Objects that tell a story (2): My maternal grandfather’s 1915 travel document to Russia

Introduction

Digging into a box with documents and photos I found in pieces a travel document belonging to my maternal grandfather, Spyridon Mavrogenes. I assembled it in one piece and present it as an object that tells a story.

Spyridon G Mavrogenes

Spyridon Mavrogenes was born in 1878. At the age of 37, in the year 1915, he travelled to Russia. I presume the trip had to do with his profession, which was to export olive oil and other agricultural products like Corinthian raisin (stafida) from the Peloponese to various countries.

Europe and the Balkans in 1915

In 1915 Europe and the Balkans were in turmoil. I have picked some morcels from the press of the period.

The New York Times, February 10 1915

In a dispatch from Petrograd, the capital of tsarist Russia, we read that “Constantinople must be taken” by the Russians. I remind the reder that Russia had declared war on the Ottoman Empire in November 1914.

The New York Times, February 10 2015

At the same time, the Austrians are attacking Turnu -Severin, a major port city on the Danube, with strategic importance for Vienna.

Two days before my grandfather got his travel document from the prefecture of Thessaloniki, on 26th April 1915 in London, Italy had signed the Treaty of London, becoming an ally of the Triple Entent and betraying the Triple Alliance where it belonged. As a result of the treaty, Italy took over control of the Dodecanese islands.

In September 1915, the Bulgarians threw in their lot with Germany and Austria-Hungary by concluding an alliance. On October 6, the great Austro-German offensive began against Serbia and Bulgaria declared war on Belgrade eight days later. Bulgarian troops spilled over Serbia’s eastern border, and an Anglo-French landing at Salonika in Greece failed to blunt the Bulgarian advance. By December 1915, the Serbian Army had collapsed and was in full flight. The Bulgarians established a defensive line to contain the Allied forces in northern Greece.

Sunday Times, Perth, Australia, Sunday 24 October 1915

In October 1915 Romania decided to join the side of England, France and Russia, on condition that the Allies send 400,000 troops to the Balkans.

My grandfather’s trip appears ot have taken place between May and July 2015. He narrowly escaped the fireworks!

The travel document

The travel document

The travel document was issued by the Prefect of Thessaloniki on the 28th April 1915. What you see above is the front side of the document.

Front Side Left - Εμπροσθια Πλευρα Αριστερη

ΕΝ ΟΝΟΜΑΤΙ

ΤΗΣ ΚΥΒΕΡΝΗΣΕΩΣ

ΤΟΥ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΙΟΥ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ

Προσκαλουμεν παντας τους αξιωματικους του Βασιλειου της Ελλαδος, πολιτικους τε και στρατιωτικους και παρακαλουμεν τους των φιλων Δυναμεων να αφησωσιν ελευθεραν την διοδον εις τον Κον Σπυριδωνα Γ. Μαυρογενη απερχομενον εις Ρωσσιαν δια … χωρις να εμποδισθη ή ενοχληθη παρ’ ουδενος, να χορηγηθη μαλιστα, εν αναγκη, προς αυτον πασα ευκολια και υπερασπισις.

Επι τουτω εξεδοθη το παρον υπογεγραμμενον παρ’ ημων.

Εν Θεσσαλονικη τη 28 Απριλιου 1915

Ο ΝΟΜΑΡΧΗΣ ΘΕΣΣΑΛΟΝΙΚΗΣ

Front Right Side - Εμπροσθια Δεξια Οψη

AU NOM

DU GOUVERNEMENT DE GRECE

DU ROYAUME DE GRECE

 Requerons tous les officiers,civil et militaires, du Royaume de Grece, et prions ceux de pays amis de laisser passer librement M Spyridon G Mavrogenis se rendant au Russie pour …  sans qu’ il soit empeche ni moleste par personne, et de lui preter aide et protection, en cas de besoin. 

A cet effet nous avons delivre le present, signe par nous. 

Fait a Salonique le 28 April 1915

LE PREFET DE SALONIQUE

Civil duty stamp - Χαρτοσημον Διοικησεως

The afficionados of this sort of thing will note the civil duty stamp of 5 drachmas on the top left of the document.

Its back is full of stamps and approvals, and also has the photo of the traveller.

The Trip

I will try to use the document to reconstruct part of the trip.

Approval by the Romanian Colsulate in Thessaloniki

The document by itself as issued by the Prefect of Thessaloniki was not enough. There had to be approvals by the other countries. As you see above, the Conculate of the Kingdom of Romania approved the trip on the 29th April 1915. It says also that a tax of five Lei has been applied and paid.

Approval of the trip by the Serbian Consulate in Thessaloniki

Likewise, there had to be an approval by the Serbian Consulate in Thessaloniki.

