Didymoteicho and The Bayezid Mosque.

Whenever possible we like to travel up to Evros, Z’s home area, on 20^th July to celebrate the name day of the Prophet Ilias. Tradition is on the eve of the celebration to collect at the church on the hill, dedicated to him. The devout observe the liturgy, while the not-so-devout meet up in the churchyard and exchange news.

                          

This time I decided to give you some information on the nearby town with the imposing name of Didymoteicho - from didymos: twin and teichos: wall. First recorded in 591-2 AD, the name most likely came from the improved fortification of the city during the reign of Justinian 1^st    (527-565). It is situated on the west banks of the River Evros, very close to the Turkish border. With rich soil and well watered, there is good agricultural land around.

 This area has been inhabited from the Neolithic times and was an important Thracian and Hellenistic town. In the early 2^nd century, the Roman Emperor Trajan built a new city, calling it Plotinopolis after his wife. Pompeia Plotina. The ruins of this ancient city are known as the Kabe, or castle in Turkish; the Komotini Museum houses a solid gold bust of Emperor Septimius Severus found on that site in 1965.

As well as being a fertile plain, the area afforded good transportation: the River Erythropotamus, the River Evros and part of the Via Egnatia which ran from Rome to Konstantinople. In the 12^th century, Crusaders either used the town to replenish their supplies …. or ransacked it. Today the local Hotel Plotini bears witness to the name of yore.

 But the building that fascinates me is the Celebi Sultan Mehmed Mosque, also known as the The Great Mosque or the Bayezid Mosque.

                                          

  It was completed in March 1420 as inscribed above the main entrance. The inscriptions on the side entrance record the following names:

Ivaz ibn Bayezid  - the architect

Dogan Ibn Abdullah – builder (donor)

Seyid Ali – local qadi or judge who oversaw the construction.

 The early 15th century oak roof, in the shape of a 4-sided pyramid, was considered by the A. Bakirtzis, writing on Ottoman architecture in Greece, as, ‘one of the most important wooden monuments in the world.’

                         

                      

 In November 2010, the Central Archaeological Council resumed earlier restoration work, using both national and EU sources of funding. Tragically, on 22nd March 2017, during the course of this work, the mosque caught fire and the entire roof was destroyed.  Currently, the building remains in the same sad state. Let’s hope the restoration work resumes soon as it is much too important a part of the town history to be left to fall into decline.

One thing I love is that when you meet up, after initial greetings, one of the locals is bound to say ‘Allo?’- ‘So, what else (is new)?’  It’s as if you are continuing a previous conversation even though you may not have seen each other for years. Like those twin walls, It simply reinforces our strong, social or familial bonds. And, like the storks, we like to return on a regular basis.   

                                                  

 As we prepare to leave, we exchange one final wish : ‘Tou chronou’ – ‘ Till next year!’