The great developments in the collective activities of the Greeks in Constantinople from the middle of the 19th century until the 1920s were due to the favourable conditions created by the reforms introduced to the Ottoman Empire; such include the institution of egalitarianism for both Muslim and non-Muslim subjects, as well as the legal foundation of Greek-Orthodox communities. These associations embarked upon rich scientific, educational and recreational activities, while ideas, anxieties,...

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Constantinopolitan refugees arrived en masse in Greece between 1922 and 1923, as well as after the 1964 expulsions. They stood out with their cosmopolitan ways and multilingualism. They mainly practiced urban professions and largely abstained from political involvement. These associations firstly contributed to covering the pressing needs for housing, finding jobs and naturalization. With their organizations and activities, they cultivated the Constantinopolitan ethno-local identity. Nowadays,...

During the period of the tanzimat reforms in the Ottoman Empire (1839-1876), some typical features in the cultural and social environment of the Ottoman capital emerged, which leave room for the use of the term “public space”, according to the model of Jürgen Habermas. These features consisted of new spaces of sociability, like the bourgeois associations and clubs, the development of the press, the formation of a literate public through the establishment of educational foundations. As a result,...

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“Hermes” was a Greek cultural association, which functioned in Constantinople (Istanbul) between 1877 and 1922. Its members were among the Greek intellectual elite of the time and the upper strata of the Greek society. Along with its philanthropic activities, and sometimes complementary to it, the association organized musical events and endeavoured to cultivate music.

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The foundation of the Greek Philological Association of Constantinople in 1861 was of great importance for the Greek Orthodox populations in Constantinople as well as the entire Ottoman Empire. It was the predominant scientific-educational organization of the literate Greek Orthodox community of Constantinople, with enormous social prestige, due to its manifold scientific activities, such as book editing, magazine issuing, seminar organization and the creation of a library, and its large-scale...

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