Syvota
Template:Infobox Greek Dimos Syvota (Template:Langx, Script error: No such module "IPA"., before 1927: Βώλια - Volia,[1] 1927-1940: Μούρτος - Mourtos)[2] is a village and a former municipality in Thesprotia, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Igoumenitsa, of which it is a municipal unit.[3] The municipal unit has an area of 72.439 km2.[4] The population in 2021 was 1,089 for the village, and 2,693 for the municipal unit. The municipal unit has four main settlements: Syvota, Argyrotopos, Faskomilia, and Plataria. The seat of the municipality was in Plataria.
History
The earliest recorded inhabitants of the region are the Thesprotians, a Greek tribe of Epirus. In antiquity, the location was called Sybota and was the site of the Battle of Sybota. During the Middle Ages, Syvota, like the rest of Epirus, was part of the Byzantine Empire and the Despotate of Epirus, the Republic of Venice and in the 15th century it became part of the Ottoman Empire. The first local Muslims of Syvota are recorded in Arvenitsa and Nista as early as 1613.Template:Sfn
It became part of Greece in 1913, following the Balkan Wars, and was previously used as an Ottoman naval base during the Greek War of Independence.[5]
Like all other Muslim Cham Albanian communities, the population was affected by the annexation of the region by Greece and many left the area. In 1913, the population of Arvenitsa (Template:Langx[6]) dropped from 439 to 389, Mourtos (Template:Langx or Vola[6]) from 970 to 659 and Nista (Template:Langx[6]) from 511 to 358.Template:Sfn The Chams of Plataria (Template:Langx[6]) were designated by Greece for expulsion to Turkey in 1925. Albania protested against the plan in the League of Nations.Template:Sfn A further wave of emigration towards Turkey is documented in Mourtos in 1932 and Arvenitsa (renamed to Argyrotopos in 1928[7]) in 1934.Template:Sfn Greece settled Greek Orthodox refugees from Turkey in Mourtos after 1922, following the Population exchange between Greece and Turkey. By 1926, there were 30 refugee families from Turkey in Arvenitsa, 90 in Nista, 5 in Plataria, 150 in Mourtos.Template:Sfn Albanian was taught again for Albanian children in the region in Nista (renamed to Faskomilia in 1928) as of 1936.Template:Sfn
The Chams of Syvota lived in the village until 1944, when they were expelled for collaborating with the Axis Powers.[8] During the short term Italian occupation in Syvota (early November 1940) the village was burnt by Cham Albanian bands and Italian troops.[9]
In Polyneri (Template:Langx,[6] renamed to Polyneri in 1955), a tiny Muslim Cham community resides, and until recently, the last imam in Epirus lived in this village. The mosque was blown up by a Christian villager during the Regime of the Colonels.[10]
Today, Syvota town is a well-developed resort, owing largely to the numerous pristine beaches with clear waters located on several islets immediately offshore.
Population
Template:Historical populations
See also
References
Template:Wikivoyage Template:Reflist
Sources
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- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Name changes of settlements in Greece
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- ↑ a b c d e Script error: No such module "Footnotes".
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- ↑ Vickers, Miranda and Pettifer, James. The Albanian Question: Reshaping the Balkans. I.B. Tauris, 2007, Template:ISBN, p. 238.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ Baltsiotis. The Muslim Chams of Northwestern Greece. 2011. "One of the last acts of the“cleansing of history” is the blowing up of the mosque at the village of Polyneri (ex-Koutsi,) by a (Christian) villager, during the time of the Colonels’ Dictatorship.147 A tiny Muslim community and, until recently, the last imam of Epirus still survive in this village."