ABOUT

The village of Ekshisu was formerly known as Gorno Vrbeni until the Turkish occupation renamed it Ekshisu for its high mineral concentration of the waters surrounding it. It was then forced to be renamed once again under Greek occupation to the name Ksino Nero.

FAMILY NAMES

Here is a list of family names which at one point lived in Ekshisu (although it is NEVER complete).

In the first column is the original Macedonian version of the name. In many cases individuals and families that have emigrated to other countries have had their names 'localized' to the local language (in Australia/Canada/USA they have been shorted - Ivanov to Evans, Branov to Brown). In the European countries they have adjusted to include "-ski" or "-sky" (examples are Popovski from Popov, Mangovsky from Mangos).

In the second column is how it would be written in Macedonian (NOTE: you will need to have the "MAC C Times" Truetype font installed on your system to properly read it. For more information on how to get this done please visit Biser Balkanski - How To Install Macedonian fonts on your computer .

The third column is the Hellenized (ie. "Greek") version assigned by the Greek government in the years which followed the Treaty of Bucharest in 1913. In a majority of the cases the changes did not appear until after 1920. In many cases as with the village names, an attempt was made to spell the last names in the Greek alphabet sound-for-sound but it was later decided to make them sound more "Greek" (examples were "Dimov" to "Dimopoulos", "Iliev" to "Iliadis").

For those unaware, the Treaty of Bucharest "divided the spoils" of Macedonia amongst the three neighbouring countries - Bulgaria, Greece, and Serbia. Amongst the worst of what was to follow happened in Greece - family names were given "Greek" versions, village names were renamed, churches were re-Christened under Greek saints, tombstones and epitaphs along with any visible signs of the Macedonian language were erased and re-written in Greek.

POPULATION

HISTORY

The village Ekshi Su was forcibly renamed by the Greek government to Ksinon Neron. It is part of the Lerin region about 23 kilometes southeast from the town. It is on the ridge of the mountain Radosh at 21 degrees 38 minutes longitude and 40 degrees 41 minutes latitude and 650 metres above sea level. It has an area of about 5 square kilometres.

The village borders the following settled places: to the east with the town of Sorovich, to the southeast with the village Sotir and Guljantsi, to the southwest with the village Spantsi and to the west with the mountain Radosh.

This village is renowned because of its abundant mineral waters from which it was given its current name, Ekshi Su, which in Turkish means mineral water. Before that it was called Gorno Vrbeni.

Before the start of the Greek Civil War in 1945, it had about 2,000 residents of Macedonian background.

The residents of the village were employed in agriculture, raising livestock, trades, production and sale of mineral water and other activities.

During the Greek Civil War, the residents took an active part in the organization of NOF and the armed forces of DAG with more than 52 active fighters. 51 fighters gave their lives.

They were :

1. Alipashov M Hristo
2. Adzhiev Mijale Blagoj
3. Adzhiev Boris Jani
4. Adzhiev K Jordan
5. Adzhiev Frosa
6. Adzhikirov Dore Gligor
7. Belchev S Gjorgi
8. Botsev Stavre Nikola
9. Botsev Stavre Dimitar
10. Bulev T Miro
11. Bulev Kostadin Mati
12. Bulev Risto Blagoj
13. Vlasheto Iljo Pandil
14. Vodenicharov T Stevo
15. Vrapchev Strate Kalo
16. Gjerov G Kalo
17. Dafov K Dore
18. Drangov Pavle Metodi
19. Dumkov Gjorgji Todor
20. Dumkov Done Jani
21. Dumkova Stefo Tinka
22. Gjozev Boris
23. Gjozev Iljo Mihail
24. Kakasulev Pavle Trifo
25. Kaptiv Pandil
26. Kaptiv S Spiro
27. Kargov Dine Simo
28. Kargov A Iljo
29. Klanev Nakje Done
30. Klanev Nakje Kole
31. Kraev Arso Simo
32. Kuev Metodi Mitse
33. Mandzhov Mitse Stevo
34. Masin B Hristo
35. Popov A Iljo
36. Popov M Tome
37. Popov Pandil Kocho
38. Popov K'cho Trifun
39. Popchev Kiril Blagoj
40. Robev Tashe Stevo
41. Robev Tashe Vasil
42. Robev Tashe Gavril
43. Robev Simo Gjorgji
44. Robev U Gjorgji
45. Romanov P Vasil
46. Tashovski G Hristo
47. Tashovski G Slave
48. Trajkova Tashe Fula
49. Cholakov Trifko
50. Shatev S Vasil
51. Shumtakov Gire Bladzhe

Killed and deceased in the prisons as a result of the inhuman tortures were from the village of Ekshi Su:

1. Adzhiev N Boris
2. Adzhikirov Tipe
3. Bogdanov Metodi
4. Velashkov Tasho
5. Gjerova M Frosa
6. Dimulkov Mihail
7. Dumkov M Vasil
8. Durtanova Lazo Marika
9. Karajanov V Blagoj
10. Kakasulov Hristo
11. Masin D Stevo
12. Masin Stevo Tashe - father and son
13. Madzhov Kole
14. Popov S Stefo
15. Popova P Matka
16. Pochev Stavre
17. Popchev Kiril - father of Popchev Kiril Blagoj
18. Raikov Dino
19. Robev J Vasil
20. Robev G Gavre
21. Romanov R Pandil
22. Romanov D Vane
23. Romanov D Misil
24. Romanov Mitse
25. Srbinov R Vane
26. Strazhova Sika
27. Strazhova Niki
28. Strazhova Vesa
29. Strazhova Stefo Depa - mother and three daughters
30. Strazhova Iljo Dika
31. Tashevski Metodi
32. Tertanov K Stevo
33. Trajkov K Pandil
34. Trajkova Fula
35. Usov Pando
36. Hadzhikirov J Trifun
37. Tsitskov Icho Kiril

The details about the fallen were obtained from Kiril Lapchev, Tashe Botsev and Tanas Shapardanov, from the village Ekshi Su.

Of the fallen named above who gave their young lives, 76 were men and 12 women.

After the Greek Civil War and after the great emigration and forced emigration from Ekshi Su, the number of residents fell. This can be seen from the official census in 1991 in Greece according to which Ekshi Su had 371 residents.

LINKS

• Google maps - Ekshisu

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