Intertwined Settlements, Different Memories

Lithri and Ildırı are two villages on the same geographical site. They share a history similar to that of many settlements that were part of the population exchange in Aegean Anatolia: their inhabitants were uprooted, displaced, and randomly resettled. In this case, Lithri represents the home left behind, while Ildırı is the place of resettlement. Both names are derived from the same ancient name, Erythrai, yet they sound only vaguely similar. The resettlers inhabited the former's buildings, gardens, farms, and seashores, but they did not continue the lives of its former inhabitants. Nevertheless, it is not possible to understand one without the other. The exchanged settlements were contested spaces that reflected the violence and rupture of the early 20th century. Politicians, commentators, and many historians consider the 1923 Lausanne Convention the starting point of the compulsory population exchange between Greece and Turkey. However, oral history interviews, archival documents, and secondary sources reveal that while the compulsory population exchange was intended as the final and decisive measure, it inadvertently overshadowed the evictions and resettlements that occurred before and after its enactment. The intertwined history of Lithri and Ildırı is a lens through which we can understand how these events affect the inhabitants and their places as well as realise the scale of economic, social, cultural, and ecological changes they underwent in the context of forced migrations.