THE TURKS ARE COMING
(A Balkan War Story)
By
Virgil R. Marco
This story takes place in the small mountain village of Perivoli, Greece. Perivoli is a picturesque village situated on the slope of the Pindus Mountains and was founded some three hundred years ago by the union of three villages, Bithultsi, Karitsa and Baietan. At first the united village was not on the site of the modern Perivoli, but lower down the valley by the monastery of Agia Nikola where the inhabitants cultivated cornfields and vineyards.
Perivoli possesses a fine spring of cold water in the place where the great village dances are held every year at the festival of Sanda Vineri as the Perivoliats usually call their patron saint. The village is proud of its "Misohori" or square and it is the envy of their neighbors. It is a wide terrace partly natural and partly built up on the sloping hillside and on three sides has shops or houses, the latter tower-like buildings several stories high. On the fourth side, the ground falls away sharply and leaves an unbroken view over the lower part of Perivoli and line after line of wooded hills rising above the valley, at the head of which the village stands. Northwest of the square stands the principal church. At the east end there is another small terrace well shaded with plane trees and affording good opportunities for quiet talk on hot days. Beyond the church are two schools, Greek and Romanian that divide the juvenile population of the village between them.
Timber and woodcutting together with “sheep-rearing” are the chief trades. On the far side of Mount Ou or Mount Egg, which takes its name from the peculiarly shaped rock on its summit, is a deep wooded ravine with a stream full of trout that runs down to join the Aous river near Baiesa (or Vovoussa). Tradition records that the metal working here are those of the Romans who fought a battle in this valley.
At the time of this story this village was a part of the Ottoman Empire. However, the people of the village seldom saw anyone of authority from the Turkish government - not even a tax collector. The village of approximately four hundred families governed themselves. A war between the Greeks and Turks was in progress and this village was about to become involved. There were many rumors circulated that the Turkish army was ruthless and barbaric.
It was an early spring morning during the year, 1908 that the rain came down intermittently in torrents. At approximately 2:00 AM the bells of the church began to clang. A loud voice from a man riding a horse through the village was shouting in the native language "The Turks are coming. They are burning homes and killing women and children. Go to the mountains."
Not far from the church in a two-story house on one of the sloping, hillsides slept a young boy, ten years old, named Tuli Marcou. Tuli awoke from the clanging noise of church bells wondering what was happening. The village also awoke from a peaceful sleep to a nightmare of reality that great danger was near. Panic began to spread; the sound of the church bells were muffled by the sound of people shouting to one another and loud harsh cries of the mules being loaded with the necessities of the unplanned trip to escape the danger approaching Perivoli.
Tuli called to his six, year old sister, Fani, sleeping in the same room, "wake up, the Turks are coming". To dress, Tuli wrapped his leggings to the middle of his thighs. Then bind them below the knees with tassel and wrap his belt around his robe. His heavy coat completed his native costume for the weather outside. It didn't take Fani long to dress as she had slept in her only flannel dress. Tuli didn't wait for the rest of the family to react to the warning. He ran to the storage room where the found two loaves of flat bread his mother had baked the day before and put them in a cloth bag. He returned for his sister, Fani, helping her put on her heavy coat made of goat's hair and led her to the stairway.
They found their way down the stairs by the flickering light of an oil lamp that burned continuously beneath a religious picture, the family Icon, denoting their devotion the Orthodox Christian Church. Close to the Icon was a plank shelf supporting pictures, glass bottles and various objects of value to the family. The light reflected in an endless variety of patterns from the treasured objects like a kaleidoscope.
Down the stairway they ran to the main room of the two-story house and out the front door they ran merging with the panic, stricken people. They were now caught up with the village people hurrying for the nearby mountains. The horseman's voice could still be heard shouting, "The Turks are coming. They burning homes and killing women and children." A long line of people with their mules loaded with necessities began to wind out of the village towards the mountains. Tuli now realized that in his haste to leave his home he was lost from the rest of his family. Maybe he could find them at the old sawmill by the river that they would be crossing soon. The rain had stopped and changed to snow. The wind had become much colder as they walked toward the sawmill and the snow was falling in greater amounts. Tuli remembered that the past winter had been much colder than he had ever recalled in his short life. There were been times when the snow had accumulated so high around his house that his father and older brothers had a tough time digging out. Much of this snow was still in the mountains, especially at the higher elevation.
When they reached the sawmill, they found only a few families inside gathered around an old wood-burning stove. Much to their disappointment they did not find their family here. After they warmed themselves, they joined the exodus outside.
