1. Name, human geography

A village in the valley of Karasu (Gallos) River, left affluent of Sangarius (Sakarya). One kilometer to the east of the settlement passed the railway line connecting Constantinople (Istanbul) and Ankara. The settlement was 11.5 klm N-NE of Bilecik, 17 klm N of Küplü (Kiouplia), 81 klm E of Prousa (Bursa) and 75 klm SE of Kios (Gemlik). The settlement’s name was common both for the Muslim and the Greek Orthodox, as seen through the Ottoman and the ecclesiastical documents. The village took its name from a big inn which was thought to be built there by a certain vizier during the 17th century. Its ruins were still preserved until the early 20th century. The construction of the inn was considered to be the act of foundation for the settlement, which grew with the coming of settlers from Göl Pazar, Epirus, Chios (especially after the destruction of the island during the Greek War of Independence) and other places.

Before the Asia Minor Catastrophe Vezirhan numbered about 150 families, from which only 10-15 were Muslim and the rest Greek Orthodox.¹ The Muslim compared to the Greek-Orthodox element was initially larger: out of 150 families 100 were Muslim and just 50 Greek Orthodox. After the war of 1875-1878 between Russia and Turkey, however, and the mobilization of many Muslim men of the village which perished in battles, the situation turned in favour of the Greek Orthodox element.

The Greek Orthodox inhabitants of Vezirhan were Turkish-speaking. Through the school an effort was made to teach Greek to the younger generations –also the children of the Muslim families went to the school. The mass, as well as the gospels in the church were recited in Greek. The preaching, however, followed in Turkish.

2. Administration, religion and education

According to the information available for the beginning of the 20th century, Vezirhan directly belonged to Bilecik, a seat of a mutasarriflık of the vilayet of Prousa (Brusa) during that period. The village was a muhtarlık, which means it was ruled by a muhtar in collaboration with two or three azas (councillors). The village ecclesiastically belonged to the diocese of Nicaea.

The village’s only church was dedicated to St Basil. It was a big church built of stone with a gabled roof and a bell tower. It was destroyed in 1908 by a fire but was rebuilt during the following years.

The village also had educational institutions, more specifically a school for boys and a school for girls, which were housed in the same building, probably erected during the decade of 1840-1850. There was a board which was responsible for the teachers’ salaries: the yearly expenses for the teacher of the school for boys reached the amount of 40-45 Ottoman lira. The female teacher of the school for girls had a lower salary.

3. Economy

In the village there was a great factory for the elaboration of silk which belonged to the Chatzi Ilias and Chatzi Sophronis brothers. About 70 female and 15 male workers were employed there. The settlement was divided into five neighbourhoods: four of them were occupied by Greek Orthodox and one by Muslims.² The village also had a mosque, whereas the inn from which it took its name was located in a distance of 250 metres from it.

The main productive activity of the inhabitants was sericulture. Silk was sold either in Bilecik either in Kiouplia, market towns with which Vezirhan conducted its trade exchanges. During these exchanges the state retained 12.5%. They also produced fruit, wheat etc.

After the Expulsion of the Greek Orthodox population families from the village settled at Serres, Xanthi and Thessaloniki.