The trip begins on the 30th April 1915, as is shown on the stamp dated accordingly, by the “Passport Office of Railroad…”

The port of Prahovo, photo by Matt Lutton

From a stamp on the back side, I gather that he made his way through Serbia by railroad to the Danube port town of Prahovo. Today Prahovo is a small town of 1600 people.

The stamp on the document has a date of July 1915, apparently on the traveller’s way back to Greece.

Did the traveller follow the same route on his way to Russia, and then back? We will never know.

Drobeta Turnu-Severin in Romania

From there, 31 kilometers to the North is the town of (Drobeta) Turnu Severin, where he entered Romanian territory. There is a stamp from the police of the port in “T-Severin” to prove it.

Entry stamp in Romania - 12 May 1915

Most likely he took a river boat to get there, although there is no way of knowing.

Turnu-Severin in 1910

Turnu-Severin is a city built by the river Danube and at the beginning of the twentieth century was a significant transport hub, for moving goods to and from Central Europe to the East and the South.

“As a major port on the Danube, the freedom of trade facilitated the entry of goods by boat from Vienna and the exchange of material necessary for economic development. Severin experienced a steady economic, urban and social growth until 1972, when it received the name of Drobeta-Turnu Severin.” (Source: Wikipedia)

Old warehouses (1890s - 1900s) that once stored goods from the Danube river trade, Drobeta Turnu Severin, south western Romania.

The photo above, which I found in Valentin Mandache’s informative and specialized blog “Historic Houses of Romania“, provides testimony to the wealth an the might of the town back then.

Given its importance as a commerical traffic port, Turnu – Severin may not have been only a stop over. It is likely that my grandfather was using it as a port for shipping goods to Vienna, where he was also doing business.

From Turnu-Severin, the travelled went to Bucharest, where he got an approval to stay in Romania as the stamp dated 15 June shows.

Stamp of the bureau for the control of foreigners in Bucharest

I cannot deduce how long he stayed in Romania and when and how he travelled on to Russia and back.

Permit to enter Serbia

A little more than a month after he got the stamp from the Greek Consulate in Bucharest, he appears in the Serbian Consulate in Bucharest and receives a stamp so that he can enter Serbia. The date of the stamp is 19 July 1915.

Permit to return to Greece

The next day, 20 July 1915 my grandfather receives a stamp from the Greek Consulte in Bucharest, allowing him to travel to Greece.

Exit stamp, Turnu - Severin

Two days later, on the 22 July 1915, he exits Romania at the port of Turnu-Severin.

He arrived in Prahovo on the same day, 22 July 1915.

Four days later, and almost three months after he left Thessaloniki, on 26 July 1915, he exits Serbia, entering Greece.

There is no information regarding the date of his arrival in Thessaloniki.

As I cannot read Cyrillic, I cannot deduce anything about the traveller’s Russian itinerary and the relevant stamps.

Through the Glass: From Bucharest to Athens on a Friday morning in December 2011

One icy morning in December, I flew with Tarom Airlines, the Romanian National Carrier, from Bucharest’s Otopeni Airport to Athens’ Eleftherios Venizelos. This is a sequence of images through the glass of the airplane’s window.

Temperature and weather conditions at the Ottopeni Airport, at the time of departure:  -1 C, clear skies, frost on the ground.

Otopeni Airport, de-icing the airplane

The airplane reequired de-icing due to the frosty conditions.

Otopeni Airport, Ground service personnel

Ground service personnel

Otopeni Airport, de-icing truck

The de-icing truck

Otopeni Airport, after the de-icing shower

At Otopeni, after the de-icing.

Taxiing at Otopeni Airport

Taxiing at Otopeni

Otopeni Airport, terminal building

A fuzzy view of the terminal building at Otopeni Airport

Airborne, over Romanian Land

Airborne, over Romanian land

Airborne, over Bulgarian mountains

Airbrone, over Bulgarian mountains (it is NOT the sea!)

Airborne, over Northern Greece

Airborne, over Northern Greece

Airborne, over Central Aegean Sea

Airborne, over Central Aegean Sea

Airborne, near Evoia

Airborne, near Evoia

Landed at Athens' Eleftherios Venizelos

Landed!

Flaps down and taxxing

Flaps down and taxiing

Weather conditions at the Athens Airport at the time of landing: clear skies, 10 C, dry conditions.

All photos were taken with my mobile phone, a Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 mini. A handy and mighty device!

The Team

Today I want to present some members of the professional team I work with in Romania.

