In 1923, over a million Greeks living in Turkey were expelled in the Great Population Exchange. Among these were over 800 refugee families from Attaleia and Alasia who settled in the Petralona district of Athens. The area they selected was formerly the Konstanellos Quarry, and the refugees used a variety of used and discarded building materials to turn the old quarry into a makeshift settlement. Many of the refugees found work at the nearby gaslight factory and their settlement soon became known as Attaliotika, or “Little Attaleia.” During the Greek…
