Mudanya exchanges economic and social cohesion

The Turkish-Greek Population Exchange Agreement, signed on January 30, 1923, displaced more than 2 million people from the lands they were born and knew as their homeland, causing a lot ofagony, deaths, and losses. Because of the conditions in that period, no better option could be foreseen by the statesmen than the exchange. Before the signing of the exchange, there had been an intense migration movement between Greece and Anatolia. With the ratification of the agreement, the reciprocal migration movement, which had already started, became official. Within the scope of the exchange, approximately 1 million 200 thousand Greeks migrated from Turkey to Greece, and 500 thousand Muslims migrated from Greece to Turkey. The Ministry of Exchange, Reconstruction and Settlement was established to carry out the dispatch and resettlement affairs of the exchangees in an orderly manner. In the newly founded Republic of Turkey, which had just come out of the war, all resources were mobilized and the dispatch and resettlement of most of the exchangees was completed within a short period of two years. The exchangees were planned to be placed on the land and houses left by the Greeks. However, during the war and occupation, 70% of Western Anatolia was burned and destroyed, houses were plundered, and the houses that remained intact were also illegally occupied. In this process, new villages were established, new houses were built and houses that could be repaired were restored with a rapid reconstruction work. Bursa and its district Mudanya were also accepted as an important settlement area with a non-Muslim population, rich agricultural opportunities and with anadvanced industry. A total of 33,000 exchangees were settled in Bursa and 6,000 in Mudanya. Immigrants settled in Bursa and the surrounding cities entered Turkey through Mudanya Port. In Mudanya, as in many parts of the country, housing was insufficient for the exchangees. Therefore, new villages were formed, and new houses were built. During this period, the exchangees were accommodated in tents in public areas like mosques, schools, and even in olive groves, and their food was provided by the ministry and the Red Crescent. Since Mudanya and its climate and product diversity are similar, immigrants from Crete and Kavala were settled here. There happened a great demographic and social transformation in the district. Mudanya, which was one of the places where mostly non Muslim population lived, became homogeneous in terms of population, and the economy and production became nationalized. A gap arose in some business lines which required craftsmanship, and it was not possible to close the gap in a short time because the majority of those exchangees were from the countryside and engaged in the agriculture and livestock farming. The exchangees made significant contributions to the economy of the district with sericulture, tobacco, olive, grain, grape and fig farming. They were sometimes ostracized by the local people of Mudanya, and some disagreements arose among them. However, over time, social interactions were promoted, and thus social harmony was achieved. They have preserved their exchanged identities so far, and as an important element of Mudanya, they have created a common culture unique to Mudanya. Keywords: Treaty of Lausanne, Population Exchange, Mudanya, Social and Economic Cohesion