The city of Smyrna was divided into five districts or neighbourhoods: the Greek, Armenian, Jewish, Turkish, and Frankish districts. The term Frank was used to describe the Levantines of the city, in other words, foreign nationals of European origin regardless of nationality. Others simply called it the European district.
The Frankish district began to form in the early 17th century. Rue Franque, or Frank Street, was a 5-8 metre wide street located in the Frankish district, which ran across one-quarter of the entire city. It was on this street that all the grand mansions were located, as well as merchants from European countries such as the Dutch, Scotch, Austrian, Spanish, and Portuguese.
Some Ottomans referred to Smyrna as "Infidel (Gavur) Smyrna" due to its strong foreign identity. In the largely Christian Frankish district, one could find a fashionable social life. For instance, the Casino club acted as a central meeting point where balls took place and also as a library. The club offered its members newspapers from numerous different countries.
A traveller to Smyrna in the mid-19th century observed:
“It is almost impossible to come across a Turkish cultural element in the Frank neighbourhood. A foreigner can feel himself in an Italian city there [...] The Greeks adopted [the] Frank way of dressing and normalised this style. Street names are usually in French."
He continued:
"One could come across many photograph studios and pharmacy laboratories. Here the houses are decorated like in Europe. The people who go for a walk along the harbour are very elegant and can compete with the distinguished world in Paris.”
By the second half of the 19th century, the Frankish district partly lost its prominence to the newly built promenade, which ran four kilometres along the water's edge. The catastrophic fire of Smyrna in September 1922 destroyed the Greek, Armenian and Frankish districts. The Jewish and Turkish districts were spared.
The article first appeared on the Greek Genocide Resource Center
READ MORE: Do You Know the Long History of the second most important city in Greece, Thessaloniki?
