwiRF8FLHaz9LQUXKgTU1xC1E3&si=DUYQAbXtSGXDyNbV.
@@FastEddieDice hahaha. Your answer is very convincing. Stop supporting the imperialist policies of Turkey. The same country that finances Hamas and Isis. Be honest
The Greeks of Constantinople (not yet Istanbul till the 1930's), were also not included in the population exchange of the 1920's. Howevere, there are hardly any Greeks left due to the Istanbul Pogrom of 1955. Interesting the Turks got rid of the Greeks in Istanbul with the Pogrom, but the Greeks left the Turks in Western Thrace alone.
@@marcopolo2395 quality of the people, seriously? the people who after 1920 completely changed the ethnic composition of Macedonia by replacing all the Slavic and Turkish names with GReeks that never existed before, who changed the personal names of the people in a Greek manner, ruined or covered all Slavic scripts in the churches in Macedonia, and brutally terrorized people when they were speaking the native Macedonian language which they only knew, have expelled thousands of small children and others from their homes after the civil war and never let them return back if they don't proclaim themself of Greek nationality, the country that does not recognize any other minority except 'Muslim minority' in Trakia and has not ratified Universal declaration for minority rights, where minorities are not allowed to have their own schools, media and cultural institutions, where the scholar books for pupils speak of purity of nation etc and are generally not tolerant to diversities of any kind, ...... inferior and sad quality rather
Komotini is NOT Muslim majority city which explains why it has a Christian mayor. Muslims are 30,8% by the latest 2023 data. The percentage of Muslims is reflected in elections of all types (local, parliamentary, European elections).
@@RovexHD There are three municipalities with Muslim majority, one in Xanthi called Myki and two in Rodopi called Arriana and Iasmos. All three of these municipalities have populations of 12-15k people each and each of them is actually a mix of (poor) villages. I'm not sure what the biggest town is, but you can easily find who are Turks and who are Pomaks as they speak different languages. Gypsies also live in separate camps or neighborhoods, they don't have their own villages as far as I know. I partly come from Komotini, but I don't live or have any property there, so i don't know as much as a local.
@@thessaloniki9653 Thanks for the information. Since I went to the population exchange museum in Kavala, I'm now interested in discovering more of Greece's Turkish minority.
@@RovexHD So the biggest Muslim-majority towns, probably described as big villages are Fillyra/Sirkeli (population 6,8k), Sostis/Susurkoy (population 5,5k), Echinos/Sahin [this one is Pomak] (population 2,8k) and Iasmos/Yassikoy (population 2,5k)
Komotinì (Gümülcine in turkish) is a small Babel comprised by a mosaic of people of different origins throughout the ages. This is what gives the town its distinctive colour and essence where coexistence and tolerance are practiced in the best possible way, when politics is not involved. A unique gem in the province of Greece. I hope that the Greek state provides for the well-being of all of its citizens. Thank you for the wandering and showing us the interesting architecture of the town.
The Greek national anthem is sung while the calling for Muslim prayer by the muezzin is heard on the background...pretty surreal 😁 BTW the monument is dedicated to the Muslims who fought and died for Greece in WWII, the Muslim population manned predominantly the fortresses in the Metaxas Line (a series of bunkers built along the Greco-Bulgarian border) and fought the Germans who invaded from Bulgaria in April 1941. Great channel 👍
yes, really surreal, how possible to happen in Greece which is an orthodox country with only the Greek nationality of the people. A true disrespect of the national anthem. The hodza has a nice view high from the minaret so he can certainly check when the ceremony finishes and then start calling for praying or alternatively, the ceremony takes place between the calls for praying. I am not sure what is more workable?
0:18 "For whatever reason" The muslims of Thrace were not included in the 1923 Population Exchange in order to even the odds for the treaty also not including the 65,000 christians of Constantinople. However, Turkey pogrom'ed this minority in 1955. Greece did not retaliate. Giving you now the chance of making a vlog about the "majority muslim" Komotini.
