Archaeology, Politics and Islamicate Cultural Heritage in Europe - David J. Govantes-Edwards

Archaeology, Politics and Islamicate Cultural Heritage in Europe - David J. Govantes-Edwards

9. The Material Past of the Other: The Ottoman Architectural Heritage of Greek Macedonia

Archaeology, Politics and Islamicate Cultural Heritage in Europe - David J. Govantes-Edwards

Ioannis Stavridopoulos [+-]
University of Aegean
Ioannis Stavridopoulos is an archaeologist and currently an academic associate at the University of Aegean (Greece). He has been a scientific associate at the excavation of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece) at the Neolithic site of Dispilio Kastoria (Greece) for over 10 years. He has also worked as a commercial archaeologist in Greece for many years. He completed his PhD at the Univeristy of Ioannina (Greece) on the subject of the Ottoman heritage of Greek Macedonia. His research interests include prehistoric archaeology, Ottoman archaeology, archaeological theory, social and contemporary archaeology, politics and heritage management, museums and memory.

Description

The Ottoman empire left a deep imprint in the social, cultural, economic and political life of the Balkan peninsula. The Balkan states, however, never fully accepted the Ottoman heritage as their own. De-Ottomanization became an essential factor of nation and country building in the Balkans. An integral part of this process was the destruction of Ottoman architecture. Greek Macedonia ceased to be part of the Ottoman Empire and was incorporated into the Greek state in 1912-13. In Greek Macedonia a policy of deOttomanization was also implemented. This article concerns the management of the Ottoman/Islamic architectural heritage in the region from its annexation to the Greek state, to the present. I have attempted to describe how the Ottoman monuments were used by public and private agents and if they were destroyed or preserved. Regarding those preserved I am discussing their uses in the past and their present condition. During one century of Greek rule the greatest part of the Ottoman architectural heritage was destroyed. After the removal of the Ottoman buildings the urban and rural landscapes of the area were altered, material evidence of otherness were erased and Macedonia was finally Hellenized.

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Citation

Stavridopoulos , Ioannis . 9. The Material Past of the Other: The Ottoman Architectural Heritage of Greek Macedonia. Archaeology, Politics and Islamicate Cultural Heritage in Europe. Equinox eBooks Publishing, United Kingdom. p. 111-129 Apr 2022. ISBN 9781781797884. https://www.equinoxpub.com/home/view-chapter/?id=36078. Date accessed: 09 Dec 2024 doi: 10.1558/equinox.36078. Apr 2022

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