Salonica, City of Ghosts: Christians, Muslims and Jews, 1430-1950The history of a rarely written about, bewilderingly exotic city: 500 years of clashing cultures and peoples, from the glories of Suleiman the Magnificent to its nadir under Nazi occupation. Salonica is the point where the wonders and horrors of the Orient and Europe have met over the centuries. Written with a Pepysian sense of the texture of daily life in the city through the ages, and with breathtakingly detailed historical research, Salonica will evoke the sights, smells, habits, songs and responses of a unique city and its inhabitants. The history of Salonica is one of forgotten alternatives and wrong choices, of identities assumed and discarded. For centuries Muslims, Christians, and Jews have succeeded each other in ascendancy, each people intent on erasing the presence of their predecessors, and the result is a city of cultural traditions and memories of extreme violence and genocide, one that sits on the overlapping hinterlands of both Europe and the East. |
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Page 85
Relatively few Christians ( or Jews ) with families in Salonica appear to have
abandoned their faith . To judge from the mid - eighteenth century , which is when
the first data became available , the overall numbers of converts were not great ...
Relatively few Christians ( or Jews ) with families in Salonica appear to have
abandoned their faith . To judge from the mid - eighteenth century , which is when
the first data became available , the overall numbers of converts were not great ...
Page 85
The primacy of the ruling faith was axiomatic , and any public assertion of the
superiority of Christianity over Islam was punished with severity . But even here
Ottoman and Orthodox interests fitted strangely together , since the church , itself
...
The primacy of the ruling faith was axiomatic , and any public assertion of the
superiority of Christianity over Islam was punished with severity . But even here
Ottoman and Orthodox interests fitted strangely together , since the church , itself
...
Page 85
Nicetas explained that it was only zeal for the true faith that motivated him , and
he began to debate the merits of the two religions . Other Turks asked him if he
had been forced to do this , and this too he denied . But the mufti only became
truly ...
Nicetas explained that it was only zeal for the true faith that motivated him , and
he began to debate the merits of the two religions . Other Turks asked him if he
had been forced to do this , and this too he denied . But the mufti only became
truly ...
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User Review - vguy - LibraryThingThe perfect book to read on first visit to 'thessaloniki. Unfolds the many layers of this extraordinary "border town", and how the complexity got shaved away over the course of the 20th century by ... Read full review
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User Review - TrgLlyLibrarian - LibraryThingI learned a lot from this book, and I admire Mazower's ability to form such a complete account of Salonica. Read full review
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Salonica, City of Ghosts: Christians, Muslims, and Jews, 1430-1950 Mark Mazower Limited preview - 2006 |
Common terms and phrases
Albanian allowed Anatolia army arrived Athens authorities Balkan became become British brought building Bulgarian Byzantine called capital carried central centre century changed chief chief rabbi Christian church city's close consul converted early empire entire Europe European fact faith fire forced French German Greece Greek groups hand head houses hundred imperial important inhabitants Istanbul Italy Jewish Jews known land late later least less lived Macedonia March mosque Muslim noted officers once organized Ottoman Pasha passed past police political population Porte quarter rabbi refugees religious remained reported rule Salonica side streets sultan Thessaloniki thousand took town trade travellers troops Turkish Turks turned villages walls women workers wrote young
Bibliographic information
| Title | Salonica, City of Ghosts: Christians, Muslims and Jews, 1430-1950 |
| Author | Mark Mazower |
| Edition | illustrated |
| Publisher | HarperCollins, 2004 |
| Original from | the University of Michigan |
| Digitized | 25 Jun 2008 |
| ISBN | 0007120230, 9780007120239 |
| Length | 525 pages |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |