Myra / Demre, Aziz Nikolaos Kilisesi Rum mezarlığından boucla ve gouna örnekleri

Abstract

During the excavations at the Church of St. Nicholas in the Demre district of Antalya Province under the direction of Prof. Dr. Yıldız Ötüken, burials were uncovered about 1-1.50 m. beneath the surface. Thought to date to the Ottoman period, possibly from the 18th to the early 20th centuries, a Greek cemetery was uncovered east and north-east of the church. Some skeletons were uncovered with remains of textiles while others had round silver objects. The textiles are badly preserved and include fragments of a shalwar (baggy trousers) and a kaftan. The kaftan is embroidered with floral compositions together with cross motifs. Our research identified parallels to the costumes and silver jewelry at the island of Kastellorizo offshore from Kaş. Some of the Greek population of Demre migrated to that island in the course of the great population exchange of 1923. It is further known that the Greeks of the island and the Greeks of Demre had close connections through the Church of St. Nicholas. Therefore, it was inevitable that a common culture and traditions developed because of their strong geographic, religious and ethnic relationships. As of 2012, our research concentrated on the island of Kastellorizo. Regular weekend excursions during the summer months allowed us to collect data on the socio-cultural, religious and economic relations between the Greeks of Demre and Kastellorizo that has gone since the Ottoman period. This article presents the gouna costume with embroidery and the boucla jewelry worn by the women of the island, and has attempted to assess the connections between the two Greek communities through the evidence derived from the cemetery and burial traditions.

During the excavations at the Church of St. Nicholas in the Demre district of Antalya Province under the direction of Prof. Dr. Yıldız Ötüken, burials were uncovered about 1-1.50 m. beneath the surface. Thought to date to the Ottoman period, possibly from the 18th to the early 20th centuries, a Greek cemetery was uncovered east and north-east of the church. Some skeletons were uncovered with remains of textiles while others had round silver objects. The textiles are badly preserved and include fragments of a shalwar (baggy trousers) and a kaftan. The kaftan is embroidered with floral compositions together with cross motifs. Our research identified parallels to the costumes and silver jewelry at the island of Kastellorizo offshore from Kaş. Some of the Greek population of Demre migrated to that island in the course of the great population exchange of 1923. It is further known that the Greeks of the island and the Greeks of Demre had close connections through the Church of St. Nicholas. Therefore, it was inevitable that a common culture and traditions developed because of their strong geographic, religious and ethnic relationships. As of 2012, our research concentrated on the island of Kastellorizo. Regular weekend excursions during the summer months allowed us to collect data on the socio-cultural, religious and economic relations between the Greeks of Demre and Kastellorizo that has gone since the Ottoman period. This article presents the gouna costume with embroidery and the boucla jewelry worn by the women of the island, and has attempted to assess the connections between the two Greek communities through the evidence derived from the cemetery and burial traditions.