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| ===Banknotes controversy=== | ===Banknotes controversy=== | ||
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| In the early 1990s, the White Tower became the focus of a major controversy between Greece and the newly independent |
In the early 1990s, the White Tower became the focus of a major controversy between Greece and the newly independent former Yugoslav ]. The nationalist ], the leading opposition party in the Republic of Macedonia, proposed the printing of ]s (bills) depicting the Tower. It supported the ] "]" concept at the time; Slav Macedonian nationalists argued that "Solun is ours". However, the government in Skopje rejected the VMRO-DPMNE proposal and adopted a different design for the new ], which it issued in 1992.<ref name="Roudometof">{{cite book |first=Victor |last =Roudometof |year =2002 |title =Collective Memory, National Identity, and Ethnic Conflict |chapter =Toward an Archaeology of the Macedonian Question |edition = |pages = 64 |publisher =Greenwood Publishing |location = |isbn =0275976483 }}</ref> | ||
| Extreme nationalist organizations in the Republic of Macedonia nonetheless went ahead with the printing of unofficial banknotes depicting the White Tower,<ref name="Sassoon">{{cite book | title=Looking Left: European Socialism After the Cold War| last=Sassoon| first=Donald | year=1997| pages=77| publisher=I.B. Tauris| isbn=1860641806)}}</ref> which were sold as souvenirs on the streets of ].<ref>{{cite news | last = Smith | first = Helena | coauthors = | title = Gamble of the Macedonia gambit | work = The Guardian | pages = 23 | language = | publisher = Guardian Newspapers | date = ] | url = | accessdate = }}</ref><ref name="Karakasidou">{{cite book | title=The State, Identity and Violence| last=Karakasidou| first=Anastasia| coauthors=R Brian Ferguson| year=2003| pages=202| publisher=Routledge| isbn=0415274125}}</ref> The printing of the notes became the subject of a rumor in Greece that the currency of the new neighbouring state did in fact depict Greek symbols — a highly controversial point, given the ] with the Republic of Macedonia over its name and flag.<ref name="Borza">{{cite book | title=The Eye Expanded: Life and the Arts in Greco-Roman Antiquity| last=Borza| first=Eugene N.| coauthors=Frances B. Titchener, Richard F. Moorton Jr.| year=1999| pages=256| publisher=University of California Press| isbn=0520210298}}</ref> The notes were never placed in circulation, as they were not ], but the episode nonetheless exacerbated the ill will felt between the two countries and helped to aggravate tensions in the Balkans.<ref name="Marks">{{cite book | title=Tamed Power: Germany in Europe| last=Marks| first=Michael P.| coauthors=Peter J. Katzenstein| year=1997| pages=149| publisher=Cornell University Press| isbn=0801484499}}</ref> | Extreme nationalist organizations in the Republic of Macedonia nonetheless went ahead with the printing of unofficial banknotes depicting the White Tower,<ref name="Sassoon">{{cite book | title=Looking Left: European Socialism After the Cold War| last=Sassoon| first=Donald | year=1997| pages=77| publisher=I.B. Tauris| isbn=1860641806)}}</ref> which were sold as souvenirs on the streets of ].<ref>{{cite news | last = Smith | first = Helena | coauthors = | title = Gamble of the Macedonia gambit | work = The Guardian | pages = 23 | language = | publisher = Guardian Newspapers | date = ] | url = | accessdate = }}</ref><ref name="Karakasidou">{{cite book | title=The State, Identity and Violence| last=Karakasidou| first=Anastasia| coauthors=R Brian Ferguson| year=2003| pages=202| publisher=Routledge| isbn=0415274125}}</ref> The printing of the notes became the subject of a rumor in Greece that the currency of the new neighbouring state did in fact depict Greek symbols — a highly controversial point, given the ] with the Republic of Macedonia over its name and flag.<ref name="Borza">{{cite book | title=The Eye Expanded: Life and the Arts in Greco-Roman Antiquity| last=Borza| first=Eugene N.| coauthors=Frances B. Titchener, Richard F. Moorton Jr.| year=1999| pages=256| publisher=University of California Press| isbn=0520210298}}</ref> The notes were never placed in circulation, as they were not ], but the episode nonetheless exacerbated the ill will felt between the two countries and helped to aggravate tensions in the Balkans.<ref name="Marks">{{cite book | title=Tamed Power: Germany in Europe| last=Marks| first=Michael P.| coauthors=Peter J. Katzenstein| year=1997| pages=149| publisher=Cornell University Press| isbn=0801484499}}</ref> | ||
Revision as of 06:19, 31 March 2009
The White Tower of Thessaloniki (Template:Lang-el Lefkos Pyrgos, is a monument and museum on the waterfront of the city of Thessaloniki, capital of the region of Macedonia in northern Greece. Originally constructed by the Ottomans to fortify the city's harbour, it became a notorious prison and scene of mass executions during the period of Ottoman rule. It was substantially remodeled and its exterior was whitewashed after Greece gained control of the city in 1912, turning the former "Tower of Blood" into the present-day White Tower. It has been adopted as the symbol of the city, and also as a symbol of Greek sovereignty over Macedonia.