Greece is a very misunderstood place because its borders contained a variety of people before the exchange of people with Turkey. Don’t forget that most of today’s Greece was inhabited by other people before the Ottoman Empire collapsed. The ottomans ruled by divide and conquer, which is why so many different ethnicities were divided into small groups to prevent unity. Albanians and Greeks were divided among their religion, where all Muslims were identified as Turks and Christians as Greeks. The Greek state is currently and has been using millions of Euros to rebrand, rename, and reinvent Greece according to some concept where they have nothing in common with Albanians. But the fact is that Greeks and Albanians were once one people. Religion and politics have divided them since.
In exchange orthodox christians in Constantinople (Istanbul), as well as on the Aegean islands od Imbros and Tenedos, were excepted from the population exchange. BUT subsequently the Turkish authorities were "clever"enough to make them leave their home city through terror and persecution. You must watch the relevant film GUZ SANCISI (=PAIN OF AUTUMN) by Tomris Giritliooglu to get informe on the matter.
Shumen for sure not. Lived there a few months. Majorly Eastern Orthodox city. Razgrad is maybe a third Muslim. Momchilgrad has a Turkish majority, but it is not a city
Komotini is NOT Muslim majority city which explains why it has a Christian mayor. Muslims are 30,8% by the latest 2023 data. The percentage of Muslims is reflected in elections of all types (local, parliamentary, European elections).
The historic church you visited and describe as of Annunciation, is in fact the old cathedral of Dormition. The current cathedral of Komotini that commemorates the Annuciation is located elsewhere and is newly built.
They are not Turks but Pomaks who speak Turkish and Komotini does not have a Muslim majority. Eddie get your facts straight please. Facts are sacred comments are free.
komotini is 55% muslim per this article, which states that there has been no legitimate census since 1951 due to political factors: jag.journalagent.com/megaron/pdfs/MEGARON-66376-ARTICLE-MECHMET.pdf
@svart771they speak Turkish and? I speak Turkish too, but Iam not a Turk? Anladimi efentim?? Don't repeat what I wrote about the local Pomak population try to be original at least. Facts are sacred comments are Free.
60% Muslims 40% Greeks. I have lived in Komotini for many years. When the students of universities live the city for vacations then town is turning to a big village!!!
Muslims in Greece and moreover not of Greek nationality? No way, it could not be so. In Greece, there is only orthodox religion and Greek nationality I think. You're probably mistaken.
@@Rai-Bulgaria says who you ? Greece will remain an Orthodox country and let me ask you this why don't Muslims stay in Muslim countries seems you are Muslim
@@Rai-Bulgaria Bulgaria has much higher percentage of muslims than Greece and if Greece ever decides to sent back pakistanis and afghans will have less percentage of muslims than Bulgaria eternally.
the muslim in thrace are not turks , they are different ethnicities with muslim faith but the neglecting by the greek state and the turkish propaganda and subversive action by the turkish state has transformed many of them to selfidentifying as turks. they was not send to anatolia in the exchange because they was asked if they want to stay in greece as greek nationals and in return the greek minority in constantinople would also stay. in 1955 turkish pogroms kicked the greek out of constantinople while greek did never act against the muslim minority.
@@FastEddieDice the thing is, that "turks" are an artificial ethnic group which consisted solely of all remaining muslims of the shattered ottoman empire. ataturk rebranded all muslims a "turks" no matter the ethnic background either greek or kurds or armenian, all became turks. the treaty of lausanne though speaks correctly of muslim minority in greek, of which most selfidentified as greek and wanted to stay in greece. most are pomaki and roma but after decades of neglect , turkey managed to selfidentify a "turks". turkey has a plan to gain territory and become a regioanl superpower, some even claim they want to reinstate the ottoman empire, thats why thy are active in libya, in middeast and greece is the biggest hinderance at open sea for them, because the agean ea belong to greece, so they try to build up pressure with different tactics even with the threat of use of force and war.
When Greek friends visit me in Turkey, the Turks are excited to host and entertain them. Vice versa, two Turks have visited me in Greece, and the Greeks were super hospitable. Beyond that, I’ve no real-life observation
This is not a parade This is a daily routine for the memorial Komotini has big army parade during our national days cause there is a lot of army there. Many muslims also participate at it there (the ones among them that are loyal to the nation).
