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POI

Ιστορικό Εθνολογικό Μουσείο Ελλήνων της Καππαδοκίας (Στέγη Πολιτισμού Νέας Καρβάλης)

General description
The museum is located in Nea Karvali, a refugee village that is 8 km away. from Kavala on the old National Road Kavala – Xanthi. Nea Karvali is a continuation of the old Cappadocian Karvali (Gelveri) and drags behind it a long history. Its brilliant course was marked decisively by the presence of its Holy Child, Gregory the Theologian, one of the greatest Fathers of our Church, by the rural and industrial flourishing and by the foundation of the Cultural Center of Nea Karvali in 1981, by the local youth of the village, aiming at the cultural development and the improvement of the life of the people of Karvali. 


The Cultural Centre of Nea Karvali is a continuation of the first "Educational Association of Nazianzos", which was founded in Istanbul by merchants from Kavala in 1884 and contributed greatly, with works and institutions to the 70-year history since its foundation. 


In 1995, the Karvalis Stegi founded the Centre for Cappadocian Studies and the Historical and Ethnological Museum of the Greek-Kappapadocian Culture. The Center for Cappadocian Studies is the only enclave that promotes internationally the Greek Cappadocian tradition and history. He renovated and maintains a traditional refugee house, which houses the Historical Archive of Cappadocia, in which all the historical documents and manuscripts of Cappadocia are kept, while at the same time all the researches, studies and collections of data on the life of cappadocian refugees are carried out. The museum is housed in a modern building in the center of the village, just behind the church of St. Gregory, where the relics of St. Gregory the Theologian from Nazianzos are kept. 


The purpose of the museum's operation is the preservation and dissemination of Cappadocian Hellenism. It exhibits women's and men's costumes of Cappadocia, the tsoouchades (festive and wedding), which were usually made in the workshops of monks, who embroidered them, engraving them, with wire or cord, Byzantine symbols, cappadocian carpets decorated with lions and plane trees. Also the Cappadocian kemeni lyre, tools and objects from the occupations of men (farmers, merchants, duvets and potters), Cappadocian vases, the so-called liklik, made and painted in an elaborate way that served as jugs of water and wine. Unique in its kind is a ceramic, which shows the power of good and evil and is probably representative of the transition from idolatry to Christianity in the region of Cappadocia.

Very important are the ecclesiastical relics and sacred vessels of the churches of Cappadocia that the refugees brought with them in 1924, as well as old newspapers, magazines, textbooks written in Karamanlidika, that is, in Turkish with Greek script. In the Museum there is also a rare collection of books (14th, 15th and 18th and 19th centuries) from the then well-known printing offices (Patriarchal printing house of Constantinople, Venice, Jerusalem, Smyrna, Moscow, Alexandria). All this is indicative of the way of life of the Greek population that lived in the depths of Asia Minor and especially in Karvali of Cappadocia. Finally, there are showcases with objects from the Hittites' culture, an ancient civilization that had developed in the region of Cappadocia. 

In 1997 he was honored by the European Union with the title "Museum of the Year". It offers educational programs to school-age children with the main theme of the carpet and its construction. With the donation of the benefactor Kaplanidou – Drymalas Eleni begins the construction of the "Kaplanideio Guesthouse" where all the friends of Nea Karvali, the scholars of the Historical Archive as well as the patriots of the diaspora can be accommodated. There will also be the possibility to feed all our suffering fellow human beings and enjoy cappadocian care for those who wish to do so. 

Hours: 

  • MON-PA 08.30- 13.00 
  • Afternoons and weekends by appointment 

Ticket Price

  • General admission: €3 
  • Groups: €2 
  • Schools: €1

Contact
Images
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