1470, Greece

Turkish-Venetian War    

The stories that unfold during this year’s Ghost Walk,
                                          [are sure to capture your imagination,
but one of them involved religion and cultures,
                [was a challenge for me to look for more Information.

The First Ottoman–Venetian War was underway....
The war saw the rapid expansion,

                          [of the Ottoman navy, day by day,
so they were able to challenge the supremacy in the Aegean Sea
                                           [of the Knights Hospitaller and the Venetians,
the result was the accelerated border changes,
                                                                 [and of course new delineations.

Between Euboea,
                       [marked in red οn the map next to the text)
and main land of Greece, a Venetian fortress, for the Ottomans,
          [will be the goal, the main objective, immediately next.

This was the known Siege of Negroponte
                                    [which lasted for almost a month or so,
and despite great Ottoman casualties ended in the capture,
                   [of the fortress town by the Ottomans, for the West big blow.

Upon entering the city, the Turks committed massacres,
                                                                                [against the dwellers.
The men were slaughtered, boys were kidnapped,

              [and women were taken as harems, horror even, for the tellers...

Greek citizens were enslaved and Italian soldiers
                                        [were flayed alive and impaled on wooden stakes.
More than 6,000 Italians and Greeks died, in defense there,
                                    [unknown elements of history, I would say outtakes...

Only 30 known survivors made it back to Venice,
                                          [consisting of 15 women, 12 children, and 3 men.

Unfortunately similar massacres,
                                            [repeated in southeastern Europe again and again.

NOTE :

The 30 individuals that survived were known,
                 [to haunt the Venetian fortress and they wander the area at night,
looking for their lost family members
                                                   [holding each other's hand tight, very tight.
and singing sad Greek and Italian songs,
                                                     [crying for the Christians lost in the fight....
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to be continued

'IT COULD BE OTHERWISE  in verse''  

Texts and Narration: Odysseus Heavilayias - ROTTERDAM //
Language adjustments and text adaptation: Kellene G Safis - CHICAGO//
Digital adaptation and text editing: Cathy Rapakoulia Mataraga - PIRAEUS//

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* The First Ottoman–Venetian War, 

Between Euboea and main land of Greece, today..

Was fought between the Republic of Venice and her allies and the Ottoman Empire from 1463 to 1479. 
Fought shortly after the capture of Constantinople and the remnants of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottomans, it resulted in the loss of several Venetian holdings in Albania and Greece, most importantly the island of Negroponte (Euboea), which had been a Venetian protectorate for centuries. 

 ELEGHOS... at history