Eastern Thrace Research Articles

Earliest Occupation at Aşağı Pınar: Layer 7

Toward the end of the last Ice Age, the transition from hunting and gathering to a settled life based on food production was the first step in radical changes that would determine the history of humanity. A very dynamic process was experienced during the approximately 4,000 year-long period known as the Neolithic; as the main elements that determined the Neolithic lifestyle formed over time, the Neolithic geography also tended toward a continuous expansion. The earliest settlements in Eastern Thrace correspond to a process where it was culturally settled with all the rules of the Neolithic lifestyle, and these settlements expanded their geography to the Balkan Peninsula. As one of the earliest settlements in Eastern Thrace, Aşağı Pınar is located along the southern outskirts of the Istranca Mountains and the northern part of the Ergene Basin. The period of the first occupation in Aşağı Pınar has been dated to 6000-5750 BC. This period corresponds to the Late Neolithic/ Early Chalcolithic Period of the Anatolian timeline. This paper discusses the earliest settlement phase known as Layer 7 in Aşağı Pınar through its architectural features. This period represents the early stages of settled life in the Balkans, and this paper will emphasize the characteristics of the settlement in Aşağı Pınar and the general evaluations of life during this period.

Primary education stakeholders’ views on the European Union during the Greek economic crisis

The paper presents Greek primary education stakeholders’ views regarding their quality of life and EU-related issues before and during the euro crisis. The study took place in 2016, and the population was primary education teachers and parents of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace region. Respondents answered sets of questions for two different years: 2009, before austerity measures were applied, and 2016, during the crisis. Responses denote dissatisfaction with their quality of life and the EU in 2016. The findings show significant shifts of views between 2009 and 2016 regarding the institution of the EU, the euro, the relationship of Greece with the EU and European citizenship. 2016 statements reveal increased euroscepticism in teachers and parents’ views and a large proportion of undecided respondents. However, it seems that more respondents adopt a pro-European attitude regarding the common future of Greece and the EU in 2016. All in all, findings show that, in 2016, respondents are divided into pro-European and eurosceptic, which denotes diffuse attitudes towards the European construct and weak identification with European citizenship. Change during crisis can serve as an opportunity for social innovations and education initiatives that will restore trust on the institution of the EU.

Branding Places through Experiential Tourism: A Survey on the Features of the Experiential Product and Enterprises in Greek Regions

The focus of experiential tourism is for the consumer or visitor to experience the tourist destination and to actively interact with local people, cultures, and the place itself. In fact, it can be seen as a form of tourism that builds upon place identities, both tangible and intangible, by energetically introducing the visitor to the culture, history, nature, traditions, cuisine, and social life of a place. In doing so, the emotional, physical, or spiritual experience of the consumer becomes a dynamic source of place branding. The paper investigates the main features of experiential tourism in the Greek regions of Central Macedonia, and Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, and discusses their interactions with place identity. Our methodology consists of a qualitative survey based on semi-structured interviews with stakeholders and a thematic analysis to trace the main features of the experiential product and enterprises that develop such products. The paper concludes that experiential tourism in Greece bears many of the features highlighted in the literature. Furthermore, our findings underline some new aspects, especially the links between the experiential product, small and well-qualified enterprises, and a place’s tangible and intangible identities, which make experiential tourism an opportunity for locales and their branding.

Operation assessment of a hybrid solar-biomass energy system with absorption refrigeration scenarios

ABSTRACT Refrigeration systems claim increasing research attention as the climate crisis intensifies. One of the most well-established viable and feasible solutions is solar cooling, as the necessary cooling energy is produced by exploiting the available solar irradiance. The utilization of solar thermal energy to produce cooling energy by absorption chillers fed by a driving heat source (such as solar energy) to produce cooling power. Existing works in the literature present mainly case studies and simulations for small-scale systems (less than 50 kWc). The case study presented investigates the performance of a single-effect 316 kWc absorption chiller under different renewable-only driving heat source scenarios (solar-driven, biomass-driven, and a hybrid approach). The results indicate a significantly advantageous performance in combined heat generation (solar field and biomass boiler connected in series) compared to the scenarios of biomass or solar energy as a sole heat source. Moreover, an absorption chiller’s economic indicators appear more fetching than a centrifugal electric chiller of the same capacity, as the payback period is significantly reduced. The Net Present Value (N.P.V. – over 75% greater in the case of absorption chiller compared to the centrifugal electrical chiller) and Return on Investment (R.O.I.) values are increased in the case of the absorption chiller option (18.03% against 15.24% of the centrifugal electrical chiller). The system described in this paper operates in Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, Greece, and is part of one of the largest self-sufficient energy communities. The case study presented is the first attempt at performance evaluation of a large-scale (more than 250 kWc) cooling system operating in a local energy community.

