Refugees from Megalo Monastiri of Eastern Romylia

The Great Monastery or Trano Monastiri of the Kavakli district in Eastern Romylia was located about 15 km north of Kavakli, on the road to Yamboli, present-day Yambol in southeastern Bulgaria. Together with Akbunar and Drama, it was one of the northernmost settlements of the region. In the early 20th century, it was estimated to have a total population of 1,600 inhabitants. After experiencing persecutions, the people of Monastiri were forced to abandon their homes and properties in waves and head toward Greece. The first wave of refugees began in 1906, with a group of 70 families, who, after several wanderings, settled in what is now the Great Monastiri of Larissa. In 1924, with the signing of the Treaty of Neuilly and the population exchange between Greece and Bulgaria, 200 families from Monastiri settled in the New Monastiri of Domokos in Phthiotis, another 150 families in Trikala of Imathia, and a few more in Kalochori, Thessaloniki. Pictured: Refugees from the Great Monastery of Eastern Rumelia on their wedding day in Kalochori, Thessaloniki, 20th century. ©Folklore Association of Kalochorians of Eastern and Northern Thrace “Kaskarka”.