The daily Greek language newspaper Apoyevmatini, published in Constantinople-Istanbul, is due to close down as a result of its financial problems. Founded in 1925, the newspaper intended to revive the Greek language and disseminate news about the Greek community residing in Turkey.
Owner and publisher Mihail Vasiliadis, who took over the newspaper in 2003 and is the only current employee of the newspaper, decided to shut down his office in Beyoğlu’s ‘Suriye Pasajı’ (Syria Passage), according to the Turkish daily Sabah. Apoyevmatini in its hey day used to employ 35 people, whilst its circulation was over 30,000.
The newspaper has survived with the financial contribution of the Greek government and the Greek community residing in Turkey. However, the daily suffered from Greece’s crisis and the decreasing number of Constantinople-Istanbul based Greek residents whose population is almost 1,700 now. The Greek population of Constantinople-Istanbul in the mid 1920s, after the Asia Minor Catastrophe, was in excess of 200,000, but almost all of them were driven out of the city and out of Turkey as a result of the restrictive policies of the Turkish state, as well as outbursts of ultranationalistic violence directed against them.
“They say it is necessary to have a high circulation rate to receive advertisements. There are only 605 Greek families in Istanbul. I sell 600 copies daily and reach almost 99 per cent of them. However, that is not enough,” said Mihail Vasiliades.