Giles Milton - Paradise Lost: Smyrna 1922 - the Destruction of Islams City of Tolerance

Giles Milton

Giles Milton is a writer and historian. He is the bestselling author of Nathaniels Nutmeg, Big Chief Elizabeth, The Riddle and the Knight, White Gold, Samurai William, Paradise Lost and, most recently, Wolfram. He has also written two novels and two childrens books, one of them illustrated by his wife Alexandra. He Lives in South London.

First published in Great Britain in 2009 Hodder and Stoughton

An Hachette UK company

Copyright 2008 Giles Milton

The right of Giles Milton to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library

ISBN 978 1 444 73179 8

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For Guy

Ex Oriente Lux (Out of the Orient, light)

The motto of Smyrnas Ionian University, due to open its doors to all irrespective of race or religion in September 1922

The strange thing was, he said, how they screamed every night at midnight... We were in the harbour and they were on the pier and at midnight they started screaming. We used to turn the searchlight on them to quiet them. That always did the trick.

Ernest Hemingway, On the Quai at Smyrna

List of Characters

British

Levantine

American

Greek

Turkish

Armenian

Acknowledgements

The research and writing of Paradise Lost would not have been possible without assistance from people in many different countries. I am especially grateful to the descendants of the great Levantine dynasties of Smyrna now scattered across the globe who went out of their way to help me locate the unpublished letters and diaries of their grandparents and great grandparents. It should be put on record that the opinions expressed in Paradise Lost are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of those who helped with my research, some of whom still live in the modern city of Izmir.

In Turkey, I owe a debt of gratitude to Brian Giraud, whose helpfulness, knowledge and network of friends and acquaintances opened many doors during my time in Izmir. He introduced me to Rene Steinbuchel, to whom I am most grateful for allowing me to photocopy the treasured last diary of her great aunt, Hortense Wood. Rene also supplied me with many of her familys letters, as well as the graphic despatches written by Fernand de Cramer. As far as I am aware, none of this important material has been used in any book previously written about the events of 1922.

Thank you to Daphne Aliberti for sharing her reminiscences about her Smyrniot forebears over a pleasurable coffee morning; to Willy Buttigieg, the British consul in Izmir, whose family have lived in the city for generations and who proved a fount of knowledge. He set up an interview with the nonagenarian Alfred Simes, for which I am most grateful.

Thank you to Esma Dino Deyer, daughter-in-law of Rahmi Bey, with whom I spent a fascinating afternoon at her grandiose villa. I came away with the impression that I had caught a tantalising glimpse of old Smyrna the city as it was before the destruction. I also wish to offer my thanks to Bulent Senoak; to Patrick Clarke, one of the last remaining Levantines still working in the fig trade; and to local journalist, Melih Gursoy.

In Greece, I am indebted to Michalis Varlas, Manager of the Genealogy project at the Foundation of the Hellenic World. He shared with me his research into Greeces venture into Asia Minor and introduced me to Petros Brussalis and other elderly survivors from the events of 1922. I am also most grateful to Stavros Anestides and the staff and librarians of the excellent Centre for Asia Minor Studies. Thank you to Daphne Kapsali for accompanying me to Athens and acting as interpreter and translator. All of the eyewitness accounts contained in the important Greek anthologies, Exodos and Martyries (full references can be found in the Notes and Sources) were translated by her. I also wish to thank the staff of the Gennadius Library in Athens, where many rare pamphlets (both Greek and Turkish) are held.

In North America, I wish to thank Marjorie Housepain Dobkin, who shared her Smyrna researches with me and whose excellent Smyrna, 1922, remains required reading. Thank you to Barbara Jackson for supplying me with Ian Wallaces reminiscences; and to John Hobbins of McGill University, Quebec, for his help and advice. Special thanks to Dr. Dora Sakayan, whose excellent, illuminating and well-received book,