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Nea Roda Νέα Ρόδα
Community
Panoramic view of Nea Roda
Nea Roda
Coordinates: 40°22′50″N 23°55′30″E / 40.38056°N 23.92500°E / 40.38056; 23.92500
Country	Greece
Administrative region	Central Macedonia
Regional unit	Chalkidiki
Municipality	Aristotelis
Municipal unit	Stagira-Akanthos
Population
• Community	1,192
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Vehicle registration	ΧΚ

Nea Roda is a village 115 km (71 mi) southeast of Thessaloniki, on the narrowest point of the Athos peninsula in the municipality of Stagira-Akanthos, Chalkidiki, Greece.

Ancient history

In 480 BC, Xerxes, King of Persia, opened a canal for his fleet to pass through. He did this in order to avoid rounding the edge of Athos peninsula, where Mardonius saw his fleet being destroyed ten years earlier due to extreme weather conditions. This is the place where the first attempt of the Persians to conquer the Greek cities-states had failed. The canal needed several years to be built and hundreds of residents of the area (mainly Acanthians, since Acanthus, modern Ierissos, is situated only 5 km away, but also residents of Sani and Ouranoupolis) were used by Xerxes as slaves for the completion of the canal. It is commonly regarded as the site of the world's first offshore wind farm.

Modern origins

The village today is populated by the descendants of immigrants from Roda (now Narlı), and people from various other villages who were forced to leave during the population exchange between Greece and Turkey.

It is considered, by many, to be the largest settlement of refugees coming to North Halkidiki after the Greek Genocide.

Etymology and Roda of Asia Minor

Nea Roda is named after the original village called Roda (now the Turkish village of Narlı). Rodi (Ρόδι) meaning pomegranate, is the root of the word Roda which means "many pomegranates"; and "Nea" (Νέα) meaning new is the meaning of the first word. This due to an abundance pomegranate trees in the original village. This can be seen even today in the new village, where many people still have pomegranate trees in their backyard.

Roda/Narli is a coastal village in the western part of the Cyzicus Peninsula, 12 km northwest of Artaki (today called Erdek) and 28 km west of Michaniona. The Greek name of the settlement was Roda (registered in the book of the metropolis) and the Turkish (presented in official Ottoman documents) was Rutya. In the early 20th century, the village had almost 200 houses, 150 of which were christian and 50 of which were muslim. The village inhabitants spoke the Greek language but on the contrary, the only ones knowing the Turkish language were those occupied in shipping. Millennia of Greek habitation and history was erased in a few short years in order to rid the region of the indigenous Greek Orthodox Christian peoples of Turkey.

Today

Today, Nea Roda is a modern village with 1,192 residents (2011 census), making it the second biggest town of the municipal unit of Stagira-Akanthos after Ierissos. Fishing, tourism and agriculture are the people's main occupations.

Gallery

• View of the village
• Voulitsa beach
• Beach in Nea Roda

References

1. ^ "Αποτελέσματα Απογραφής Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2021, Μόνιμος Πληθυσμός κατά οικισμό" [Results of the 2021 Population - Housing Census, Permanent population by settlement] (in Greek). Hellenic Statistical Authority. 29 March 2024.
2. History & Culture : Archaeological Places, sightseeing
3. "Municipality of Aristotle | Nea Roda". www.dimosaristoteli.gr. Retrieved 2022-04-02.
4. "Municipality of Aristotle | Nea Roda". www.dimosaristoteli.gr. Retrieved 2022-04-02.
5. "Municipality of Aristotle | Nea Roda". www.dimosaristoteli.gr. Retrieved 2022-04-02.
6. "Great Online Encyclopaedia of Asia Minor". asiaminor.ehw.gr. Retrieved 2022-04-02.
7. "My Asia Minor and Pontic Greek Ancestry". sallyrussellcox.com. Retrieved 2022-04-02.

External links

• Nea Roda
• Official website of Municipality of Stagíra-Ákanthos (in Greek)
• 360° virtual tour and information about Nea Roda, from 360sites.gr

• Populated places in Chalkidiki
• Aristotelis (municipality)