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.

Καπνιστό Χοιρινό Ποδαράκι με Καρότα και Λάχανα

Η πρωτη υλη

Αυτη την εποχή ταξιδεύω στη Σερβία και κάνω και βόλτες στη ντόπια αγορά από όπου και προμηθεύτηκα ένα ωραιότατο καπνιστό χοιρινό ποδαράκι. Αφού το φάσκιωσα και το μετέφερα ευλαβικά στην Αθήνα, άρχισε πάραυτα η προετοιμασία.

Η συνταγή αφιερώνεται στο Δεσποινάριον, με την ευχή να ετοιμάσει οσονούπω ένα υπέροχο δείπνο για 8 ατομα (ενα εκ των οποιων θα ειμαι εγω!). 

Βαζουμε το ποδαράκι σε ένα ελλειψοειδες πηλινο σκεύος αρκετά μεγάλο και βαθύ για να το φιλοξενήσει και να μπορεί να σκεπαστεί. Το κομμάτι που βλέπετε ζυγιζει δύο κιλά.

Κρασι και δενδρολιβανο

Προσθέτουμε ένα μπουκάλι άσπρο κρασί (ελαφρυ σταφύλι, όπως σαββατιανό) και δενδρολίβανο. Απαγορέυεται η χρήση νερού, αν δεν εχετε κρασι προσθεστε στο σκεύος λίγο ζωμό απο κοτόπουλο ή από άλλο κρέας.

Σκεπάζουμε το σκεύος και ψήνουμε στο φούρνο σε 80 βαθμούς για τουλάχιστον 6 ωρες.

Το ποδαράκι είναι ψημένο

Το καλύτερο σημάδι ότι το ποδαρακι ψηθηκε είναι το να αποκαλυφθει το κοκκαλο και να μπορει το κρεας να αποκολλάται με ενα απλο σπρωξιμο του πηρουνιού, χωρις μαχαιρι και αλλα σχετικά.

Στο μεταξυ καθως το ποδαρακι ψηνοτανε, ετοιμάσαμε το λάχανο και τα καρότα.

 

Λάχανο

Στη Γαλλία και τη Γερμανία συνδυάζουν το καπνιστό ποδαράκι με ξυνολάχανο (σουκρουτ), εγώ προτιμώ να χρησιμοποιώ φρέσκο, που κόβω και τσιγαρίζω για να φύγουν τα πολλά νερά. Προσθέτω και λίγο φρέσκο σέλινο, λίγο ξυδάκι και είμαστε πρίμα!

 

Καρότα

Και χρωματικά και γευστικά μου αρέσει να προσθέτω και ολόκληρα καρότα στη συνταγή. Τα αφήνω ολόκληρα για να μη λυώσουν, και τα βάζω πάνω από το τσιγαρισμένο λάχανο για να ατμισθεί.

Ακολουθεί η εμβάπτιση του λάχανου και των καρότων στο πήλινο σκεύος με το ποδαράκι. Τα ολοόκληρα καρότα μπαίνουν πρώτα, στον πάτο του σκέυους.

 

Σκεπασμένο ποδαράκι

Βάλτε αρκετό λάχανο ώστε να σκεπαστέι το ποδαράκι ίσα – ίσα αλλά να μη θαφτεί.  

Ψήνετε σε 250 βαθμούς κελσίου για 20 λεπτά, ώστε να γίνει η μίξη των αρωμάτων.

 

Ετοιμο ψημενο

Αφήνετε το φαγητό να ηρεμήσει για μια ώρα πριν σερβιρισθεί.

Στην απόλαυση του πιάτου πρέπει να είσθε τολμηροί και αποφασισμένοι για γλυκιές αλμυρές και υπόξινες αμαρτίες. 

Αμαρτια πρώτη

 Αυτο το πιάτο δεν έχει νόημα χωρις αυτη την υπέροχη πετσούλα που είναι γλύκισμα και σε εκστασιάζει! Αυτη πρέπει να είναι η πρωτη μπουκιά.

 

Ροδαλή σαρκα

Ακολουθεί η δέυτερη, ένας συνδυασμός απο τη ροδαλή σάρκα που μοσχομυρίζει και το μελωμένο λάχανο που λυώνει στο στόμα.

Η συνέχεια ολόκληρη δική σας.

Απολάυστε!

Pasha Restaurant, Novi Sad, Serbia

My work brings me to Serbia these days.

I  would like to share with you my impressions after visiting the Pasha restaurant in the city of Novi Sad.

The restaurant is next to the tennis court of Dunavski Park, a beautiful small park 100 meters from the Dunau River.

The clientele is mostly locals who have the money to pay for a rather expensive by local standards meal.

Fried green pepper

 The fried green pepper is juicy and with loads of garlic.

Salmon Carpaccio

Beef Carpaccio

 The salmon is lightly marinated in lemon and dill and served as carpaccio. Good, but not exceptional, I would like it to have more flavour.

The beef carpaccio is exceptional, the visit to Pasha is justified by it alone.

 The beef tortellini that I tasted were rather bland, while the four cheese sauce was so overpowering that any trace of taste left in the tortellini was lost in the battle against the cheeses! I do not comment on the use of the work tortellini, as the picture reveals them to be tortelli in the best case!

 

Beef tortellini with four cheeses sauce

 The most appealing feature of the restaurant for me is that I can have a decent glass of local wine. As an example, I want to mention Harizma of 2007, by the Aleksandrovic Winery http://www.podrumaleksandrovic.co.yu/about_us.shtml.

Harizma 2007

It is powerful Chardonnay with very rich bouquet. I tasted the 2007 wine and it was brilliant!