The History of Efkere

Origins & Development

The exact origins of Efkere are unknown.  According to an Armenian legend, the monastery that would become Efkere’s  Surp Garabed Vank (St. John the Baptist Monastery, or, in Turkish Efkere Buyuk Monastir) was founded in the First Century by St. Thaddeus.  

Another Armenian legend holds that the monastery was formed in the Fourth Century by St. Gregory the Illuminator.  

We know for certain, though, that Surp Garabed Monastery was definitively mentioned in a colophon from 1206, and that the village was referred to by name in 1417 in an inscription in the Temple of the Holy Resurrection in Jerusalem.  

We may never know if indeed the monastery was established in the first or fourth centuries, but we can be certain that it existed by 1206, and that the village of Efkere was of significant size by 1417.

Even the origin of the name “Efkere” is uncertain.  It may come from the Greek word, Yevkaria, which means “sacred place” or “sanctity.”  The monastery located here is believed to contain some of the remains of St. John the Baptist so, it is indeed, a “sacred place.”

The name may also stem from the Armenian words “hevk arav”, which means “to have panted.”  St. Gregory the Illuminator, carrying the remains of St. John the Baptist (Surp Garabed in Armenian) is traditionally believed to have become exhausted and rested in the region on his way to Armenia from Caesarea.  Climbing the steep hills, he panted—hevk arav.   

There are numerous variations of the name, which can make research troublesome.  These include Efkere, Efkereh, Hevkere, Hefkarah, Evkereh, Yevkara, Yebgara, and Evkar.  Turkish scholar Hüseyin Cömert notes that, in a census taken in the year 1500 of Kayseri and the surrounding villages, it is listed as “Efekere.”

I have chosen to refer to the village as “Efkere”, as this seems to be the most common spelling, and it is almost identical to the spelling that the post office in the village used (Efkéré) in the years prior to its closure (likely in 1915).

Efkere was populated primarily by Armenians throughout much of its history, although Turkish people have also been present, and have formed the majority population since 1915.   

According to “16th Century Kayseri” by Mehmet Inbaşı (information kindly provided by Hüseyin Cömert) there were 122 Christian families in Efkere at this time (the 16th Century), with 6 flour mills (although two were not in operation). 

In 1618, Simeon Lehatsi noted that there were 300 Armenian households in the “big village in front of St. Garabed’s”. This figure did not increase rapidly over the years. 

Almost 300 years later, in 1914, Bishop Drtad Balian recorded that there were 500 Armenian households and 50 Turkish households in the village.

The village of Efkere was divided into an eastern and western section by a brook, Darsiakh Suyu. The western portion of the village was almost adjacent to the monastery. A five minute walk from the northern corner of the monastery’s hill would lead one to the first street in the western portion of Efkere.

Alboyadjian described Efkere in the following manner in his 1937 book, Hye Gesaria:

When you walk on that first street [of western Efkere] and lift up your eyes, you shall see a charming scene…A brook flows towards the South, from within the gradually rising valley, babbling sweetly and cooling the groves lining its banks…[Efkere’s] stone houses, bearing the grace of those of an Armenian village, climb on both sides in such a way that often the roofs of the houses of the lower streets have become the courtyards of the houses immediately above them. The middle of the upper streets of the left, that is, the Eastern hill, vaunts a beautiful church with a charming dome – a truly magnificent sight. Next to it is the modest school of the elevated village. The hilly parts of Efkere…are sights that, justifiably, please the heart of any visitor; the residents of those areas are the Armenians consisting of nearly five hundred households. On this side, towards the North, in a slightly widened part of the valley…is the Turkish colony, consisting of fifty families.

According to Dzotzikian, in Western Armenia (Leylekian Publishers, 1947), “Evkere’s houses are made of stone. They are huge, durable, and have more than one floor.”

Darsiakh Suyu was the principle source of water for the entire village. In Efkere, two water-mills were placed along its path, and some of the water was diverted into a lake on the northwestern side of the village. This lake did not replenish itself, and individuals in Efkere worked daily during the summer to fill this lake with water from Darsiakh Suyu. The lake, or pond, was called Haft or, in Turkish, Efkere Göleti. The gardens and crops throughout Efkere were irrigated during the summer by water from this lake.

Near this lake was an open area named Bar Galer, or the Dance Gallery. Here the townspeople would gather for celebrations such as Easter, play their musical instruments and dance, from whence the name was derived.

Two photographs of Eastern Efkere, both prior to 1915. In each, Surp Stepanos Church is the domed structure near the center. The first photograph was taken from Western Efkere, on the southwestern plateau, at or near the site of Surp Elia’s chapel. The second photograph was also taken from Western Efkere, but the perspective has now changed approximately 90 degrees, and one is looking at the front of Surp Stepanos Church.