Crocus pallidus (Iridaceae)-A Neglected Species for the Bulgarian Flora and Critical Taxon in the Balkans.

For a long time, the Balkan endemic species Crocus pallidus has been unconfirmed and neglected for the flora of Bulgaria. It has remained an uncertain species from the Balkans, often listed as a synonym of C. weldenii. The morphological resemblance to the albinistic forms of C. chrysanthus has led to incorrect identification in the past, resulting in uncertainty regarding the distribution of this species in Bulgaria. In this regard, a detailed morphological and anatomical study of Bulgarian natural populations was carried out. A phylogenetic comparison in the ITS region of two Bulgarian populations of C. pallidus with other related species was conducted, revealing the distinction of C. pallidus populations from the closely related C. weldenii. The recently described new endemic species from Turkey, C. thracicus, shows very similar morphological and anatomical characteristics to C. pallidus and logically continues the distribution range in Eastern Thrace, along the Black Sea coast. We have a basis for suggesting that it should be treated as a synonym of C. pallidus.

Silk Road Heritage Branding and Polycentric Tourism Development

Cultural heritage, considered as a tool for sustainable tourism development and place branding, makes a destination appealing to visitors; hence, cultural heritage tourism can be a driving force for economic growth in cities and regions. Polycentricity is a useful multi-scalar concept in spatial theory that describes how adjacent urban centers can interact with each other, creating synergies and generating broader spatial networks. Cultural heritage and tourism, perceived as important factors of integration in a polycentric spatial structure, can further promote regional branding strategies. In this paper, a polycentricity index is introduced as a methodological tool for networking cultural heritage destinations, with an application to the Silk Road heritage. Silk Road cultural assets traced on the historical Silk Road routes linking East and West, can serve as tourist attraction poles and as an essential component for branding destinations through networking at various spatial scales. The Region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace in Northern Greece, endowed with a plethora of Silk Road cultural assets, most of which are still untapped, is used to highlight the proposed methodology. The ultimate objective is the designation of polycentric destination networks based on Silk Road assets, in order to build regional branding opportunities over the Region.

The challenge of treating Roma outpatients in the Eastern Macedonia and Thrace region of Greece.

The Roma people are one of the most unknown and interesting nations in Europe. Although they are severely marginalised within European societies, they have greatly influenced European culture. Despite this fact, there is a deep prejudice against them. In the region of East Macedonia and Thrace, a significant proportion of the population are Roma. Their marginalisation leads to many problems and also affects their mental health. Their psychopathological manifestations differ from the majority population. They express more somatic complaints and higher overall stress in a histrionic background. The main obstacles regarding their mental health issues and treatment appear to be the following: gender inequality, illiteracy and lack of cultural sensitivity in healthcare system. Although all of these obstacles must be removed, some are easier to remove than others. Cultural sensitivity could be applied by using more culturally sensitive diagnostic tools, improving overall training for mental health professionals and treating Roma wherever they seek help, because they often have a nomadic style of living. Telemedicine can be quite useful in serving this goal. Improving their educational status and addressing gender inequalities issues, on the other hand, are more difficult and long-term goals.