Μy friend, you are seriously very objective. You talked to us about the Ottoman Ioannina,also you call Thessalonika Salanik and Alexandroupolis Dedeagats and now about Komotini which you call Gumulcine. But when you were in Turkey you didn't call Istanbul Constantinople and the Prince's Islands Pringiponisia (Πριγκηπονήσια).Why?
my advising the turkish name for a city shouldn't be seen as calling the city by its turkish name. here's my turkey playlist (86 videos). at least 5-10 touch on greek history. shared a visit to corfu, and talked about how the ottomans couldn't conquer it. but, in the end, i just mention whatever happens to have caught my attention at that time. the constantinople-istanbul story is well-known; but may edit some video on the various 100+ churches in istanbul, or the self-proclaimed "last mohicans" a balat-area business run by greeks, turks, and jews, or on the ecumenical patriarchate of constantinople and how the archbishop chosen must be greek, but have been born in turkey and, given the shrinking greek population, spells the death of the jurisdiction. been lazy on that. ruclips.net/p/PLnrWepwzwiRF8FLHaz9LQUXKgTU1xC1E3&si=DUYQAbXtSGXDyNbV.
@@FastEddieDice hahaha. Your answer is very convincing. Stop supporting the imperialist policies of Turkey. The same country that finances Hamas and Isis. Be honest
The Greeks of Constantinople (not yet Istanbul till the 1930's), were also not included in the population exchange of the 1920's. Howevere, there are hardly any Greeks left due to the Istanbul Pogrom of 1955.
Interesting the Turks got rid of the Greeks in Istanbul with the Pogrom, but the Greeks left the Turks in Western Thrace alone.
it shows the quality of the people.
@@chm5750
Also gökçeada has a small greek population left
Turks say "It is happy the one who can call himself a Turk and unhappy the ones who were unfortunate to be non Turks in Turkey. "
@@marcopolo2395 quality of the people, seriously? the people who after 1920 completely changed the ethnic composition of Macedonia by replacing all the Slavic and Turkish names with GReeks that never existed before, who changed the personal names of the people in a Greek manner, ruined or covered all Slavic scripts in the churches in Macedonia, and brutally terrorized people when they were speaking the native Macedonian language which they only knew, have expelled thousands of small children and others from their homes after the civil war and never let them return back if they don't proclaim themself of Greek nationality, the country that does not recognize any other minority except 'Muslim minority' in Trakia and has not ratified Universal declaration for minority rights, where minorities are not allowed to have their own schools, media and cultural institutions, where the scholar books for pupils speak of purity of nation etc and are generally not tolerant to diversities of any kind, ...... inferior and sad quality rather
.. and the Greeks bulldozed all the mosques in Greece ? Greeks love to whine..
Awesome video , thanks.
My hometown! Beautiful. Thank you very much
Komotini is NOT Muslim majority city which explains why it has a Christian mayor. Muslims are 30,8% by the latest 2023 data. The percentage of Muslims is reflected in elections of all types (local, parliamentary, European elections).
Which town or village has a Turkish majority in Greece ?
@@RovexHD There are three municipalities with Muslim majority, one in Xanthi called Myki and two in Rodopi called Arriana and Iasmos. All three of these municipalities have populations of 12-15k people each and each of them is actually a mix of (poor) villages. I'm not sure what the biggest town is, but you can easily find who are Turks and who are Pomaks as they speak different languages. Gypsies also live in separate camps or neighborhoods, they don't have their own villages as far as I know.
I partly come from Komotini, but I don't live or have any property there, so i don't know as much as a local.
@@thessaloniki9653
Thanks for the information. Since I went to the population exchange museum in Kavala, I'm now interested in discovering more of Greece's Turkish minority.
@@thessaloniki9653 Thanks for clearing this one out.
@@RovexHD So the biggest Muslim-majority towns, probably described as big villages are Fillyra/Sirkeli (population 6,8k), Sostis/Susurkoy (population 5,5k), Echinos/Sahin [this one is Pomak] (population 2,8k) and Iasmos/Yassikoy (population 2,5k)
Komotinì (Gümülcine in turkish) is a small Babel comprised by a mosaic of people of different origins throughout the ages. This is what gives the town its distinctive colour and essence where coexistence and tolerance are practiced in the best possible way, when politics is not involved. A unique gem in the province of Greece. I hope that the Greek state provides for the well-being of all of its citizens.
Thank you for the wandering and showing us the interesting architecture of the town.
