Avato ( el, Άβατο
meaning impassable, sacrosanct) is a settlement in the
Xanthi (regional unit), Xanthi regional unit of
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
. It is located 3 kilometers south southeast of
Evlalo and 24.7 kilometers north northeast of
Xanthi
Xanthi ( el, Ξάνθη, ''Xánthi'', ) is a city in the region of Western Thrace, northeastern Greece. It is the capital of the Xanthi regional unit of the region of East Macedonia and Thrace.
Amphitheatrically built on the foot of Rhodope m ...
. In 1981, the population of Avato was around 1,048 inhabitants. In 1991, the population slightly declined to around 1,014 inhabitants. The settlement belongs to the municipality of
Topeiros
Topeiros ( el, Τόπειρος) is a municipality in the Xanthi regional unit, Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and ...
.
A number of residents are of
African-Greek descent with roots dating back to Ottoman times, when their ancestors have been brought to Avato as slaves from
Sudan.
The ancestors of Thrace’s Afrogreeks were brought by an Ottoman pasha from Egypt (likely by Ibrahim’s son, Mohammed Ali), since the area was an Egyptian estate during the years of Ottoman occupation.
As slavery was widespread in North Africa at the time,
Turkish Sudan
Turkish Sudan (), also known as Turkiyya ( ar, التركية, ''at-Turkiyyah''), describes the rule of the Eyalet and later Khedivate of Egypt over what is now Sudan and South Sudan. It lasted from 1820, when Muhammad Ali Pasha started his co ...
, according to scholars, was a major source of slaves. The Ottoman Empire was one of the main customer
300-350 years ago, ships with black slaves bought by local beys sailed to the town of
Abdera, Thrace
Abdera () is a municipality in the Xanthi regional unit of Thrace, Greece. In classical antiquity, it was a major Greek ''polis'' on the Thracian coast.
The ancient polis is to be distinguished from the municipality, which was named in its hono ...
.
References
External links
Greek Travel Pages - Avato
Populated places in Xanthi (regional unit)
Topeiros
Sudanese diaspora
African diaspora in Europe
{{EMacedoniaThrace-geo-stub