By the beginning of the 20th century, the majority of Armenians in this village earned their living as blacksmiths. A smaller number were merchants, farmers, and money-changers in Kayseri and Constantinople.

Carpet weaving was carried out by many of the women.

A market was present in the village consisting of 20-30 shops, where business was carried out both with residents of Efkere and of neighboring villages. This business area was most likely located in Eastern Efkere, on the southern side.

The Armenian Dialect of Efkere

The spoken language of Ottoman Armenians varied from region to region, and often from village to village. To a certain extent, the Armenian language of Efkere also had its own characteristics.

The following is from Arshak Alboyajian’s Badmootiun Hye Gesaria, from 1937:

The village had a mixed population but, despite this, had managed to preserve its mother tongue.

As I’ve mentioned, their dialect was a corrupted Armenian, mixed with Turkish, and the abundance of Turkish words could be considered a result of the proximity between the Armenian and Turkish residents of the village.

Kr. T. Yorejian (see Manzoumeyi Efkear no. 1196, June 3, 1905), despite this, assures us that “Efkere is the only village in the region of Cesaria which has been subjected less to foreign influence and has adopted fewer foreign customs” and that Efkerites were “protective of their tradition, if not obsessive about it”. In the section about language, he says that “the language of this village, in comparison to the dialects of other villages has changed very little and bears very little foreign influence. It also has its own peculiarities and corruptions. The ga particle deserves attention, corresponding to gor – here it is placed before the verb, instead of after it. For example – ga glla (glla gor), ga gertam (gertam gor), ga goulam (goulam gor), and so on. The future tense is similar to krapar, for example yertali em (bidi yertam), ellali em (bidi ellam), kali em (bidi kam). It contains a lot of krapar forms and styles, as well as a select bouquet of provincial words, compiling a collection of which would not prove uninteresting to linguists.

Unfortunately, as far as we know, nobody has done this.

However, there are surviving written examples of the language of the Armenians of Efkere, particularly from the years immediately prior to the First World War. Much of this is in the form of letters written in Armeno-Turkish, in which Armenian letters are used to write Turkish words. An example of this is included below, which is a portion of a letter written from Efkere on September 17, 1912.

Efkere Ermeniler’inin konuştuğu dilden, özellikle Birinci Dünya Savaşı döneminden, günümüze ulaşan yazılı örnekler mevcut olduğu için mutluyuz. Bunun büyük bir çoğunluğunu, Türkçe kelimelerin Ermenice harfleriyle yazıldığı Ermeno-Türkçe yazılan mektuplar oluşturmaktadır. Aşağıda, bunlara bir örnek olarak 17 Eylül 1912’de Efkere’den yazılan mektubun bir kısmı verilmektedir.

Other letters also exist from Efkere during this time period which are written solely in Armenian, and therefore it is difficult to determine to what extent Armenian versus Turkish was spoken in Efkere, or if one particular language was chosen over another for certain occasions – i.e.: business transactions, schooling, social interaction amongst Armenians.

A Timeline for the Village of Efkere

To the best of my knowledge, nobody has put together a concise timeline for the major events in this villages history before.

This is a work in progress.  Please feel free to contact me with any suggestions for additions that you might have.

Efkere changed forever in 1915.  It seemed reasonable to first post a history of the village up until that year, before tackling later events.

1st Century - according to an Armenian legend, the monastery that would become Efkere’s Surp Garabed Vank was founded by St Thaddeus

Beginning of 4th Century - according to an Armenian legend, the monastery that would become Surp Garabed Vank was founded by St Gregory the Illuminator, who was traveling from Caesarea to Armenia with the relics of Saint John the Baptist.  St Gregory is said to have rested here, and left some of the relics on the hillside that would become the monastery.

1206 - A colophon includes the first definitive reference to Surp Garabed monastery. A handwritten gospel, written by Priest Gregor in Tomarza and finished on Friday, January 3, 1206 states: “From Saint Karapet Hovhannes of Capadocia and Saint Stepanos the witness and Saint Theodoros and Saint Markerios and from other saints’ monasteries of Kesaria Province.”

1417 - The first definitive recorded evidence of Efkere, an inscription in the Temple of the Holy Resurrection in Jerusalem names Bishop Toros, “Bishop of Hevgara and Cesaria”, suggesting that the village is heavily populated by Armenians.

1530 - Census records reveal Efkere to be registered as a village in the jurisdiction of Koramaz township.

1560 - A manuscript (Aristotle’s Signature) mentions “Cesarea and the village of Evkara under the protection of the monastery of the great St Garabed of Amlordi”

1584 - Census carried out. There were 265 non-Muslim men in the village subject to taxes, and one Muslim man subject to taxes.

1618 - Simeon Lehatsi notes that there were 300  Armenian households in the “big village in front of St. Garabed’s”, along with 3 churches.

