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| Church of Saint Hypatios in Gangra before 1922. |
By Antonios Dorikidis
Gangra or Gangrai was in ancient times the capital of Paphlagonia which flourished in the Byzantine era.
Earlier, around 215 AD under the Emperor Caracalla (188-217) it had issued its own coins with Greek letters.
In the years of Constantine the Great (273-337), the Bishop of Gangra was Hypatios, who had taken part in the First Ecumenical Synod against the heresy of Arius along with other God-bearing Fathers of the Orthodox Church. He lived until the time of Constantine II (316-340), son of Constantine the Great, and suffered a martyr's death by stoning by the heretics and is honored as a Saint by the Orthodox Church.
In the middle of the 4th century (340-370), a local synod was convened in Gangra, which was directed against the Metropolitan of Sebaste Eustathios and his followers, who were called Eustathians.
During the Middle Byzantine period it came successively under the jurisdiction of the theme of Armeniakon, of Boukellarion and of Paphlagonia. It was raided by the Arabs (8th century) and by the Turcomans (11th century). It became a possession of the Turcomans (1101-1133), of the Seljuks (1143, 1169-late 14th century) and then of the Isfendıyaroğulları (Isfendiyar or Candar dynasty), as well as the seat of the usurper (Pseudo) Alexios III Comnenos in 1169/1197. Gangra was conquered by the Ottomans in 1429.
After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, all the old churches were destroyed and completely disappeared from their sites, except for two, one of which is used as a hammam (Turkish bath) by the Turks and the other of the Holy Apostle Philip, which was converted into a mosque (called Çift Minareli Camii).
Gangra is therefore the capital of the homonymous province and belongs to the prefecture of Kastamonu. It had 250 Greek families and approximately 4,250 Turkish families. It was not characterized as an agricultural area. The vineyards that existed belonged to Greek owners where Turkish workers worked. Gangra had two mountains: Elgaz with an altitude of approximately 3,000 meters and Elmali Dag with an altitude of approximately 2,500 meters. There were also two rivers, Datli Su (fresh water) and Anji Su (salt water). Both had abundant fish and flowed into the Gizil Irmak (Aly River).
Gangra had the Castle of Saint George as well as other ancient ruins that we mentioned above. There was the large Church of Saint Hypatios and two chapels, Saint Hypatios located at the Kaya Pass location and the other of Saint Mamas at the site of the Castle of Saint George. Three priests served in the church, Father John, Father Lazaros and Father Cyril. There was also a full elementary school with 500 students. I remember the priest Father Cyril and the teachers Elizabeth Ayvazoglou and Theodosia Stavridou.
The city had an area inhabited by Greeks which in Turkish we called Kayserli Bey Mahlesi. Of the many fountains it had, I remember two, Tasli Cesme and Osmani Cesme. Gangra was a commercial city with large commercial traffic, with many shops, grocery stores and cafes. Greeks did not frequent the cafes owned by the Turks.
Many educated teachers and professors emerged from Gangra. A notable son of Gangra was Demosthenes Ananiades, a graduate of the Genous school. Prominent figures of the Greek population were: Ioannis Georgiadis, Ioannis Stavridis, Loukas Gavriilidis, Pavlos Karakostanoglou and Prodromos Doroukoglou. The urban Greek population of Gangra was dominated by European dances, "the choran", a type of syrtos dance, and Karsilamades, which were danced to the accompaniment of bağlama, violin and oud.
Many of the Greek residents emigrated to other places, to Constantinople, Ankara, Smyrna and some to America.
Source: Pontian Echo, Issue 8. Mr. Antonios Dorikidis was born in Gangra of Kastamonu in 1903 and lived in Antigonos, Florina. Translation by John Sanidopoulos.
