Economy and Society on both Shores of the Aegean

The series of monthly seminars, Economy and Society on Both Shores of the Aegean, organized by the Ottoman Bank Museum in collaboration with Alpha Bank and the History Department of Boğazici University, is hosting Assoc. Prof. Engin Berber on Friday, December 15, with a presentation in Turkish entitled "Life under Greek Occupation in Rural Anatolia: The Foça Example," in which he examines the people and way of life in Foça, a district capital belonging to the sanjak of Izmir, which remained under Greek occupation for about three and a half years.

"First of all, we need to define the terms 'occupation,' 'Anatolia,' and 'rural,'" says Berber. "We will thus be able to explain why we have chosen Foça as a representative area. Next, we will consider Foça's place as a provincial subdivision in the administrative system of the time, and provide information about the demographic structure of its population, the work and leisure activities of Foça residents, their cultural and gastronomical customs, and the relations between the different religious communities. Finally, we will attempt to determine to what extent the Greek occupation changed the people and way of life in Foça."

The monthly seminar series, Economy and Society on Both Shores of the Aegean, which has been held free of charge for two years now, will end with a panel discussion on Friday, February 16, 2007.

Economy and Society on both Shores of the Aegean
Life Under Greek Occupation in Rural Anatolia: The Foça Example
Assoc. Prof. Engin Berber

Assoc. Prof. Engin Berber After graduating from the Department of History at Ege University in 1983, Engin Berber obtained his MA from the Institute of Social Sciences in 1985 and began a doctorate program. In 1989, he became the recipient of one of the Ph.D. research grants offered by Greece to Asian, African and Latin American students, and traveled to Athens. In 1993, he obtained his Ph.D. from the Atatürk Institute for Modern Turkish History at Dokuz Eylül University with a dissertation entitled, "Mütareke ve Yunan İşgali Döneminde İzmir Sancağı" [The Sanjak of Izmir during the Armistice and the Greek Occupation]. This thesis published in 1998 under the name, Sancılı Yıllar: İzmir 1918–1922 Mütareke ve Yunan İşgali Döneminde İzmir Sancağı [The Hard Years: Izmir 1918–1922 – the Sanjak of Izmir during the Armistice and the Greek Occupation] (Ayraç Yayınevi, Ankara, 1997), won him the Afet İnan History Research Award. In 2001, he became associate professor in modern Turkish history and is currently chair of the Department of International Relations (Political History) at Ege University.

Economy and Society on both Shores of the Aegean Life Under Greek Occupation in Rural Anatolia: The Foça Example Assoc. Prof. Engin Berber Friday, December 15, 2006 5:00 p.m. Free admission The Ottoman Bank Museum Bankalar (Voyvoda) Caddesi 35/37 (0212) 334 22 70