The Greek national anthem is sung while the calling for Muslim prayer by the muezzin is heard on the background...pretty surreal 😁
BTW the monument is dedicated to the Muslims who fought and died for Greece in WWII, the Muslim population manned predominantly the fortresses in the Metaxas Line (a series of bunkers built along the Greco-Bulgarian border) and fought the Germans who invaded from Bulgaria in April 1941.
Great channel 👍
yes, really surreal, how possible to happen in Greece which is an orthodox country with only the Greek nationality of the people. A true disrespect of the national anthem. The hodza has a nice view high from the minaret so he can certainly check when the ceremony finishes and then start calling for praying or alternatively, the ceremony takes place between the calls for praying. I am not sure what is more workable?
0:18 "For whatever reason"
The muslims of Thrace were not included in the 1923 Population Exchange in order to even the odds for the treaty also not including the 65,000 christians of Constantinople.
However, Turkey pogrom'ed this minority in 1955.
Greece did not retaliate. Giving you now the chance of making a vlog about the "majority muslim" Komotini.
Greece is a very misunderstood place because its borders contained a variety of people before the exchange of people with Turkey. Don’t forget that most of today’s Greece was inhabited by other people before the Ottoman Empire collapsed. The ottomans ruled by divide and conquer, which is why so many different ethnicities were divided into small groups to prevent unity. Albanians and Greeks were divided among their religion, where all Muslims were identified as Turks and Christians as Greeks. The Greek state is currently and has been using millions of Euros to rebrand, rename, and reinvent Greece according to some concept where they have nothing in common with Albanians. But the fact is that Greeks and Albanians were once one people. Religion and politics have divided them since.
As a person living in Athens I have never been that far to North East Greece. Pictures were surreal !
Nice video.
I was in Kavala recently. Definitely want to see more of thrace. The refugee museum in Kavala is very good.
Such a nice little informative video. Compliments American.
In exchange orthodox christians in Constantinople (Istanbul), as well as on the Aegean islands od Imbros and Tenedos, were excepted from the population exchange.
BUT
subsequently the Turkish authorities were "clever"enough to make them leave their home city through terror and persecution. You must watch the relevant film GUZ SANCISI (=PAIN OF AUTUMN) by Tomris Giritliooglu to get informe on the matter.
I'm quite sure Bulgaria has much more muslims than Greece and thus should have some muslim majority cities
Can you name any?
@@FastEddieDicekardzhali, Razgrad, Shumen, momchilgrad.
Shumen for sure not. Lived there a few months. Majorly Eastern Orthodox city. Razgrad is maybe a third Muslim. Momchilgrad has a Turkish majority, but it is not a city
Komotini is NOT Muslim majority city which explains why it has a Christian mayor. Muslims are 30,8% by the latest 2023 data. The percentage of Muslims is reflected in elections of all types (local, parliamentary, European elections).
@@thessaloniki9653
Do you have any sources ?
The historic church you visited and describe as of Annunciation, is in fact the old cathedral of Dormition. The current cathedral of Komotini that commemorates the Annuciation is located elsewhere and is newly built.
i only visited the church of the assumption and the church of st george. didn't describe either as related to the annunciation
Yes, the one you describe as Assumption is in fact the one of Dormition. There's no church of Assumption in Komotini.
@@japetusgr interesting. everywhere (in english) it is referred to as the cathedral of the assumption
Amazing city to visit
They are not Turks but Pomaks who speak Turkish and Komotini does not have a Muslim majority. Eddie get your facts straight please. Facts are sacred comments are free.
But they speak Turkish. You should get your facts straight too.
komotini is 55% muslim per this article, which states that there has been no legitimate census since 1951 due to political factors: jag.journalagent.com/megaron/pdfs/MEGARON-66376-ARTICLE-MECHMET.pdf
@svart771they speak Turkish and? I speak Turkish too, but Iam not a Turk? Anladimi efentim?? Don't repeat what I wrote about the local Pomak population try to be original at least. Facts are sacred comments are Free.
@@FastEddieDice Turkish article, Turkish intel. No thank you Eddie
Excellent video as always
60% Muslims 40% Greeks. I have lived in Komotini for many years. When the students of universities live the city for vacations then town is turning to a big village!!!
not far away
khardzali bulgaria 89 procent muslim
Ermou street is Hermes street....
