Club "Apameia", Moudania

1. Foundation

The club was founded in 1888.1 It was named after the ancient city of Apameia in the area of Moudania (Mudanya), a choice revealing the spiritual connection with Antiquity, which described the Asia Minor Greek-speaking intelligentsia of that period and was part of the national formation of the Orthodox populations.

2. Activities

Most information about the activities of the club comes from Ε.Κ. Konstantinidis, who served as president of the club. In the first years after its foundation the “Apameia” mainly aimed at supporting the educational activities of the community through economic support for the schools' operation. In order to fulfill its aims “Apameia” founded a coffee-house, whose income covered the needs of the educational institutions of the community.

Towards the late 19th century the activities of the club somehow declined, but in 1901 “Apameia” was reorganised and extended its aims. Within this framework help was offered to the poor and prizes to the most diligent students. Moreover, a gym and a musical association were founded, lectures were held and a night school opened. A temporary crisis broke out in 1907 due to internal conflicts, which was soon overcome when the club changed its orientation towards poliktical matters after the revolution of the Young Turks and the formation of the parliament in 1908. Members of “Apameia” contacted the Organisation of Constantinople (Organosis Konstantinoupoleos) and the member of the Ottoman parliament G. Bousios in order to form a political committee that would spread in the population the constitutional rights and duties of the citizens. This committee was formed in Mudanya and represented all nearby communities, with the exception of Bursa and Kios. After the end of WWI and the arrival of the Greek High Commission in Constantinople (Istanbul), the club contributed to the creation of the Boy Scouts of Mudanya, which was part of the respective group of Constantinople.




1. Μαμώνη, Κ., “Σωματειακή οργάνωση του ελληνισμού στη Μ. Ασία”, Δελτίον Ιστορικής και Εθνολογικής Εταιρείας της Ελλάδος 26 (1983), p. 76. A different opinion is expressed by A. Millas, who dates the foundation of the club to 1886; see Μήλλας, Α., Προποντίδα. Μια θάλασσα της ρωμιοσύνης (Athens 1992), p. 40.