Crossing the Aegean
Hafıza Merkezi and the Legal Centre Lesvos, in collaboration with Community Peacemaker Teams, have joined forces to envision a transnational Aegean that opposes xenophobia, racism, and anti-migrant rhetoric stemming from the concept of national borders.Our podcast, “Crossing the Aegean,” delves into the 1923 Population Exchange between Greece and Turkey, a landmark event that occurred a century ago.Throughout our podcast series, we’ll feature interviews with academics and activists specializing in the history of exchange, transnational migration, and critical refugee studies. Additionally, we’ll hear from individuals who recount their family’s history of forced migration, allowing them to shape and r...
The Epilogue of A Transnational Podcast: Crossing the Aegean Through Storytelling
Welcome to the final episode of “Crossing the Aegean: A Century of People on the Move.” It’s been an incredible journey through 14 episodes, and today, as we wrap up the series, we’d like to offer a reflection on everything we’ve explored and share what we’ve learned along the way.
In this episode, all those who have had a hand in making of the series will tell their stories of making a transnationaş podcast in English, Greek and Turkish: Christina Karvouni, Deniz Uludağ, Noémi Lévy-Aksu, Mert Koçak, Merve Bakdur...
“We Are All Migrants Somehow”: Musical Communities of the Exchange and the Node of Mytilini
Welcome to the new episode of our podcast series "Crossing the Aegean: A Century of People on the Move," where we continue to dive into the musical cartography of the Aegean. In this episode, Maria Seitanidou guides us into the musical communities of Northern Greece, Macedonia, Pontus, and Aegean. Maria Seitanidou is a local musician based in Mytilene, Lesvos, and a primary school teacher. She organizes and teaches traditional singing and dancing, and she also orchestrates traditional choirs.
Maria took us into a journey of music that started for her when she was...
Sounds of Migration: Music, Memory, and Identity in the Aegean
Welcome to the new episode of our podcast series "Crossing the Aegean: A Century of People on the Move," where we explore the historical and contemporary dimensions of migration in the Aegean. In this episode, we continue our exploration of the deep connection between forced migration, memory, and music with our guest, Stelios Moraïtis, a French-Greek PhD student in Social Anthropology.
Stelios is a member of the Migrations and Society Research Unit (URMIS) at the University of Côte d’Azur. He conducted fieldwork for a year and a half in Greece and...
"Maybe Only the Walls Know Now": Listening to Migration's Memory through Music
Welcome to the new episode of our podcast series “Crossing the Aegean: A Century of People on the Move.” In this episode, we continue to explore the impact of the Population Exchange on collective memory through music. The forced migration of 1923 displaced thousands of people from their homes, leaving behind not only material losses but also intergenerational trauma. During this process, music became both a means of expressing the suffering of the displaced and a tool for preserving and reconstructing their identities. We will also share some examples of music from Imbros and the wider Aegean region.
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Stories from the Inheritors of the Exchange IV: From Thrace to Macedonia and Greece
Welcome back to ‘Crossing the Aegean: A Century of People on the Move’, where we explore the historical and contemporary trajectory of migration across the Aegean. In this episode, we explore the memory of the Population Exchange through the perspectives of those with relatives who were part of the exchange. We focus on what it means to carry the legacy of the Exchange in one's lineage and how it influences people’s understanding of migration today. Additionally, we discuss how the Exchange has shaped the heterogeneous identities in the nations of Turkey and Greece.
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Stories from the Inheritors of the Exchange III: “All the Food is Spicy!”
Welcome back to 'Crossing the Aegean: A Century of People on the Move,' where we embark on an exploration of the historical and contemporary trajectory of migration across the Aegean. In this episode, once again we will delve into the Exchange, its aftermath, and its memory today by hearing from individuals who have or had relatives involved in the Exchange. We aim to understand and analyze what it means to carry the legacy of the Exchange in one's lineage and how it influences people’s way of relating to migration today.
This week's guest is...
Different Profiteers, Same Migration Route: Migration Industries at the Aegean
Welcome back to our podcast series, "Crossing the Aegean: A Century of People on the Move," where we discuss the historical and contemporary impacts of migration in the Aegean region. We continue to talk about the economic changes that the population exchange caused in the region. In the ninth episode, we will focus on how migration has developed into an industry, how this industry has grown over the years, and who has benefited from it.
This week's guest is Mert Koçak, who completed his PhD in 2023 in the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology a...
The Transformation of Urban Spaces During the Population Exchange: Migrant Neigbourhoods of Mytilini
Welcome back to our podcast series, "Crossing the Aegean: A Century of People on the Move"! In our previous episode, before a brief hiatus, we discussed the Greeks of Istanbul and the narratives of those who migrated as well as those who remained. In the eighth episode, we will focus on how the exchange and the migrants rebuilt the urban geography and public space when they arrived in Greece, especially in Mitilini, the main town of Lesvos. Dimitra Glenti, our guest this week, studied architecture at the National Technical University of Athens. She completed her PhD in Social Anthropology and H...
Echoes of the Exchange: Greeks of Istanbul after 1923
Welcome back to our podcast series "Crossing the Aegean: A Century of People on the Move"! We continue to talk about the population that were not part of the exchange, but were greatly affected by its nationalist spirit. Last episode we talked about the experiences of the Greeks of Imbros.
In this episode, we host Foti Benlisoy and turn our attention to the Greeks of Istanbul. Foti graduated from Istanbul University Faculty of Law. He conducted his graduate and doctoral studies in the history department of Boğaziçi University. He has been wor...
Echoes of the Exchange: the Greeks of Imbros after 1923
Welcome back to our podcast series, "Crossing the Aegean: A Century of People on the Move"! In previous episodes, we delved into the stories of those with family histories tied to the exchange. In this episode, we explore the impact on Imbros, a region whose population was not included in the exchange but was profoundly affected by its nationalist fervor.
Our guest for this episode is Stelyo Berber, a musician born in Imbros. After years spent in Athens and Istanbul, he returned to Imbros and now serves as a music teacher and principal at Aya...