Great Video . Now I know about Komotini
Muslims in Greece and moreover not of Greek nationality? No way, it could not be so. In Greece, there is only orthodox religion and Greek nationality I think. You're probably mistaken.
Zhivko from Upper Bulgaristan has chimed in ...
@@GeoBBB123 Hi Yussuf from western Turkey 🇹🇷 province of Yunanistan
@@pericaivanoski9027 Lol. Blockhead.
I think Xanthi is majority Muslim, too.
Xanthi isnt. But theyre somewhat close
Greece is an Orthodox country NOT Muslim
@@voula5135 For now.
@@Rai-Bulgaria says who you ? Greece will remain an Orthodox country and let me ask you this why don't Muslims stay in Muslim countries seems you are Muslim
@@Rai-Bulgaria Bulgaria has much higher percentage of muslims than Greece and if Greece ever decides to sent back pakistanis and afghans will have less percentage of muslims than Bulgaria eternally.
the muslim in thrace are not turks , they are different ethnicities with muslim faith but the neglecting by the greek state and the turkish propaganda and subversive action by the turkish state has transformed many of them to selfidentifying as turks.
they was not send to anatolia in the exchange because they was asked if they want to stay in greece as greek nationals and in return the greek minority in constantinople would also stay.
in 1955 turkish pogroms kicked the greek out of constantinople while greek did never act against the muslim minority.
interesting. i only heard turkish being spoken at the tea houses and muslim-owned shops
@@FastEddieDice the thing is, that "turks" are an artificial ethnic group which consisted solely of all remaining muslims of the shattered ottoman empire.
ataturk rebranded all muslims a "turks" no matter the ethnic background either greek or kurds or armenian, all became turks.
the treaty of lausanne though speaks correctly of muslim minority in greek, of which most selfidentified as greek and wanted to stay in greece.
most are pomaki and roma but after decades of neglect , turkey managed to selfidentify a "turks".
turkey has a plan to gain territory and become a regioanl superpower, some even claim they want to reinstate the ottoman empire, thats why thy are active in libya, in middeast and greece is the biggest hinderance at open sea for them, because the agean ea belong to greece, so they try to build up pressure with different tactics even with the threat of use of force and war.
As an American could you find anything you guys can cause hate and tension between Turks and Greeks ?
When Greek friends visit me in Turkey, the Turks are excited to host and entertain them. Vice versa, two Turks have visited me in Greece, and the Greeks were super hospitable. Beyond that, I’ve no real-life observation
One thing you forgot to mention is that most of the Muslims are Bulgarian and speak Bulgarian
The ones I heard were all speaking Turkish
Actually Pomaks (the ones who speak Bulgarian) are the smaller part of the Muslim Minority of Thrace, probably 30% of it or less.
Did you see immigrants at all ? Gumulcine looks lovely …Great video 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Are you from Turkey...?
drove to greece from turkey: ruclips.net/video/ijgL7Bn64NI/видео.htmlsi=uHtlcC6XhpcddrGj
ruclips.net/video/Y7ytXaKbXWM/видео.htmlsi=K_XYYsSXnLX6KDRT
You are in Greece and you will eat turkish food? Typical American
Kesinlikle! Amerikalılar, Yunanistan’da Türk yemeklerini yemeleriyle ünlüdür😋
ruclips.net/p/PLnrWepwzwiRFJCR2fPc52vJ5ubDGorr_V&si=0tmbC9A9bIxALhzl
@@FastEddieDice aaaa ppppprrrrrrrre🤣🤣🤣🤣
Greek food? 😂😂😂 there is no such a thing Greek good. All of them are Turkish. We all know that
@iliaskets7206 when Mongols arrived in the area from Mongolia stepas the only know to cook BEEF TATAR...
For sure the military parade looks a little bit thin
@@sabflash Well, it's not a military parade but an honour detail for the flag lowering ceremony
This is not a parade
This is a daily routine for the memorial
Komotini has big army parade during our national days cause there is a lot of army there. Many muslims also participate at it there (the ones among them that are loyal to the nation).
Islam is the way to go
Shouldn't Muslims go to Muslim countries?
Asslamualaikum
asslamualaikum
It is the way to go to Hades
@@fezabaydur2821
Asslamualaikum