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#1 |
Member
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Bay Area
Posts: 1,614
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Gentlemen,
Please take a look at this knife. Is it from Crete or from somewhere else? Can our Greek speaking members please translate the poem on one side of the blade? Thank you, Teodor Last edited by TVV; 4th August 2013 at 07:23 PM. |
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#2 |
Member
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Ionian Islands, Greece
Posts: 96
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Hello,
Not Cretan, one side is inscribed Kydoniai 30 October 1900. Kydoniai is the formal Greek name for the Turkish town of Ayvalık on the Aegean coast of Asia Minor, with a predominantly ethnic Greek population pre-1922. On the other side the inscription reads: I eat bread with tears, (I drink) poisoned water I have been raised with sorrows and sufferings Regards, Andreas |
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#3 |
Member
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 136
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An attempt:
"I eat bread with tears, poisoned water... ... I am with with bitterness and sufferings." Kydonies (Today Chania) 1900 30 October |
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#4 |
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Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 136
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Sorry, the correct:
"I eat bread with tears, poisoned water... ... I am breeds with bitterness and sufferings." Kydonies (Today Chania) 1900 30 October |
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#5 |
Member
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Chania Crete Greece
Posts: 506
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Hi Teodor,
It is not from Crete, its from Aivali (Kydonies) in Asia Minor coast, in Turkey. Please make a better photo of the last 2 words in the second row. |
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#6 |
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Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 136
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Ups
![]() I think Eftihis is right, sorry. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayvalık http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kydonia Anyway, nice knife. |
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#7 |
Member
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Bay Area
Posts: 1,614
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Gentlemen,
Thank you very much for the quick responses. Here is hopefully a better photo of the poem. Teodor |
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#8 |
Member
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Chania Crete Greece
Posts: 506
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Thanks for the photo. Translation remains the same!
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#9 |
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Bay Area
Posts: 1,614
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Thank you very much Eftihis. Why are these inscriptions on Greek knives so elegiac? Are they references to the Ottoman yoke or simply love related?
Teodor |
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#10 |
Member
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Chania Crete Greece
Posts: 506
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Hi Teodor,
Have a look at this past thread: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...hlight=kydonia |
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#11 |
Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Room 101, Glos. UK
Posts: 4,167
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they are still making these inscribed knives in chania, crete. an elderly knife maker, Apostolis Pachtikos, made these:
not mine. ![]() ![]() mine. ![]() i gather he is actually a turk who immigrated to crete way back when & has been making knives there for 60+ years. i hope he still is. last i heard there were only 7 other makers left. edited: apparently the other 7 have died. ![]() apostolis signs his knives as 'armenis' as when he arrived from turkey, they mistakingly referred to him as the armenian ![]() |
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