Physical attributes
The White Tower takes the form of a cylindrical drum 23 m (75 ft) in diameter with a height of 27 m (89 ft) above ground level, on top of which is a turret 12 m (39 ft) in diameter and 6 m (20 ft) high. Some of the embrasures in the outer wall of the tower are reached by a spiral ramp; others are accessed from a central room on each of the six floors. The turret houses a platform with a diameter of 10 m (33 ft), and the platform at the top of the main tower in front of the turret is about 5 m (16 ft) wide.
The tower has been altered substantially over the years. Early illustrations show that it was originally covered by a conical roof, like similar towers in the Yedikule Fortress and Rumelihisarı fortress in Istanbul. Until its demolition in 1917, a chemise stood at the foot of the tower, supporting the heavy guns and enclosing an area at least three times the diameter of the main tower. Octagonal turrets on the chemise and caponiers at ground level provided flanking fire around the tower. It is unclear whether the chemise was part of the original scheme for the tower or was a later addition.
History
The tower, which once guarded the eastern end of the city's sea walls, was for many years attributed to Venice, to which the Byzantines ceded Thessaloniki in 1423. It is now known definitely that the tower was constructed by the Ottomans some time after the army of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent captured Thessaloniki in 1430. Until 1912, an inscription in Ottoman Turkish verse above the door dated the structure to AH 942 (1535-1536). The historian Franz Babinger speculated that the work was designed by the great Ottoman architect Sinan who is known to have built fortifications, including a similar tower at the Albanian port Valona in 1537. The present tower likely replaced an older Byzantine tower mentioned by the 12th century archbishop Eustathios.
The Tower was used by the Ottomans successively as a fort, garrison and a prison. In 1826, at the order of the Sultan Mahmud II, there was a massacre of the prisoners in the Tower. Owing to the "countless victims of Ottoman torturers and executioners", the tower acquired the name "Tower of Blood" or "The Red Tower", which it kept until the end of the 19th century.
The Tower was for centuries part of the walls of the old city of Thessaloniki (known as Selanik by the Ottomans), and separated the Jewish quarter of the city from the cemeteries of the Muslims and Jews. The city walls were demolished in 1866. When Thessaloniki was annexed from the Ottoman Empire to the Greek State during the Balkan War of 1912, the tower was whitewashed as a symbolic gesture of cleansing, and acquired its present name. King George I of Greece was assassinated not far from the White Tower in March 1913.
The Tower is now a buff colour but has retained the name White Tower. It now stands on Thessaloniki's waterfront boulevard, Nikis (Victory) Street. It houses a Byzantine museum and is one of the city's leading tourist attractions. The Tower is under the administration of the Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities of the Greek Ministry of Culture.
Banknotes controversy
In the early 1990s, the White Tower became the focus of a major controversy between Greece and the newly independent former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The nationalist VMRO–DPMNE, the leading opposition party in the Republic of Macedonia, proposed the printing of banknotes (bills) depicting the Tower. It supported the irredentist "United Macedonia" concept at the time; Slav Macedonian nationalists argued that "Solun is ours". However, the government in Skopje rejected the VMRO-DPMNE proposal and adopted a different design for the new Macedonian denar, which it issued in 1992.
Extreme nationalist organizations in the Republic of Macedonia nonetheless went ahead with the printing of unofficial banknotes depicting the White Tower, which were sold as souvenirs on the streets of Skopje. The printing of the notes became the subject of a rumor in Greece that the currency of the new neighbouring state did in fact depict Greek symbols — a highly controversial point, given the dispute with the Republic of Macedonia over its name and flag. The notes were never placed in circulation, as they were not legal tender, but the episode nonetheless exacerbated the ill will felt between the two countries and helped to aggravate tensions in the Balkans.
Notes
- ^ Tracy, James D (2000). City Walls: The Urban Enceinte in Global Perspective. Cambridge University Press. pp. 303–307. ISBN 0521652219.
- Kiel, Machiel (1973). "A Note on the Exact Date of Construction of the White Tower of Thessaloniki". Balkan Studies. 14: 325–357.
- ^ Glenny, p.181
- Roudometof, Victor (2002). "Toward an Archaeology of the Macedonian Question". Collective Memory, National Identity, and Ethnic Conflict. Greenwood Publishing. p. 64. ISBN 0275976483.
- Sassoon, Donald (1997). Looking Left: European Socialism After the Cold War. I.B. Tauris. p. 77. ISBN 1860641806).
{{cite book}}: Check|isbn=value: invalid character (help) - Smith, Helena (1992-01-31). "Gamble of the Macedonia gambit". The Guardian. Guardian Newspapers. p. 23.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - Karakasidou, Anastasia (2003). The State, Identity and Violence. Routledge. p. 202. ISBN 0415274125.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - Borza, Eugene N. (1999). The Eye Expanded: Life and the Arts in Greco-Roman Antiquity. University of California Press. p. 256. ISBN 0520210298.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - Marks, Michael P. (1997). Tamed Power: Germany in Europe. Cornell University Press. p. 149. ISBN 0801484499.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help)
References
- Glenny, Misha (2001). "A maze of conspiracy". The Balkans: Nationalism, War and the Great Powers, 1804-1999 (Penguin 2001 softcover ed.). New York, New York: Penguin. p. 181. ISBN 0140233776.
- Simons, Marlise (February 3, 1992). "As Republic Flexes, Greeks Tense Up". New York Times.
40°37′34.93″N 22°56′54.34″E / 40.6263694°N 22.9484278°E / 40.6263694; 22.9484278
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