Our story begins in the early 17th century, during a period of widespread conversion to Islam across the Greek world. On the island of Evia, Muslim missionaries convert large numbers of people, while Christians live under severe oppression and in economic hardship.
By the outbreak of the Greek War of Independence in 1821, Muslims make up one-fifth of Evia’s population. Most live in Chalkida, but other areas, including Karystos, also have substantial Muslim communities. Greek is their main language.
In 1833, the Greek army takes control of Karystos. Most of its Greek-speaking Muslims cross the Aegean to Ionia, settling on the Erythraia Peninsula and in Alatsata. Others move to Thessaly and Macedonia—regions that are part of Greece today but were still under Ottoman rule at the time.
Tune in to “Time in Greece,” with Nikolas Angelidis at the microphone, to discover the history of the Greek-speaking Muslims of Karystos.