Heraklion was our second destination as refugees from Asia Minor. At first we stayed in Rethymnon and later we moved to Heraklion. We brought our animals with us, tying them around the middle and unloading them by hand built winch. The poor things kicked and writhed...
They took us and settled us in a mosque in Kizil Tabya [a neigbourhood in Heraklion, from the Turkish for 'Red Bastion']. Because we were orphans, at noon we would go to the Basilica of St. Mark, where all the kids from all the schools gathered, and they would feed us.
In those days refugees didn't have any money, so for Christmas trees we would decorate olive branches with silver paper from cigarette packets. To paint eggs at Easter we would use almond leaves, which produced a yellow colour. Most of the refugees who arrived in Heraklion worked as labourers or cultivated the land, especially the vineyards. They also went into commerce. The largest sultana export company was run by the Constantinidis Brothers, who had also had a factory in Smyrna. Floros had a factory too, and all those people led several Cretans to do the same, like M. Tzoulakis...