Detecting geothermal anomalies using Landsat 8 thermal infrared remotely sensed data

The potential to map geothermal anomalies using remote sensing information has attracted recently much research, reflecting thus the increasing interest for renewable energy resources. Aim of the present work is to highlight areas with geothermal anomalies, as demonstrated by increased Land Surface Temperature (LST) values, that could potentially indicate possible locations for geothermal field development. We hypothesized that an area with increased geothermal potential can possibly have a surface expression through increased LST, that discriminates it from other areas of low geothermal interest. LST is known to be affected by increased heat flow but also from other parameters such as altitude, land cover and meteorological conditions. Therefore, there is need to develop a methodology capable to extract LST signals corresponding to the geothermal component. To delineate areas with constantly higher LST values from surrounding locations, we analyzed Landsat 8 derived LST time series, and accounted for different land cover types and altitudes. To test our hypothesis, we used a well-known geothermal field in Aristino-Alexandroupolis, NE Greece, where it was shown that spatial means of winter LST were significantly greater within geothermal zones. Furthermore, our results indicated that areas within geothermal fields demonstrate winter LST values greater than a certain threshold value for each different land cover type. Therefore, we developed a logical operator algorithm and applied our methodology to Thrace basin – NE Greece. The produced geothermal potential map depicted correctly spot areas, which make part of the known geothermal fields in Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Tertiary sedimentary basins, but also indicated other possible sites with increased potential for future research.

Sultan II. Abdülhamid Döneminde Doğu Trakya'da İnşa Edilen Belediye Binaları

19. yüzyıl Osmanlı mimari programına dâhil olan kamu yapıları, Tanzimat'ın ilânı sonrası hızla değişime uğrayan bürokratik yapılanmanın sonucu olarak tüm Osmanlı kentlerinde inşa edilmiştir. Tipolojik, malzeme ve işlevsel farklılıklara sahip olan kamu yapıları arasında belediye binaları da kent siluetinde beliren bir yapı tipi olarak ortaya çıkar. II. Abdülhamid dönemi özelinde Doğu Trakya olarak tanımladığımız bugünkü Edirne, Kırklareli, Tekirdağ ve Çorlu'da inşa edilen belediye binalarını kapsayan bu çalışmada söz konusu eserler Sanat Tarihi araştırmaları çerçevesinde değerlendirilmektedir.

Conceptions of Human Resource Management and Training in SMEs of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace

Human resource management and continuing training are prerequisites for business innovation, especially when the fourth industrial revolution causes the rapid emergence of knowledge-intensive professions and the constraint of older ones. This article examines how human resources, in-business training, and educational needs are significant parts of entrepreneurial innovation and business development. We present field research that we conducted in the business ecosystem of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, which is a less competitive region of Greece and Europe. After examining the region’s economic profile, we continue with field research results in its retail sector. Our findings suggest that these businesses desire and search for more systematic actions towards training enhancement and human resource management upgrading. Thus, we propose a policy mechanism that could function as a “business clinic” for the region, including the diagnosis of needs and “therapeutic” intervention in terms of education and knowledge. This local development policy could create a growth spiral for the entire socio-economic spatialized system.

Recent attestations of “new” glume wheat in Turkey: a reassessment of its role in the reconstruction of Neolithic agriculture

Studies of the origins of agriculture in the Near East have revealed that the eight plant species known as “Founder Crops”, i.e. emmer, einkorn, barley, lentils, peas, chickpeas, bitter vetch and flax, derived from annual self-pollinating wild predecessors, were all domesticated in roughly the same period. Recent research however has prompted new debate on whether there are really only eight “Founder Crops” species in the Near East. Interest has focused on “new” glume wheat (NGW), a Triticum species identified for the first time by de Moulins at the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) site of Caferhoyuk in Eastern Anatolia. After this identification, similar remains were identified in Neolithic and Bronze Age sites in Greece and were named “new” glume wheat. Recently, the remains of NGW spikelet bases have been documented in two settlements in Turkey: Yumuktepe (Cilicia) and Yenikapi (eastern Thrace). The remains of NGW spikelet bases from these two settlements underwent morphobiometric analysis in order to contribute to discussion of the morphological character of NGW spikelets. In addition, a whole NGW spikelet from Yenikapi was analysed, contributing to discussion of the morphological features of NGW caryopses. At the same time, these attestations open up new debate not only on its large-scale presence in Anatolia but also its origins and the ways and routes by which it spread to other regions. In this study, the two basic models of domestication and geographical expansion, i.e. the “rapid transition model” and the “protracted model”, are assessed on the basis of the new evidence of NGW in Turkey and the relationship with other European sites where it is attested.

