Avato ( meaning impassable, sacrosanct) is a settlement in the Xanthi regional unit of

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. It is located 3 kilometers south southeast of

Evlalo Evlalo (; ) is a village and a community in the Xanthi (regional unit), Xanthi regional unit of Western Thrace, Thrace, Greece. The municipal seat of Topeiros, it is located 23 kilometers south-southwest of the city of Xanthi. In 2021, the populati ...

and 24.7 kilometers north northeast of

Xanthi Xanthi is a city in the region of Western Thrace, northeastern Greece. It is the capital of the Xanthi regional unit of the region of East Macedonia and Thrace. Amphitheatrically built on the foot of Rhodope mountain chain, the city is divided ...

. In 2021, the population of Avato was 956 inhabitants. The settlement belongs to the municipality of

Topeiros Topeiros () is a municipality in the Xanthi (regional unit), Xanthi regional unit, Greece. The municipality has an area of 312.493 km2 and a population 9,473 (2021). The seat of the municipality is in Evlalo. History Topeiros was an Thracians, anc ...

. A number of residents are of African-Greek descent with roots dating back to Ottoman times, when their ancestors have been brought to Avato as slaves from

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

. The ancestors of Thrace’s Afrogreeks were brought by an Ottoman pasha from Egypt (likely by Ibrahim’s son, Mohammed Ali), since the area was an Egyptian estate during the years of Ottoman occupation. As slavery was widespread in North Africa at the time,

Turkish Sudan Turco-Egyptian Sudan (), also known as Turkish Sudan or Turkiyya (, ''at-Turkiyyah''), describes the rule of the Eyalet and later Khedivate of Egypt over what is now Sudan and South Sudan. It lasted from 1820, when Muhammad Ali Pasha started h ...

, according to scholars, was a major source of slaves. The Ottoman Empire was one of the main customer

300–350 years ago, ships with black slaves bought by local beys sailed to the town of

Abdera, Thrace Abdera () is a municipality in the Xanthi regional unit of Thrace, Greece. In classical antiquity, it was a major Greek ''polis'' on the Thracian coast. The ancient polis is to be distinguished from the municipality, which was named in its hono ...

References

Populated places in Xanthi (regional unit) Topeiros Sudanese diaspora African diaspora in Europe {{EMacedoniaThrace-geo-stub