Monastir is a town with about 60,000 people. It’s a mix of different groups: 14,000 Greeks, 10,000 Bulgarians, 4,000 to 5,000 Albanians, 2,000 to 3,000 Jews, and the rest are Turks. There are many different styles of clothing, but after a month or two, you stop noticing. Monastir feels like an average Turkish town in Europe, with even a small garden where wealthier Turks, Bulgarians, and Greeks sit at tables, drink beer, and listen to a string band of girls from Vienna Istanbul Day Tours.
Everyday Violence
Everyone seems cheerful in Monastir, but murder is so common that it doesn’t shock people anymore. At night, you might hear a gunshot, a scream, and running footsteps. “Oh, someone’s been killed!” is all people say. Even though people seem friendly, there are things that make you uneasy. Half of the town’s population is made up of Turkish soldiers, who are everywhere, day and night. You can see military camps on the hills around the town. When a caravan of mules carrying maize arrives from the countryside, each group of four mules is escorted by a soldier with a ready gun.
The Quiet Before the Storm
Monastir may seem like it’s going about its normal business, but the town is always on the edge of violence. Bulgarians are in the minority here and are avoided by Greeks and Jews. In the cafés, people whisper to each other about the latest murders. “Did you hear? Two Bulgarians were stabbed to death last night Greek and Bulgarian Bands in the Turkish Empire. They deserved it. Didn’t they poison the communion wine at the Greek church?”
The Cycle of Murder
One murder a day is the usual. Sometimes, things are quiet for a week, but then several people will be killed, and the cycle continues. The Greeks have warned the Bulgarians in Monastir that for every Greek killed by Bulgarian “bands” in the countryside, they will kill two Bulgarians in the town.