Anılarla Birinci Dünya Savaşi’nda Osmanlı Devleti Seferberliği ve İstanbul’da Verilen Askeri Eğitimler (1914)

Defeated in the Balkan War and its existence in Europe limited to the Eastern Thrace, The Ottoman Empire started to mobilize in military preparations and military recruitment processes in order to get rid of the severe defeat and not to experience the same disaster again. In this direction, while the Ottoman Empire was reorganizing movements within the army with the aid of Germany, the killing of the Austro-Hungarian throne caused European countries to declare war against each other in the race for industrialization and arms. While the European countries declared war on each other, the Ottoman Empire declared its mobilization in the face of these developments and began recruiting troops. Those who had compulsory military service in Istanbul and its vicinity went to the military camps where they were affiliated to mobilization, and after taking their military training, they set out to serve in Dardanelles. In this article, the preparations for the mobilization of the Ottoman Empire for World War One, the recruitment process and military training in Istanbul will be explained through the published memoirs.

Ottoman War of Independence and Its Effects (1908-1923)

The Turkish War of Independence, i.e. (the war of liberation), also known as (the War of Independence) or (the national campaign), took place (May 19, 1919 - July 24, 1923) between the Turkish national movement and the allies ( Greece) on the Western Front, and Armenia on The Eastern Front, France on the Southern Front, and the royalists and separatists in different cities, and in addition to them; the United Kingdom and Italy in Constantinople (now Istanbul) - after parts of the Ottoman Empire were occupied and divided after the Ottoman defeat in World War I in 1914, few British, French and Italian occupation forces Spread or participated in the hostilities, the Turkish National Movement in Anatolia resulted in the formation of a new major national assembly led by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and his colleagues, after the end of the war on the Armenian Turkish, French, Turkish and Turkish Greek fronts (often referred to as the Eastern Front, Southern Front, and Western Front of War Respectively), the Treaty of Sèvres was abolished in the year 1920 AD, and the Kars (October 1921) and Lausanne (July 1923) treaties were signed. The Allies left Anatolia and Eastern Thrace, and the Grand National Assembly of Turkey decided to establish a republic in Turkey, whose establishment was declared on October 29, 1923, with the establishment of the Turkish national movement and the division of the Ottoman Empire and the abolition of the Ottoman Empire, the Ottoman Empire ended and its era. After Ataturk made some reforms, the Turks established the modern secular national state of Turkey on the political front. On March 3, 1924, the Ottoman caliphate was formally abolished and the last caliphate was exiled.

A combined multi-criteria approach to assess forest management sustainability: an application to the forests of Eastern Macedonia & Thrace Region in Greece

Sustainable forest management should be pursued in all public forests of the EU countries, as this constitutes a legal requirement within the frame of the FOREST EUROPE policy. However, the forest management sustainability assessment process is a complex task, mainly because it involves integration of multiple environmental, socio-economic and institutional impacts at different spatial scales of different forest management policies, which are considered for implementation at any forest location. Moreover, the conflicts and interests of the various stakeholders related to the forest resources should be included in the assessment process. Much of the on-going research, therefore, focuses on the development of tools that can facilitate the integration of the different type of forest resource impacts and conflicts towards achievement of forest management sustainability. This paper presents a multi-criteria approach, which combined spatial analysis, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), spatially referenced impact indicator models for pairwise comparisons, the fuzzy extent analysis, fuzzy preference programming and the ideal solution concept in order to assess the performance of forest management sustainability at regional level. The combined multi-criteria approach was successfully implemented to the forests of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Region in northern Greece through the operation of the National Forest Governance Council. Seven forest management policies were subjected to sustainability assessment and an Overall Forest Sustainability Performance Index (OFSPI) was calculated for each one of them. The final ranking of the forest management policies was based on their OFSPI values. Furthermore, sensitivity analysis was conducted to explore robustness of the final solution.

