Mega Dereio () is a village in the central part of the Evros regional unit in Greece. It is part of the municipal unit of

Orfeas Orfeas ( el, Ορφέας), named after the mythical musician Orpheus, is a former municipality in the Evros regional unit, East Macedonia and Thrace, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Soufli, of whic ...

within the municipality of

Soufli Soufli ( el, Σουφλί) is a town in the Evros regional unit, Greece, notable for the silk industry that flourished there in the 19th century. The town stands on the eastern slope of the twin hill of Prophet Elias, one of the easternmost spurs ...

. Together with 6 other villages, it forms the community of

Mikro Dereio Mikro Dereio ( el, Μικρό Δέρειο) is a village and a community in the central part of the Evros regional unit in Greece. It is situated on the left bank of the river Erythropotamos, in the Eastern Rhodope Mountains. The border with Bul ...

. It is situated near the upper course of the river

Erythropotamos The Erythropotamos ( el, Ερυθροπόταμος, meaning "red river") or Luda reka ( bg, Луда река, meaning "mad river") is a river in southern Bulgaria (Haskovo Province) and northeastern Greece ( Evros regional unit). Its Turkish na ...

, in the Eastern

Rhodope Mountains The Rhodopes (; bg, Родопи, ; el, Ροδόπη, ''Rodopi''; tr, Rodoplar) are a mountain range in Southeastern Europe, and the largest by area in Bulgaria, with over 83% of its area in the southern part of the country and the remainder in ...

. In 2011 its population was 528. The

Greek National Road 53 Greek National Road 53 (abbr: EO53) is a national highway of Greece. It connects Alexandroupoli with Ormenio on the Bulgarian border, passing through Aisymi, Mikro Dereio, Metaxades and Kyprinos Kyprinos ( el, Κυπρίνος) is a town and a for ...

(Alexandroupoli – Mikro Dereio – Kyprinos – Ormenio) passes through the village.

Population

History

The village was founded by the Ottoman Turks in the 14th century. It was known as ''Büyük Dervent'' in Turkish, and Голям Дервент ''Golyam Dervent'' in Bulgarian. According to Anastas Razboynikov, in 1830 the village numbered 700 Bulgarian and 50 Turk houses, in 1878 400 Bulgarian and 80 Turks houses and in 1912 420 Bulgarian and 80 Turk houses. According to professor

Lyubomir Miletich Lyubomir Miletich ( bg, Любомир Милетич) (14 January 1863 – 1 June 1937) was a leading Bulgarian linguist, ethnographer, dialectologist and historian, as well as the chairman of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences from 1926 to ...

, the 1912 population had around 300 Bulgarian families and 100 Turk families. In August 1913 the village was attacked by Turkish troops and irregulars and despite the resistance of the local Bulgarians the bigger part of Golyam Dervent was burned. Many of the villagers were killed, many women were raped. Some residents found shelter in Doganhisar,

Dedeagatch Alexandroupolis ( el, Αλεξανδρούπολη, ), Alexandroupoli, or Alexandrople is a city in Greece and the capital of the Evros regional unit. It is the largest city in Western Thrace and the region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace. It h ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

. After a brief period of Bulgarian rule between 1913 and 1919, it became part of Greece. As a result its Bulgarian and Turkish population was exchanged with Greek refugees, mainly from today's Turkey. 300 Bulgarians moved northward into

Burgas Burgas ( bg, Бургас, ), sometimes transliterated as ''Bourgas'', is the second largest city on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast in the region of Northern Thrace and the fourth-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia, Plovdiv, and Varna, with a popu ...

, Mokren (4 families), Zagortsi (4 families), Veselie, Mamarčevo, Sokolentsi (2 families) and other villages in Bulgaria.Райчевски, Стоян. Източна Тракия. История, етноси, преселения XV-ХХ век, С. 2002, с. 246, 251–252, 267 The name of the village was translated into Greek and became Mega Dereio.

External links

Mega Dereio on GTP Travel Pages

References

{{Orfeas Populated places in Evros (regional unit)

Population

History

See also

External links

References