The first obstacle was crossing the mountain stream running by the sawmill. There were no bridges. The only transportation across the stream was by mule. However, one of the townsmen was busy helping people across the stream with his mules. This was how Tuli and Fani reached the other side.
Looking up Tuli could see the line of people making their way up a long graded ascent broken by a few steep pitches. Mules with their packs slipped and few in all directions; there were frequently two on the ground at the same time. A constant shouting could be heard directed towards the tired animals. The mules with their heavy packs fell on their sides, kicking their legs trying to regain their footing and awaiting their Masters push that would help them to their feet. Suddenly everyone began sliding down the muddy slope along with the mules. The long procession was thrown into confusion. Several families had become mixed up, and some were separated from their group. Another route up the mountain slope was taken and soon everyone began to locate the missing, all but Tuli and Fani.
More by luck than skill the lead family with their mules reached a drier trail into the thick forest of pine trees. They soon found a section where the woodsmen had previously chopped down pine trees for the sawmill below. This made an ideal place to camp. No one would find them here.
As the village Perivoliats reached this area, they began to unpack their mules and set up their tents. The tents were a long, oblong blanket, very thick and made of coarse wool, white with broad black or dark brown stripes. The narrow ends were pegged to the ground. A thin crossbar connected by two poles supported the center of the tent. The baggage heaped up and covered by another blanket formed a back, and so a simple gable tent without a door was made. Six or seven could sleep with comfort.
Tuli and Fani finally reached the campsite. Tents were being erected and people could be seen huddled inside the ones completed. Rushing from tent to tent Tuli and Fani searched desperately for their family. Finally Tuli recognized a man he knew and he asked the man if he has seen the Marcou family. He said, "Yes" and pointed in the direction where the Marcou family had erected their tents. Tuli and Fani ran as fast as they could to the Family tents and were greeted with a joyous reunion. Tuli’s father scolded him for leaving too soon after hearing the warning but he was so glad to find his son and daughter safe that all was forgiven.
After a few days the food supply ran out for everyone. They tried eating the green vegetation under the snow. After much discussion by the village leaders they decided to ask for volunteers to return to Perivoli and try to obtain some food without being seen by the Turk soldiers. Tuli's oldest brother, Gus and several other young men volunteered for the mission. They hoped that the Turks had left by now and their job would be easy. However, when they reach the outskirts of Perivoli they could see many Turk soldiers feeding their horses and milling around the Village Square. The young Perivoliats decided to confront the Turk soldiers for food and tell them who they were. Trying to sneak into the village was not possible. The Turk soldiers were everywhere. “Where is everyone?” asked the Turk soldier. Gus and his friends told him why and when they left to hide in the mountains. They expected to be killed by the Turks. The soldiers told them that they were looking for the Greek Army reported near here. They were after Greeks soldiers, not civilians. The young Perivoliats were pleasantly surprised by this reply and to find their homes had not been burned. The soldiers gave the young men some horses and food to take to their starving families hiding in the mountains along with a guarantee that Perivoli would be as safe as before they left.
With some reluctance the village people packed their tents and returned to their homes. When they entered Perivoli, they found Turkish soldiers everywhere. They kept their distance and did not fraternize with them. They still did not trust the soldiers. After two more days the soldiers broke camp and took the west road out of the village. Only after the troops disappeared, was the village of Perivoli, able to return to normal.
(Four years later, November1912, Tuli Marcou's oldest brother, Nick, brought Tuli to America to escape the Balkan Wars. When they arrived at Ellis Island on the S. S. Laura, Tuli's brother told the authorities that their surname was Marco since Nick believed it sounded more American. They then migrated to Dallas, Texas where Tuli at eighteen joined the Army in World War I and became a U. S. citizen. After the war James Tuli Marco married Kathrine A. Odeneal and settled in Dallas, Texas where he and Kathrine raised three sons, Jimmy T., Virgil R. and Paul G. Marco.
He was raised by his older, brother in the restaurant business and later together they owned the Marco’s Café, 702 Main St. where the famous Bonny Parker worked as a waitress. She wanted to be close to her boy friend,
Clyde Barrow who was in the county jail only a few blocks away. Business at this end of down town Dallas moved to the other end of town causing the Marco’s Cafe to close. James T. Marco found it necessary to work for other successful Greek friends during the depression years. He worked at the Lontos Cafe and the Snappy Grill to name a few. After World War II he owned and operated the Office Grill, Murphy Street Cafe and the Century Coffee Shop, all located in down town Dallas. He sold the Century Coffee Shop in the early sixties and retired to a long and happy life of 92 years.)