Stra.Tech.Man innovation, HRM and Perception of Educational Needs in Underdeveloped Business Ecosystems: The Case of Retail Sector Firms in Eastern Macedonia and Thrace

Innovation becomes widely perceived as the most significant ingredient of socioeconomic development, for all types of organizations, at all spatial levels. This study aims to examine how a specific category of business people understand the phenomenon of innovation in relation to the dimensions of Human Resource Management (HRM) and intra- and external business education and training. It explores in particular how the firms of a less developed regional business ecosystem perceive this triangle of innovation-education-human resources, what is their current image and how this comprehension evolves over the last years. Through field research in firms located in the Greek region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, we highlight these qualitative correlations between innovation, workforce management, training, and education. Our findings suggest that the “image” of these entrepreneurs to these issues lacks interpretive depth and practical cohesion, which is related to pathogenies caused and causing the overall relative socioeconomic underdevelopment in the region. The originality of this research derives from the presentation and analysis of specific firms’ and professionals’ perceptions of innovation, which are relatively far from the standards set by the corresponding modern scientific literature and practice.

A Case Study on Environmental Sustainability Assessment of Spatial Entities with Anthropogenic Activities: The National Park of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, Greece

The current paper presents a methodological framework that is able to evaluate the carrying capacity of protected areas where various human activities, apart from recreation and tourism, take place. The proposed framework converts the energy and product consumption into land required to satisfy those needs (Ecological Footprint) and compares them with the current land uses and available land (Biocapacity), in order to calculate carrying capacity. To facilitate the evaluation, an algorithm that calculates the Ecological Footprint, the Biocapacity, and the Carrying Capacity of the protected area under study by introducing 48 inputs was developed. The inputs were related to the evaluation of individual indicators assessing energy and product consumption of human activities such as households, tertiary sector, municipal buildings, public lighting, private and public transportation, and tourism. A new unit is introduced, the “equivalent person,” since the anthropogenic activities within the boundaries of the protected area contribute in a dissimilar way to the total land requirements. The framework is applied, as case study, in the National Park of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace (NPEMT), Greece, with a view to validate and improve its applicability. Within the NPEMT, habitats of significant biodiversity and ecological value are in coexistence with extensive human activities (urban, rural, tourist, light industrial). The study area covers up to approximately 73,000 ha and its population is estimated at about 29,000 people. The Carrying Capacity of the NPEMT according to the current consumption patterns was estimated at 39,193 equivalent residents, which was higher than the current equivalent residents (36,960), indicating a potential for tourism development at the NPEMT. The Ecological Footprint of the NPEMT was estimated at 181,324 Gha or 4.9 Gha/perseq, slightly higher than the European mean (4.69 Gha/perseq). Among activities, households and private transportation (with approximately 79% and 10%, respectively), among land use, agriculture, livestock, and CO2 emissions (with approximately 36%, 30%, and 30%, respectively), and among products, beef, fruits/vegetables, and beverages (with approximately 22%, 15%, and 14%, respectively) were the main contributors of the total Ecological Footprint of the NPEMT. The area of the NPEMT is able to meet the needs of its population provided that the consumption patterns will be stable. The results encourage the expansion of tourism development, as the tourism activity within the NPEMT is limited compared to other adjacent domestic destinations.

Arkeolojik Verilere Göre Doğu Trakya Kuzey Yolu

Küçük Asya ile Avrupa arasında geçiş noktası konumundaki Doğu Trakya, her iki kıtadan gelen yolların geçiş ve birleşme yeri olmuştur. Kuzey Yolu, bölgeden geçen Via Egnatia ve Via Militaris ile birlikte üç ana yoldan biridir. Pontos Euksenos (Karadeniz)'in batısı veya kuzeyine ya da tam tersi buradan Küçük Asya'ya doğru yapılan seferlerde MÖ 6. yüzyıldan MS 19. yüzyıla kadar tüm kara orduların kullandığı güzergâh olmuştur. Buna karşın Kuzey Yolu'nun güzergâhı üzerindeki arkeolojik veriler diğer yollar kadar değerlendirilmemiştir. Bu makalede arazi çalışması sırasında tespit edilen ve incelenen başta Kurtdere Köprüsü olmak üzere köprü, yol kalıntısı ve mil taşı kullanılarak Kuzey Yolu'nun Doğu Trakya Bölgesi içindeki güzergâhı tespit edilmeye çalışılmıştır. Ayrıca Kuzey Yolu'nun güneyindeki Via Militaris ile kuzeyindeki Salmydessos kenti ile bağlantı sağlayan yollar arkeolojik verilere göre değerlendirilmiştir.