1683 - Perhaps the first mention of Surp Stepanos church, which was the principle church in the  village.   A manuscript by the priest Hovsep Yerets from 1683 indicates that it was written for “the village-city known as Hyuraka, at the doors of St Stephen the Protomartyr, and St Sergius and George, the Generals.”  Yerets likely served the village as priest.

1693-1718 - Numerous manuscripts written in Efkere by Haroutiun, who would go on to become a priest in the village

1718 - Surp Kevork Church is noted in an almanac from this year.  Also noted in the same almanac are the churches of St. Merecherios and St Theodore, of which no further information is known.

1819 - Nahabed Rusinian, Armenian physician, poet, writer, orator born in Efkere.

1820s - The first school in Efkere, with the exception of the religious training at the monastery, is established under the direction of Bavghabt Rousinian.  Its first teacher was Deacon Asdvadzadour, a student at the monastery who went on to later become a priest in the village

1831 - According to the Ottoman census, Efkere was comprised of five separate neighborhoods: Cavdarli (Armenian residents), Demirci (Armenian residents), Han (Armenian residents), Kuzey (Armenian residents), and Cesme (Turkish residents).

1834 - Charles Texier, a Frenchman, visits the region, including Efkere.

August 13, 1835 - Major earthquake strikes the Kayseri region, two hours before sunrise, with several aftershocks.  Extensive damage throughout region, with some nearby villages almost completely destroyed.  Loss of life.  Reports from Efkere lacking, but the monastery is definitely damaged.  Aftershocks  recurred regularly up until September, and continued intermittently for up to a year.

1840 - Census records reveal 200 Armenian households, with 565 males.  The Armenian population was 4 times greater than the Muslim population.

1853 - “Anadol–The Last Home of the Faithful”, by John Henry Skene, is published, with a brief description of Efkere and the monastery.

1857-1858–Patriarchate records list this as the construction period for the version of Surp Stepanos church that is currently standing. Architect: possibly Hovhannes Amira Serveryan, a royal architect.

1860 - Ottoman census carried out.  Small portions of this census pertaining to Efkere have been published.

1871 - Per Alboyajian, Surp Stepanos church is at least partially rebuilt. Per Kevorkian, it was not rebuilt at this time, but rather refurbished.

1872 - A postal station is present in Efkere.

1872–Property tax records for the village from this year survive to this day.

1872-1873 - 120 male students are enrolled in the village school, now referred to as Haygian

1875 - Census reveals 321 Armenian households and 60 Turkish households.

1879 - Rev H F Tozer visits the monastery, and later includes a description of it in a travelogue that he publishes.

1886 - A girls school is present in the village since at least this date

1880s - Small Armenian Catholic community forms.

1886 - Life of Armenians in Efkere is described in Vdaranti (The Exile).  Describes the Armenian villagers as belonging to any one of five different political parties.  Quarreling.

1888 - Catholic church is built.

1895 - Three men from Efkere leave for America, including Garabed (Jeknavorenk) Sahagian and Vahan Minasian

1896– A permit is granted to construct a school within the monastery.

1897–En Cappadoce: Notes de Voyage by Alfred Boissier is published, which includes a description of Surp Garabed Monastery, and several photographs of the outside and inside of the monastery.

1898- An orphanage exists at the monastery since at least this date. A priest named Avedis collected provisions from Armenians in Yozgat for the orphans at the monastery during this year.

1901 - The village school, now called Torkomian-Akabian, has 170 students (130 boys, 40 girls)

April, 1905 - In “Manzoume”, Krikor Eorjian described the girls school as being “in a very pitiful state.. . .Girls aged 7-12 generally attend it.”

1910s - The village priest, Der Mesrob Sahagian, travels to America, visit numerous cities where there were Armenians, and gives sermons.  Returns to Efkere, encouraging the youth to also travel to America, earn money, and then return home.

There are at least two other village priests at this time:  Father Madtheos Donigian, and Father Boghos Kesigbashian.

Late summer, 1912 - Cholera epidemic in Efkere.  Approximately 30 deaths in the village.  50-60 households deserted the village during the epidemic.  Village blockaded for 30 days by the government, with nobody allowed to enter or leave.

1913 - “The Educational Society for the Girls School of Hefkara” formed in New York by diasporan Efkeretzis to raise money for the girls school.  Base was at 321 E. 29th St, 11th Floor.

Early 1914 (?January) - Typhus epidemic hits Efkere.  5-10 deaths.

1914 - Bishop Drtad Balian notes that there were 500 Armenian households and 50 Turkish households in the village.

1914 - Village priest Der Mesrob Sahagian again in America.  Conducts the first Armenian vesper service in Racine, Wisconsin.

Timeline text