Obituary added to Misc.

content/article/obituary_pagoulatos.md

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+---
+title: "An Obituary for George Pagoulatos"
+authors: ["alexandrostsakos.md"]
+abstract:
+keywords: ["Acropole Hotel", "Khartoum", "Greeks in Sudan", "Pagoulatos"]
+---
+
+
+
+The year 2022 marks a jubilee for Nubian studies. Fifty years ago, the
+International Society for Nubian Studies (ISNS) was founded during the
+first International Conference for Nubian Studies (ICNS). As then, this
+year's ICNS took place in Warsaw, the headquarters of the study of---at
+least---medieval, or Christian, Nubia. For the ISNS, the jubilee was
+also, in many ways, a year of reflection on the deeds of the past and
+the pioneers who founded and promoted the field of Nubiology---a
+discipline born in the context of the 1972 ICNS in Warsaw. What could
+not escape the attention of anyone present at this year's ICNS was the
+fact that so many of these pioneers were absent. From the group involved
+in the Aswan High Dam Campaigns, for example, only Stefan Jakobielski
+was present. Many may have been afraid of the pandemic; some are no
+longer active; others have left this world. The list of the latter is
+long. The names of Bill Adams, Hans-Åke Nördström, László Török, and
+Stefan Wenig perhaps suffice to underline the weight of the moment the
+ISNS commemorated their departure. Commemorating late colleagues at the
+ICNS is not a new practice. This year, however, there was a novelty in
+the necrology. The participants were reminded of the death of a person
+who, though not a scholar, was the warmest supporter and most efficient
+facilitator of the fieldwork of foreign missions to Sudan. This person
+is none other than George Pagoulatos, who passed away in June 2022. He
+was the pillar of the Acropole Hotel, home away from home for so many of
+us, researchers and travelers passing through Khartoum or expatriates
+living there.
+
+I met George on the first day of my very first visit to Khartoum in
+1994. I had been invited by one of the thousands of Greek families that
+have lived in Sudan since the nineteenth century, when the first Greeks
+appeared in the Middle Nile in modern times, following the armies of
+Mohamed Ali, the governor of Egypt born in Kavala in modern-day Greece.
+Two regions of modern-day Greece contributed the most to the diaspora
+population of Sudan: the eastern Aegean islands, thanks to the boat
+connection between Istanbul and Egypt passing by these islands, and the
+Ionian islands, thanks to their long-standing links with
+Europe---especially the British Empire, ruler of the islands between
+1809 and 1862. The island of Cephalonia played a particular role in
+these emigrations, as testified by the oldest known textual source
+produced by a Greek of Sudan, namely the diary of Angelos Kapatos,
+allegedly the most important merchant of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. And among
+the Cephalonians of Sudan, the Pagoulatos family stands out.
+
+The Pagoulatos family achieved renown in the second half of the
+twentieth century. During World War II, Panaghis Pagoulatos left
+Cephalonia and settled in Egypt, where he met his wife Flora, a member
+of the Greek diaspora of Alexandria. There, their first son, Thanassis,
+was born. The family soon settled in Khartoum, where Panaghis was
+employed by the British government, working as a private accountant in
+the afternoons to complement the family's income. With his first
+capital, he opened a night club just opposite the governor's house, and
+in 1952, he founded the Acropole Hotel on the corner of Zubeir Pasha
+Street (no. 52) and Babikr Badr Street, right behind Jamhuria Street,
+Khartoum's central avenue. The first establishment had only ten rooms.
+Forty more were added in 1954, when a building across the street was
+annexed to the original premises. Panaghis and Flora ran the hotel until
+the founder's death in 1967. Flora was subsequently assisted by
+Thanassis. His younger brothers, George and Gerasimos (Makis), soon
+followed suit. They were both born in Khartoum---Makis at the Acropole
+itself.
+
+The hotel's central position defined its clientele. First, it was mainly
+merchants. Then, with the political and humanitarian calamities
+befalling the country, its clientele consisted mainly of employees of
+the United Nations and several nongovernmental organizations. It was
+perhaps due to these connections that on May 15, 1988, one of the two
+Acropole Hotel buildings became the target of a terrorist attack that
+killed seven people and seriously injured another twenty-two. This was
+not the only time that the fate of the hotel and the Pagoulatos family
+went hand in hand with the sociopolitical developments in Sudan. In
+1983, the Sharia law imposed by Gaafar Nimeiry's regime prohibited
+alcoholic beverages, leading to the loss of a crucial source of income
+for many Greeks, including the Pagoulatos family, then distributors of
+Amstel beer in Sudan.
+
+In the 1990s, however, the hotel gained a new clientele: archaeologists.
+Thanks to the family's forty years of business experience and his unique
+talent in socializing, George Pagoulatos became the go-to person for
+addressing all sorts of administrative and logistic challenges that the
+foreign missions were facing in a country that was not exactly an easy
+place to travel, work, and conduct fieldwork. As George stated in 2016,
+"Some archaeologists have been coming to our hotel for over twenty
+years. Having solved various problems together, we have developed strong
+bonds that go beyond business relationships. We are like a family." This
+feeling of belonging to this family was almost contagious for everyone
+approaching George and the hearth of the Acropole.
+
+This was also my feeling when I arrived at the hotel's foyer in 1994 and
+was offered a splendidly refreshing "nous-nous" (a drink consisting of
+50% karkadeh and 50% lemon juice)---one of the many reasons to seek
+shelter from Khartoum's suffocating heat in the Acropole, but surely not
+the most important one. As soon as we were introduced to each other,
+George showed an earnest interest in this young archaeologist from his
+home country---the first to ever set foot in Sudan, as he exclaimed in
+delight. At that moment, any doubts I had about dedicating my career to
+studying the past of Sudan and Nubia were dispelled. But George's
+involvement in the field of Sudanese archaeology was not limited to
+formalities and kindness. He introduced me to many archaeologists
+staying at the Acropole who were willing to share their experiences with
+a novice in the field. I recall how he managed to relieve my stress with
+his kind words and mindful observations during a dinner he planned with
+professors returning from Kerma, the mythical to me capital of Bronze
+Age Sudan; how, when I moved to Sudan, he invited me to the Acropole
+time and again to meet colleagues who had an interest in or questions
+about Greco-Roman topics to which I could provide some feedback. It is
+no little thing that after such a call, I met my mentor in medieval
+Nubian textual studies, and later friend and long-standing collaborator,
+Professor Adam [Ł]{.smallcaps}ajtar from the University of Warsaw. I
+trust that many will smile reading about my memories, having been
+recipients of George's love for our work themselves.
+
+George's kindness and help extended far beyond the premises of the
+Acropole. He had deep respect for the efforts of the National
+Corporation of Antiquities and Museums to protect and promote the
+country's archaeological heritage. His material and diplomatic
+assistance also allowed him to facilitate administrative procedures for
+all researchers active in Sudanese archaeology. Beyond archaeology and
+the National Museum, his interest and respect extended to all sister
+disciplines and museums. For example, he personally introduced me to the
+director of the Ethno-folkloristic Museum in the early 1990s, hoping for
+some broadening of the museum's scope to include traditions shared
+between Greeks and the Sudanese through their coexistence in modern
+Sudan, as well as during Ottoman times.
+
+George Pagoulatos was a man of culture. He knew and loved to talk about
+literature and music. I remember how actively he engaged with the events
+organized at "Ergamenis," the Greek Community of Khartoum Cultural
+Center. He was especially supportive both before and during the concert
+of the Samandalyat, a group of eleven Sudanese women playing the violin
+under the guidance of Professor Leila Pastawi on the keyboard
+instrument. When the group performed at the premises of "Ergamenis," he
+also showed his generosity and humbleness by offering and serving
+himself drinks to more than a hundred people at the concert's
+intermission, always with a smile for everyone.
+
+The early 2000s, when I was living in Sudan, were perhaps some of the
+most prosperous years for the country thanks not only to the discovery
+of oil but also to the constant flow of money that supported the work of
+the numerous NGOs present in the country due to the humanitarian crises
+in all the peripheries controlled by Khartoum. The country felt somewhat
+more open to foreigners, and tourists started coming in larger numbers.
+The Acropole Hotel became a hub for this type of visitors too, and
+George's name was known to all involved in the tourism industry.
+However, whenever one praised him for his services, efficiency, and
+warmth, he always replied on behalf of the entire family---brothers,
+wives, and children---who all contributed to running the hotel and
+achieving such quality standards in an environment like Khartoum, thus
+having equal shares in the hotel's success and the family's fame.
+
+It is no surprise that the Acropole Hotel has become the heart of the
+Greek diaspora in Sudan even officially, since after the closure of the
+Greek Embassy in Khartoum, Makis Pagoulatos took up the responsibility
+of running the Consulate of Greece in Khartoum from the Acropole's
+office. I am sure that he does this with pride and confidence, inspired
+by the image of his father on the wall and the memory of his brother in
+every corner of the hotel.
+
+Although George's memory cannot be contained in words, I could not but
+express my sadness for his departure, my respect for his person, and my
+love for this exceptional friend in this short text. If people who knew
+George Pagoulatos are touched by this text or are inspired to reflect on
+what makes life in Khartoum meaningful, the presence of researchers in
+Sudan vital, and the future of the country---hopefully---better, then I
+trust that we can all see him smiling from his office or from the
+entrance of the Acropole Hotel, wishing us a good journey ahead.

content/issue/misc.md

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 ---
 title: "Miscellanea"
 editors: []
-has_articles: []
+has_articles: ["obituary_pagoulatos.md"]
 ---
 
 Miscellanea blabla over time, issue will be released.

content/issue/miscellanea.md

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-title: "Miscellanea"
-editors: []
-has_articles: ["pagoulatos.md"]
----
-
-# Preface by the Editor
-
-Preface
-
-# Bibliography