Refugee rituals: continuity and change in the Anastenaria festival in Macedonian Greece

ABSTRACTThe Anastenaria festival is celebrated by descendants of refugees from the village of Kōsti in eastern Thrace, now in Bulgaria, who settled in Greek Macedonia by 1924, after the Balkan Wars. The festival is dedicated to saints Kōnstantinos and his mother, Elenē, depicted on holy icons brought from Kōsti. Participants’ primary focus is an ecstatic dance over red-hot coals while possessed by the saint. Proscribed by official Orthodox religion, it was formerly conducted in secret. Though the Church still considers the festival a combination of paganism and Christianity, tension between official religion and the Anastenarides has eased. Based on fieldwork in two villages inhabited by both Anastenarides and other ‘indigenous’ Greeks, this article explores how ritual spaces of the Anastenarides replicate the original space in Kōsti. Belonging to ‘former days,’ cultic practices constitute an ancestor cult linked to their original home, the ‘Thracians’ celebrating their ‘Kōstilidian’ identity through religious rituals.

Late Eocene to Early Oligocene palynostratigraphy of the Western Black Sea, Eastern Paratethys

The Eastern Thrace and Western Black Sea basins provide unique perspectives on the palaeogeographic reconstructions of the Paratethys. Although very thick and extensive Oligocene outcrops and well sections exist in the Thrace Basin, only a few comparable sections are available in the Black Sea onshore areas. In this study, five measured stratigraphic sections of Eocene to Oligocene age from the margins of the Western Black Sea were studied and palynomorph assemblages were identified quantitatively. Index dinoflagellate cyst events and a palynological biozonation as established in the Mediterranean were applied successfully. Priabonian units contain the Aal biozone, whereas Rupelian successions were represented by the Adi, Rac, Cin, and Hpu zones. Palynological analyses suggest that the youngest interval of the studied sections, the highest sample of Karaburun (2) and the upper part of Servez Beach, sit just above the Wetzeliella gochtii interval and are early-middle Rupelian in age (Cin and Hpu zones). The Karaburun (1) and the lower part of the Servez Beach sections represent W. gochtii-bearing intervals and are interpreted as early Rupelian in age (Rac, Cin, and Hpu zones). The Servez Road Dam section occurs below the W. gochtii interval. It is characterized by common occurrences of Glaphyrocysta semitecta and interpreted as earliest Rupelian in age (Adi and Rac zones). Finally, the Sazlıbosna section lies below the Glaphyrocysta semitecta zone and represents the oldest stratigraphic unit of the studied intervals. It yielded Eocene dinoflagellates such as Areoligera taulomasentosa, Areosphaeridium michoudii, Rhombodinium perforatum, Homotryblium pallidum, and Stoveracysta ornata and is interpreted as late Priabonian in age (Aal zone). Both palynomorph assemblages and organic matter constituents reflect shallow to open marine and nutrient-rich depositional conditions that occurred during Late Eocene?Early Oligocene time. The dominance of marine palynomorphs, without any indication of fresh water influx, might suggest that deposition took place before the isolation of the Paratethys, when the Western Black Sea region was still part of the Western Tethys during the earliest Oligocene (NP21-23).

Human Resources Development, Educational Needs, Training, and Innovation: Facts From Retail Firms in the Region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace

Innovation is a complex and systemic phenomenon that concerns multiple organizational dimensions, one of which is the aspect of human resources. To this end, most small firms in less developed business ecosystems appear to be facing structural innovation problems, which also come from the human resources they can employ and develop. This article aims to discuss how the retail firms in the Greek region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace perceive the issues of human resources development, education, training, and innovation. It employs the results from a questionnaire answered by a sample of 72 retail firms in this region, consisting of Likert-scale questions and open-ended short answers. It uses the questionnaire to find out the level of development and prospects of these firms over five years in the aspects of human resources, education, and training in their effort to innovate. It finds that these firms, although mostly small, desire to systematize their actions in these areas, as all grades are on an upward “physiological” business trajectory. It concludes that this field research could bear implications both for the level of innovation of the specific firms and the less developed region as a whole.