Mavrochori (, ''

Katharevousa Katharevousa (, , literally "purifying anguage) is a conservative form of the Modern Greek language conceived in the late 18th century as both a literary language and a compromise between Ancient Greek and the contemporary vernacular, Demotic ...

'' Μαυροχώριον), until 1927 known as Tisova (, ), is an abandoned village in the Drama regional unit,

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. The settlement, which became part of the community of Mylopetra in 1931, was dissolved in 1940.

Geography

Mavrochori is situated in the

Chech Chech () or Chechko () is a Bulgarian term describing a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe in modern-day Bulgaria and Greece. It consists of about 60 settlements and was traditionally mostly Pomak ...

region on the South-Western slopes of the

Rhodope Mountains The Rhodopes (; , ; , ''Rodopi''; ) 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 Greece. Golyam Perelik is its highest peak ...

, about 1,5 km south of the Pochan River near the border with

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

. The nearest populated villages are Brashten and Tuhovishta in Bulgaria and

Potamoi In ancient Greek religion and mythology, rivers () were often personified as deities, and in a number of ancient Greek cities river gods were the subject of local worship. In Hesiod's ''Theogony'', the river gods are the offspring of the Titans ...

in Greece. The ruins of the village of Pochan are on the other side of the Pochan River. Mavrochori consists of two quarters - the newer ''Tsiropska'' and the older ''Parpelska'' where, according to one of the legends, Mehmed Sinap once lived. The main

Roman road Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...

from

Thrace Thrace (, ; ; ; ) is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe roughly corresponding to the province of Thrace in the Roman Empire. Bounded by the Balkan Mountains to the north, the Aegean Sea to the south, and the Black Se ...

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

passes through the Tsiropska quarter where a

Roman bridge The ancient Romans were the first civilization to build large, permanent bridges. Early Roman bridges used techniques introduced by Etruscan immigrants, but the Romans improved those skills, developing and enhancing methods such as arches and k ...

is to be found.

History

The village has been first mentioned in an Ottoman document from 1464-65 under the name ''Tisina with Papelova''. Papelova or Papil later became integrated part of the village and the name evolved to Parpelska Mahala. In this document all inhabitants of the two villages are listed. The population consists of Muslims and non-Muslims. The Muslims are just one family where the non-Muslims are 31 households, 6 unmarried and 4 widows. The village is mentioned once again in 1478-79 as ''Tisova'' with non-Muslim population: 85 households, 6 unmarried and 4 widows. The village appears again in a registry from 1519 with 46 households, 9 unmarried and 5 widows. Tisovo is also mentioned in 1530 with its population consisting of both Muslims and non-Muslims. The Muslims are 2 households and 1 unmarried whereas the non-Muslims are 37 households, 6 unmarried and 4 widows. Tisovо is also mentioned in an Ottoman

Jizya Jizya (), or jizyah, is a type of taxation levied on non-Muslim subjects of a state governed by Sharia, Islamic law. The Quran and hadiths mention jizya without specifying its rate or amount,Sabet, Amr (2006), ''The American Journal of Islamic Soc ...

registry from the 13th of March 1660. The register lists the number of

units for each village of the Nevrokop

Wilayah A wilayah ( or ''wilāya'', plural ; Urdu, Pashto and ; ) is an administrative division, usually translated as "state", " province" or occasionally as " governorate". The word comes from the Arabic root "''w-l-y''", "to govern": a '' wāli''� ...

whereas Mavrochori (''Tisova'') is listed as a village with 15 such. The village is mentioned again in 1723 with 16 Muslim households and a

Mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

. The village is also mentioned in the book ''Ethnographie des Vilayets d'Andrianople, de Monastir et de Salonique'' published in 1878 which lists the number of the male population as of 1873. Mavrochori (''Tisovo'') is registered as a village with 140 male

Pomaks Pomaks (; Macedonian: Помаци ; ) are Bulgarian-speaking Muslims inhabiting Bulgaria, northwestern Turkey, and northeastern Greece. The strong ethno-confessional minority in Bulgaria is recognized officially as Bulgarian Muslims by th ...

and 50 households. According to

Vasil Kanchov Vasil Kanchov (26 July 1862 – 6 February 1902) was a geographer, ethnographer and teacher who served as Minister of Education of Bulgaria. Early life and education Vasil Kanchov was born in Vratsa. Upon graduating from High school i ...

, as of the end of the 19th century, there were 200 houses in the village. He mentions that Mavrochori (''Tisovo'') is the largest village in

and that a weekly bazaar was held near the village. In his book ''Macedonia — ethnography and statistics'' published in 1900 Kanchov writes that the number of the inhabitants of Tisovo is 400 - all of them

Bulgarian Muslims The Muslim Bulgarians (, ''Bǎlgari-mohamedani'', as of recently also Българи-мюсюлмани, ''Bǎlgari-mjusjulmani'', locally called '' Pomak'', ''ahryan'', ''poganets'', ''marvak'', or '' poturnak'') are Bulgarians who follow the f ...

. At the end of the 19th century Mavrochori (''Tisovo'') is mentioned as a village with 162 male

Pomak Pomaks (; Macedonian: Помаци ; ) are Bulgarian-speaking Muslims inhabiting Bulgaria, northwestern Turkey, and northeastern Greece. The strong ethno-confessional minority in Bulgaria is recognized officially as Bulgarian Muslims by th ...

inhabitants and 50 houses by

Stefan Verković Stefan may refer to: * Stefan (given name) * Stefan (surname) * Ștefan, a Romanian given name and a surname * Štefan, a Slavic given name and surname * Stefan (footballer) (born 1988), Brazilian footballer * Stefan Heym, pseudonym of German writ ...

. After the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...

Mavrochori was acceded to

in 1913. The village (''Tisovo, Τίσοβα'') was populated by 682 inhabitants in 1913 according to a

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

statistic. According to the statistic from 1920 at that time the village had 405 inhabitants. In 1923/4 the Pomaks were expelled from the village to Turkey and settled in the town of Demirköy according to the

Treaty of Lausanne The Treaty of Lausanne (, ) is a peace treaty negotiated during the Lausanne Conference of 1922–1923 and signed in the Palais de Rumine in Lausanne, Switzerland, on 24 July 1923. The treaty officially resolved the conflict that had initially ...

and

Greek refugees Greek refugees is a collective term used to refer to the more than one million Greek Orthodox natives of Asia Minor, Thrace and the Black Sea areas who fled during the Greek genocide (1914-1923) and Greece's later defeat in the Greco-Turkish W ...

from Turkey were settled in their place. Up to 1928 the number of the refugees settled in Mavrochori had reached 47 and the number of the Greek families 15. In 1927 the name of the village was changed from Tisova (''Τίσοβα'') to Mavrochori (''Μαυροχώρι''). In 1928 the population had reached 187 inhabitants (including about 40 soldiers stationed at the border outpost in the village) and in 1940 - 87 inhabitants (including about 20 soldiers). The village was abandoned during the

Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War () took place from 1946 to 1949. The conflict, which erupted shortly after the end of World War II, consisted of a Communism, Communist-led uprising against the established government of the Kingdom of Greece. The rebels decl ...

and was never reconstructed.

References

External links

* {{commons category-inline, Tisovo
The village of Tisovo and the Pochan Cliffs
- a movie in YouTube Populated places in Drama (regional unit) Kato Nevrokopi Former populated places in Greece Chech