Between Greek Thessaloníki and Ottoman Istanbul, 1912–1923 The beautiful Kapancı villas, with their eclectic elements, were well
suited to their owners when they were built at the turn of the twentieth
century. After the Greek conquest of the city, however, Mehmet Kapancı’s
villa served as the home of the first Greek military governor of Thessa-
loníki, Prince Nikolaos and his wife, Princess Irene.^32 In 1917 , it became
home of Prime Minister Venizélos, then head of the anti-royalist Provi-
sional Government based in Thessaloníki. Between 1922 and 1928 , Ortho-
dox Christian refugee families from Anatolia were accommodated in it. In
1928 , the building was acquired by the National Bank of Greece. Ahmet
Kapancı’s villa was divided into three between 1924 and 1934 : the ground
floor belonged to Ahmet’s son Mehmet, the first floor was occupied by
the Spanish consul, and the second floor housed Orthodox Christian ex-
changees from Anatolia.^33 In 1926 , the National Bank of Greece owned
two-thirds of the building and Mehmet Kapancı, one-third. In 1934 , he
died, and four years later, his one-third share was sold by his remaining
relatives, his mother and sister.
Şemsi Efendi’s wife Makbule and daughters Yekta and Marufe stayed
behind in Thessaloníki, where they faced difficulties, especially in hold-
ing on to their residences. The first portent of change came soon after
Greek occupation. The name of the street on which they resided was
changed from Army General Hasan Pasha to Army of Macedonia. The
street named after their illustrious husband or father was also changed.
Hamidiye Boulevard was in turn renamed Union, Prince Constantine,
King Constantine, National Defense, Queen Sofia, and, finally, Queen
Olga Avenue.^34 The fire of 1917 destroyed some of their properties.
These were signs of worse to come. More significantly, according to
the complaints they made to the Mixed Commission, in the five years
following the fire, the Greek municipality seized and appropriated their
homes, stores, and other properties in the city: numbers 58 and 60 on
former Army General Hasan Pasha street, numbers 1 , 2 , 5 , and 7 on for-
mer Şemsi Efendi street, a store located in the market in Tahtakale, and
most crucial, a property in the heart of the Karakaş district of Abdullah
Kadı on Eski Zindan street near the tomb of Osman Baba.^35 By 1923 ,
Şemsi Efendi’s wife Makbule and daughters Yekta and Marufe resided
together in Hamidiye at number 80 Army of Macedonia (formerly Gen-
eral Hasan Pasha) street.^36 According to a Greek-language floor plan
drawn with purple ink on transparent wax paper, one of their homes
was a two-story, six-room building. They owned so much property in