Housing Problems

Housing the refugees was a particularly acute issue over the first few months, since the Heraklion Muslims were still living in the town, so their properties, and more especially their houses, could not be used as refugee accommodation. The problem was dealt with by pressing all kinds of available buildings into service: the Kokkinakis boys' school; the Agios Minas girls' school; the customs warehouses; the Kalokairinos warehouses at the Chania Gate; the Sina house and so on. Illustrative of the situation is the fact that even religious buildings such as the Valide Mosque, the Vezir Mosque and the Armenian church were used to house refugees.

The situation improved once the Muslims had departed, as the process of granting their properties to the refugees began. Nevertheless, a large part of all Muslim property passed into local hands via National Bank auctions, while reparations for property abandoned in Asia Minor were never paid.