Polonezkvy|

Cristian Mocanu crismoc at smart.ro
Wed Apr 11 10:32:10 UTC 2001


If my memory serves me, some earlier postings on this list, coming from
people living in Turkey, suggested that the Polish colony in Polonezkoy was
long extinct, or even that the whole thing was a mere legend. Just to
complete Geoffrey Summers'posting that points out to a different reality:
        Here's what I find in a Vatican-edited brochure called:"Recognizing
the Spiritual Bonds That Unite Us-Thirty Years of Christian-Muslim
Dialogue". One page is devoted to Pope John Paul II's visit to Turkey, in
the autumn of 1980. There's an "excerpt of an adress delivered, IN POLISH,
by Pope John Paul II, to the inhabitants of the Polish colony of
Polonezkoy/Adampol, 1980. In the text the Pope praises "this unique instance
of preservation of Polish language and culture over so many years, which, to
this day, is a living proof of the remarkable tolerance shown by Turkey and
the Turkish people at a time when Poland was partitioned and, elsewhere in
Europe, hatred and persecution were taking their toll off our forefathers'
lives and identity".
          So, just 20 years ago, the Polishness of that community was very
much alive!

God bless,

Cristian



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