We have been through many difficulties over the last 20 months, but persevered and we stand on our feet today, a lot stronger than before. My assignment in Romania ends in 4 months and I do not know at this stage if I will continue. Thinking about the time past, I wonder what is my major achievement of the period. And I come to the conclusion that it is the re-building of the team. So that it is empowered, more open, more enthusiastic, more committed to what they do, and happier with their work. All of these in my experience start and end with the leadership of the team.

The occasion for the post is the annual team building meeting, which this year took place near Dracula’s castle in Bran, Romania.

This is not really Dracula’s castle, this is Bram Stoker’s castle. In any case, it is the most famous castle in Romania.

Although I start with a trio and then a duette, I would like to think of all other pictures as “portraits”. The portrait brings out some aspects of the person that cannot be seen otherwise. In our case, there were no portrait shooting sessions, I just selected and cropped the persons who seemed to be in portrait mood, even though a lot of things were happening around them. I must confess that by looking at some of the pictures, I saw my colleagues in a different way, because they were able to express themselves differently.

Obviously,  I do not have “portraits” of all the members of the team, only the ones that came out and expressed themselves, but I believe I have a good part of it.

I start with a trio, with Silvia, my most able personal assistant in the middle. On the left Mircea, a new recruit, on the right Mihai, counting a couple of years now.

From three to two: Ana and Ana, inseparable trio with Alina, who somehow managed to miss the photo session.

The newest members of the team, Silvia’s Wellington boots.

Danuc.

Irina.

Marius.

Tanya.

Andrei.

Cristina.

Bogdan.

Roxana.

Eugen.

Sofia.

Cristina

Cristina.

The Team Building itself was a success. There was open and honest communication, plenty of time to mingle, and time to play. But most importantly, I got to know some members of it, in a better way. I hope they can say the same thing about me.

Carp (Ciprinus) in brine with polenta (Saramura de Crap cu mamaliga)

Today I present a dish from Romania, which I like very much. It is carp marinated in brine, then grilled or baked, and immersed in a mix of red peppers, chillies, parsley, and garlic. It is served with steaming hot polenta (mamaliga in Romanian).

Carp is a sweet water fish that is found in abundance in Romania. You can find it alive in the market, and bring it home to cook.

Kalin, my good friend in Bucharest was kind enough to treat me to a truly exceptional dish.

He bought the fish alive in the market, and brought it to the kitchen of the wonderful Boutique Hotel Christina (which is his latest entrepreneurial project) , where Katalin, the young talented chef got to work to prepare the Romanian traditional dish.

The fish is gutted, descaled, and filetted. The sumptuous chunks are then put in a brine (saramura in Romanian) for a while, and then baked (or grilled).  In parallel, cloves of garlic and chilli peppers are sauteed and sweet red peppers are added. the mix is drowned in the brine of the fish.

The baked chunks of the carp are then served, with the tasty mix on top, and a good portion of steaming hot polenta.

Absolutely delicious!!! We enjoyed the dish with a wonderful white Romanian wine, “Livia” (the grape is Feteasca Alba). Thank you Kalin, thank you Katalin!!!

Remembering Eugene Ionesco (Eugen Ionescu)

“Explanation separates us from

astonishment

which is the only gateway

to the incomprehensible”

Bold Soprano Graphic by Massin (1964)

This is what my friend Ana wrote on the back of a post card she brought me from Paris, where she spent some of her holidays.  Ana is Romanian and Ionesco is dear in her heart. This event lead me to write this post, remembering the great writer and man.

Ionesco’s first play is “The Bald Soprano”, which he wrote when he was learning English.

In ”The Bald Soprano,” which the author labels ”an anti-play,” he assails the craze for conformity that he found ingrained in our society. As he made clear, the play is intended not as a satire on bourgeois English life, but as a play about language and ”a parody of human behavior and therefore a parody of theater, too.” It is also, the author said, ”a completely unserious play.” In that respect, Ionesco was, of course, being ingenuous.

Though the surface is light spirited, the play has a cosmic awareness of how man debases – and defeats -himself, often through his choice of words. The play has not aged. One might even suggest that we have caught up with ”The Bald Soprano,” living, as we do, in a computerized world where information is byte-sized and news becomes photogenic.

(NY Times Theater Review)

Ionesco himself reminisces:

“A strange phenomenon took place. I don’t know how—the text began imperceptibly to change before my eyes. The very simple, luminously clear statements I had copied so diligently into my notebook, left to themselves, fermented after a while, lost their original identity, expanded and overflowed. The clichés and truisms of the conversation primer, which had once made sense [...] gave way to pseudo-clichés and pseudo-truisms; these disintegrated into wild caricature and parody, and in the end language disintegrated into disjointed fragments of words.“

Looking back

Before the Bald Soprano, which appeared in 1950, we had the Absurd expressed in literature by the existentialists

Nausea by JP Sartre

The Outsider by Albert Camus

Looking forward

Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett

The Birthday Party by Harold Pinter

”Who Needs Theater Anymore?” – Mr. Ionesco’s answer is simple: ”Tout le monde.”

