A Biographical Novel by Petros Triantafyllidis – Koukkida Publications
Tontor Giouloglou, grandfather of the author Petros Triantafyllidis, was born in 1883 in Safranbolu, on the Black Sea, and died in Athens, in Kalogreza, in 1973, at the age of 90.
An Odysseus of his era: over nine decades he served in the Ottoman army in the Caucasus (1912), lived through the great fires of Gallipoli – Çanakkale (1915), was sent to the “amele taburu,” the notorious labor battalions (1916), witnessed the Armenian Genocide, with German architects behind it, traveled from Baghdad to Cairo (1917–1920), returned to Safranbolu and married (1921), left for Constantinople in the great exodus (1922), and eventually reached Greece (1924).
In the well-known “hut 236” of Kalogreza, Nea Ionia, he once again built a home for his family.
A life’s journey marked by pain and toil, boundless patience, deep pride and humility, dignity, and love for humanity. Such was the “fabric” of those barefoot yet noble souls—so different from the rougher, craftier Greeks of the mainland.
The “unwanted” refugees of that time brought to Greece their multiculturalism, cosmopolitan outlook, and a philosophy of life altogether different from that of the locals, who for many years did not welcome them warmly.
Petros Triantafyllidis, his grandson, records his grandfather’s story, and through it a broader chapter of Modern Greek History. A photographer, member of the Hellenic Photographic Society, a wanderer like his grandfather in faraway and exotic places, he has held three solo exhibitions, often visiting lands where Hellenism once flourished in the East. His photographs have received international awards.
He joins us for this gripping, historical, and profoundly human narrative—because history is made, created, and often “caused” by people themselves.
“Tontor Giouloglou” – later Theodoros Triantafyllidis, since “Gioul” means “rose.”
Happy Listening!
TRACKLIST: 1) PENCEREDEN KAR GELIYOR (τραγούδι των Κιζδερβενιωτών Νικομήδειας) – Σωτήρης Κασσίμης, 2) Πάμε στην Πατρίδα – Μ. Διαμαντής & Ορχήστρα Π. Μαμάκος, 3) Τρεις μάγκες, τρεις γερόμαγκες – Στράτος Παγιουμτζής, 4) Της φτώχειας τα κουρέλια – Στέλλα Χασκίλ & Βασίλης Τσιτσάνης, 5) Καραβοτσακίσματα – Μάρκος Βαμβακάρης & Στράτος Παγιουμτζής, 6) ULAK (Αγγελιαφόρος – sound track) – Ευανθία Ρεμπούτσικα, 7) Μπουρνοβάλιος μανές – Γιάννης Ογδοντάκης, 8) Ραστ γκαζέλ – Ρόζα Εσκενάζυ, 9) Φτωχό πανωφοράκι μου – Στράτος Παγιουμτζής, 10) Θα με δικάσει – Σωτηρία Μπέλλου
Produced and presented by Nikoletta Liakostavrou