Enez, a Turkish city built upon the river Evros is very close to Alexandroupolis. It is one of the most ancient cities of Thrace and its first name was Polyomvria.
During the time of the Ottoman Empire, Enez was one of the most important ports of the area. The main professions of its habitants were agriculture, fishing, pottery and trade that reached as far as Marseille and Odessa. The fact that Enez had many churches and a navy that would often reach the number of 300 sail ships was indicative of the city’s wealth and prosperity. Many of the habitants of Enez, such as the Visvizi family, took part in the Greek Revolution of 1821.
Enez started declining when the Ottoman Empire decided to create a new port in Dede Agac (modern day Alexandroupolis) due to the embankment fills of the river Evros.
The habitants of Enez had a close connection with the new city of Alexandroupolis since its creation as many of them would often visit the new port for business.
In 1922, Enez became a part of modern-day Turkey under the Treaty of Lausanne which also included a term of Orthodox Greek-Turkish population exchange. Almost the entire Orthodox Greek population of Enez was forced to leave the city and move to Alexandroupolis as refugees on boats and carriages.
In their new home, the former habitants of Enez, became farmers, fishermen and settled both in the urban and rural areas of Alexandroupolis. At night, someone standing at the harbor of Alexandroupolis taking a look to the north-east can see the shimmering lights of modern-day Enez. In the video, Lucas mentions that he remembers his grandfather going down to the beach and looking at the lights of his lost home that seemed to be so close, yet so far away.
