Madrasah | This is where the phrase "Haireta mou ton platano" came from
Walking in one of the most touristic areas of the center of Athens in Plaka, at the junction of Aiolou street with Pelopida, there is a piece of history, which few notice and even fewer know its history.
The story begins in 1721, in occupied Athens, under the Acropolis next to the "Aerides" of Plaka, the Ottomans build a seminary, for the study of religion and science, known as Madrasah. The order to build the school of budding imams was given by Mehmet Fakhris. Young Muslims were taught law, theology and philosophy. Their courses also included teaching Arabic, Persian and Turkish. The Madrasah functioned as a kind of university that promised a secure professional career in high-ranking positions for the "Softades".
The Ottoman Madrasah had a square shape, it consisted of a central building, the school, the 11 small dormitories for students and teachers, the common areas and the central courtyard.
With the declaration of the Greek Revolution (1821), the Madrasah ceased its operation and very soon King Othona with the Danish architect Christian Hansen repaired the dilapidated Madrasah and then turned it into a prison.
In fact, from 1850 onwards, after some interventions were made inside, the prison acquired a second floor. The Madrasah functioned as a detention center until the reign of George A. until the early years of the 20th century.
The prison was harsh and the conditions of the prisoners were miserable. Although the incarcerated were criminal prisoners, famous robbers of the time, politicians and dissidents, in essence those who were imprisoned were the poor and the underprivileged.
In the prison yard there was a sycamore tree that over the years became a symbol of death, as prisoners sentenced to death were hanged from its branches. It is said that this particular plane tree was planted in the prison yard by the archivist Bibisis.. The plane tree in the yard now becomes a hated symbol of oppression and pain and is identified with the Madrasah prison.
In 1852, the Greek general Makrygiannis was imprisoned on the charge of conspiracy against Otho, together with exiled Polish soldiers, while another well-known prisoner of the prison was the romantic poet Achilleas Paraschos, who was arrested and imprisoned in 1861.
In fact, criticizing the unjust and authoritarian Bavarian government, he writes a poem about the plane tree:
"O Platane of the Mendrese, cursed element of tyranny, a trophy, raised in prison... the time will come, Platane, of our country Bastille, when woodcutters, the wrath of the Nation will send you, and woodpeckers will flash freely at your root. You will not grow old, fire will not burn you, and we, who are buried here today by tyranny, will dance around in your ashes.
The sycamore tree of the Madrasah was also associated with the proverbial phrase "Hail to the sycamore tree", those prisoners who were released from prison, leaving the main gate of the prison, looked back towards the cells of their former prisoners and shouted to them meaningfully: "Haireta mou ton platano" .
The phrase has stuck around since then, and we still use it today to describe a situation that is lost beforehand, usually because someone handled it the wrong way.
In 1898, the Madrasah prison was demolished overnight by the citizens of Athens themselves. However, as early as the 1850s, many archaeologists had expressed a request to remove the prisoners from the prison and to demolish the building, as it was located in an area where excavations were planned for ancient, rumors that under the Madrasah there is untold treasure.
Finally, the Madrasah prison was completely demolished in 1914.
Today, in a rather symbolic way, only the main entrance of the Madrasah is preserved, as you can see in the video, a gateway to the history of our city, which no matter how much some people want us to forget it, we must preserve it, study it and learn from it .
As for the "hated" plane tree, in 1915 it was struck by lightning and burned completely.
Information : www.mixanitouxronou.gr
'Echoes' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au
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