The sole Greek village of Nagorno-Karabakh, Mehmana (Μεχμανά), located in Matakert province, is under Azerbaijani control, and the two dozen or so residents are either now in Armenia or Stepanakert, the capital city of the region.
Greek City Times can confirm that the President of the Greeks of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), Sofie Ivanidou, is still in Stepanakert, and the situation of all Greeks will be clearer once she is evacuated to Armenia.
Mehmana was settled in the 1830’s by the Pontic Greeks of Argyroupoli (Αργυρούπολης, Turkish: Gümüşhane Turkis) in Pontos, attracted by the news of gold mines in the region. The gold was mined and processed in Mehmana for more than a century.
Although it was the most remote of all the Pontian Greek colonies in the Caucasus, it was a financially strong one.
Retired Army Major, author and journalist Savvas Kalenteridis said: “The village was purely Greek until the Azeris attacked in 1992. Then they burned the houses, which in fact remains ruined to this day.”
“Few of what was built are habitable. After the attack, many relocated to Greece and especially to its northern areas such as Florina,” he added.
Among the surnames Savvas Kalenteridis met on his visit to the village were Lavasidis, Akritidis, Ioannidis, Stylianidis, Putahidis and Papadopoulos.
https://greekcitytimes.com/2023/09/28/mehmana-greek-village-control/
