Foustani Explained

Foustani
Name Local:Φούστανη
Type:community
Caption Skyline:View of Foustani
Coordinates:41.055°N 22.1764°W
Elevation Max:280
Periph:Central Macedonia
Periphunit:Pella
Municipality:Almopia
Municunit:Exaplatanos
Population As Of:2021
Population:333
Postal Code:58003
Georegion:Macedonia

Foustani (Greek, Modern (1453-);: Φούστανη; Macedonian: Фуштани, Fuštani) is a village in the municipality Almopia, Pella regional unit, northern Greece. According to the 2021 census, the village has a population of 333 people.

Foustani had 651 inhabitants in 1981. In fieldwork done by anthropologist Riki Van Boeschoten in late 1993, Foustani was populated by a Greek population descended from Anatolian Greek refugees who arrived during the Greek–Turkish population exchange, and Slavophones. The Macedonian language was spoken in the village by people over 30 in public and private settings. Children understood the language, but mostly did not use it. Turkish was possibly spoken by people over 60, mainly in private.[1]

The refugees replaced the Pomaks who left the village in 1923 as part of the population exchange between Greece and Turkey.

A mosque located near the main present church used to exist in the village, later destroyed.[2]

Notes and References

  1. Van Boeschoten. Riki. Usage des langues minoritaires dans les départements de Florina et d’Aridea (Macédoine). Use of minority languages in the departments of Florina and Aridea (Macedonia). fr. Strates. 10. 2001. Table 1: Réfugiés grecs; Footnote 2: Le terme « réfugié » est utilisé ici pour désigner les Grecs d’Asie Mineure qui se sont établis en Grèce dans les années vingt après l’échange de population entre la Turquie et la Grèce (Traité de Lausanne, 1924); Table 4: Foustani, 651; R, S, M2, T3?; R = Refugiés, S = Slavophones, M = macédonien, T = turc"
  2. Stavridopoulos. Ioannis. 2015. Μνημεία του άλλου: η διαχείριση της οθωμανικής πολιτιστική κληρονομιάς της Μακεδονίας από το 1912 έως σήμερα. Monuments of the other: The management of the Ottoman cultural heritage of Macedonia from 1912 until present. Ph.D.. el. University of Ioannina. 28 March 2022. 206.