Iskilli

Kostas, born in Iskili, Western Pontus, at the age of five, watches his parents being slaughtered by the Turks during the first period of the Pontian Genocide. Immediately afterwards he is taken to the house of the Turkish breeder Bulut. He lives there as a stray child in the Turkish family. The young boy is often subjected to brutal treatment by his father and two sons. But he has the saving presence of Bulut’s wife Aylin, a beautiful Turkish woman. Eileen has a secret affection for him and protects him as much as she can. Little Kostas also has strong feelings for her, which define him for the rest of his life. At the age of thirteen and while the Genocide has become widespread and the situation is brutal for the Greeks, Kostas is found by his cousin Zarifis. Zarifis, along with his brother and other Greeks, take Kostas and begin a march to escape the Turks, who are now persecuting all Greeks. On foot and through difficult adventures they reach Erpaa in the western Pontus. There a number of Pontians have already settled there in camps under the protection of the guerrillas. After a short time, after the guerrillas have prepared a safe route to a safe place for the refugees. for all these people towards Samsun, the second part of their escape from the Turks begins. They go through extreme dangers and experience great agonies.

Kostas is always with his cousin Zarifis and their wife. When they arrive at the port of Samsounta it is chaos from the crowd of people arriving in distress. They put them on the Kerasunda boat to take them to Thessaloniki. When they finally arrive in their homeland of Greece, Thessaloniki, the people in charge of receiving the refugees divide them into groups and send them to different parts of the country. Kostas and his cousins are sent to Domeniko Elassona. There they start their lives as refugees. They work in the fields, wherever they can find and slowly they manage to get a permanent home. Very soon a first match is made with Kostas, who, thanks to his mild character, is well liked by the locals. However, his first wife Tsofa is a philosopher and shortly after having their first son Anesti, she dies. Not many years pass and Kostas remarries Eurycleia, a widow with two orphans. Although there is a better match with her, the relationship does not last long. Together they have a daughter, Anthi, and a son, Yagoulis. Soon, however, the woman is consumed by grief, as she left her first orphaned children to her mother in order to marry Kostas. Suddenly she falls seriously ill and dies. Kostas is left with three orphans and his life is very difficult. When his cousins move to Katerini, he goes with them to find better luck there. In Katerini he marries his third wife Vali, who has just come as a refugee with her family from Sohum. This marriage is long-lasting. They have two more children together, Paresa and Tasos. They live through all the horrors of World War II, the Occupation and the Civil War. But thanks to Kostas’ hard work and absolute devotion they manage to survive. But Kostas feels unhappy, because this woman is cruel and authoritarian. She manages to send his first children away as soon as they are a little older. He tries to marry Anthea off to a wealthy merchant. But she resists, because she is in love with a young man, with whom she elopes. Soon they leave together for America. Anesti forces him to marry one of her nieces. A few years later he too leaves as an immigrant for Germany.

Kostas feels exiled in his house. His acquaintance with the widow Myrsini is decisive for his life. his mental survival. They are bound together by a great love and since they can do nothing else, they keep their love for each other. unlawful relationship. When the time comes for his third son, Yagoulis, to leave for Germany, Kostas lives the last phase of his life. farewell from his children. But this farewell gives everyone and a great hope. A better life for Yagoulis. Kostas himself remains in his life with Vali and her family, with Myrsini and their secret love and with the ghosts of the past, his parents and Aileen, who have been his companions and comfort throughout his life in his absolute orphanhood.