”People have needed the theater for thousands of years,” he said. ”There’s no reason for this to change.” But why do they need theater? ”For nothing,” he said. ”The theater is useless, but its uselessness is indispensable. Why do people need football? What purpose is there?”

”Theater doesn’t exist at the moment,” he said, through a translator, in his suite at a midtown hotel. ”It’s bad everywhere. Between 1950 and 1960 it was good. Beckett, Genet, Adamov, moi. It was theater where you posed a problem, the most important problem of all: the problem of the existential condition of man – his despair, the tragedy of his destiny, the ridiculousness of his destiny, the absurdity of his destiny. Another interesting problem is the existence of a God, a divinity, as Beckett writes about in ‘Waiting for Godot.’ Man without God, without the metaphysical, without transcendence, is lost.” ‘Everything Is Invention’

Mr. Ionesco has long criticized the American realistic, or naturalistic, theater as naive and simple-minded. ”Realism does not exist,” he said. ”Everything is invention. Even realism is invented. Reality is not realistic. It’s another school of theater, a style.”

He paused and smiled. ”What is real, after all?” he said. ”Ask one of the most important geniuses of science, physics or mathematics. He will not be able to give a definition of real. The only reality is that which comes from inside – the unconscious, the irrational, our thoughts, images, symbols. They are all truer than the truth, than realism.”

(NY Times Article: Eugen Ionesco in Defense of the Absurd, 1988)

Associations:

alienation, paranoia, absurd, double origin, proliferation

symbolic,archetypal,mystical

Ionesco’s Grave in Montparnasse Cemetery, Paris, France

The inscription reads:

“Pray to the I do not know Who

I hope Jesus Christ”

 

Mititei (Mici) Ρουμανικα Σουβλακια – Μιτς – Updated 18 June 2011

Σημερα θα αναφερθω στο αντιστοιχο του δικου μας σουβλακιου στη Ρουμανια, το Μιτς.

Ολος ο λαος, πλουσιοι και φτωχοι, αριστεροι και δεξιοι, καταναλωνουν απειρες ποσοτητες απο τα Μιτς, σε καθε γωνια της Ρουμανιας. Οι εικονες της σημερινης αναρτησης ειναι απο τον επαρχιακο δρομο που συνδεει το Βουκουρεστι με την Κραϊοβα. Σε μια κατηφορικη ευθεια σε μια καταπρασινη πλαγια, εχει παντα συννεφια η μαλλον καπνα απο τα δεκα περιπου μαγαζια που ειναι παρατεταγμενα στη σειρα και ψηνουν και σερβιρουν τα Μιτς.

Τα Μιτς ειναι αναμικτος κιμας χοιρινου και μοσχαρισιου κρεατος (κυμα) με διαφορα μπαχαρικα. Δεν ειναι κεμπαμπ, ουτε και εχουν σχεση με τα αντιστοιχα παρακευασματα στην πρωην Γιουγκοσλαβια η την Βουλγαρια. Ειναι νοστιμωτατα και τρωγονται σαν κουφετακια!

Ενα γευμα με μιτς (που σημαινει “μικρο”) ειναι λιτο, και ξεκινα με τουρσι. Ακολουθουν τα Μιτς και διαφορα λουκανικα, ολων των μεγεθων.  Κατα την ταπεινη μου γνωμη, τα λουκανικα δεν αξιζουν, φατε οσα πιο πολλα μιτς μπορειτε, ειναι τα καλυτερα!

Μικρα στο ονομα, αλλα μεγαλα στην πραγματικοτητα, τα ζουμερα πεντανοστιμα Μιτς σε κατακτουν με την πρωτη. Οι Ρουμανοι τα τρωνε με αφθονη γλυκεια μουσταρδα.

Η πιατελα στην  φωτογραφια ειναι απο το πιο γνωστο λαϊκό εστιατοριο του Βουκουρεστιου, τον Κουασιμοδο, “La Cocosatu” που η σπεσιαλιτε του ειναι τα μιτς.

Τα μιτς σερβιρονται με λουκαινικα πολυ λεπτα, πατατες, και μανιταρια. Πολυ δημοφιλης επισης ειναι η πολεντα.

Μετα το γευμα, ολοι αγοραζουν αυτα τα νοστιμα ξερα κουλουρακια τα “γκοβροτσι”, για να τα πανε στο σπιτι.