Souroti
Encyclopedia
Souroti a rural village in the Thessaloniki regional unit of Greece
is located 25 kilometres (15.5 mi) outside of the city of Thessaloniki
. In Greece the village is particularly known for the mineral water
bottled there. Administratively it belongs to the municipal unit of Vasilika
.
and the population exchange between Greece and Turkey
. Shortly before 1912 the area was called "Surukli" (from the Turkish suru which means heard) and was owned by five Turkish land owners (Τσιφλικάδες) who sold their land to Jews from Thessaloniki. The first Greeks that settled in the area were a vlach family from Vlasti
of the Kozani prefecture
, the Christos Lolas' family. Although they were originally shepherds, the family sold their sheep to buy the land from the Jews
. In 1914 forty families of arvanites
came from Mandritsa
(Μανδρίτσα) in North Thrace following a Bulgarian invasion in their home village. Most of them were bilingual in Greek
and Arvanitika
. Their primary occupation was silk
production and they moved to Souroti to take advantage of the local mulberries. In 1922, after the population exchange between Greece and Turkey
about 48 families arrived from Asia Minor
originating from Izmir
(Σμύρνη), Aydin
(Αηδίνι), Boursa (Προύσσα), Kyos
(Κύος), Mudanya
(Μουδανιά) and also from Eastern Thrace. Those were educated and they carried their own traditions. In Souroti they worked as silk, olive oil
producers and vine dressers. Between 1928 and 1930 more vlach shepherds came from Vlasti
along with 4-5 families of Sarakatsanoi (Σαρακατσάνοι). Land was distributed to the immigrants by the Greek state first in 1914 and later in 1932.
government called "Kapodistrias plan", Souroti merged with the municipality of Vasilika
along with Ag. Paraskeyi, Ag. Antonio, Libadi, Monopigado and Peristera. Nowadays people from the nearby Thessaloniki are moving to the area around the village which is expected to turn into a suburb of Thessaloniki.
, the area around today's bottling factory was a swamp, and the spring of mineral water
unknown. During the 1915 military campaigns of the First World War, the French
troops that camped at the then called Surukli mapped the spring and built a rudimentary bottling facility. In 1917 Serbia
n troops camped there and they too built a new bottling facility. They called the water "Sour Water" (Serbian
: Kisela Voda). The Lolas family appropriated and refurbished the facility in 1918. In 1925 George Chonaios took over the Lola's enterprise. Chonaios had the facility work as a private enterprise, however he allotted 5% of the profit to the local community. In 1998 the company went public. Since then it exhibited rapid development and became one of the most popular mineral water brands in Greece
.
's list of Natural Mineral Waters. The water, at least in the beginning of 20th century, was naturally sparkling. Although it still preserves its original mineral composition, nowadays carbon dioxide is added during bottling.
The water is estimated to come from a container approximately 150 m underground. It owes its excellent quality to the rock formations at Mount Anthemounta which consist of semi-metamorphic, metamorphic and igneous rocks. Water flowing in the substrate is slow-moving and as it passes through the various rocks it is filtered and enriched with beneficial elements giving it its unique mineral composition and distinctive taste. Water in the spring is cold at a steady temperature of around 16 °C. Its special features are a high magnesium
content with the ideal calcium
to magnesium ratio and a low sodium
and nitrate
content. It also contains potassium
and fluorine
as well as valuable trace elements such as iron
, copper
, manganese
, lithium
, selenium
, chromium
and zinc
. It has exceptional taste and is very pleasant to drink, assists in the functioning of the digestive and urinary systems and it has several other health benefits. One liter of Souroti water meets 1/4 of the body's daily needs in calcium and magnesium. All this makes it different from soda water, which is ordinary potable water to which sodium bicarbonate has been added so that it acquires approximately the same properties as natural mineral water.
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
is located 25 kilometres (15.5 mi) outside of the city of Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
. In Greece the village is particularly known for the mineral water
Mineral water
Mineral water is water containing minerals or other dissolved substances that alter its taste or give it therapeutic value, generally obtained from a naturally occurring mineral spring or source. Dissolved substances in the water may include various salts and sulfur compounds...
bottled there. Administratively it belongs to the municipal unit of Vasilika
Vasilika
Vasilika is a town and a former municipality in the Thessaloniki regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Thermi, of which it is a municipal unit. Population 9,303 ....
.
History
Souroti is an immigrant's village, one of the many that were established in Greek Macedonia after the Balkan warsBalkan Wars
The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe in 1912 and 1913.By the early 20th century, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia, the countries of the Balkan League, had achieved their independence from the Ottoman Empire, but large parts of their ethnic...
and the population exchange between Greece and Turkey
Population exchange between Greece and Turkey
The 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey was based upon religious identity, and involved the Greek Orthodox citizens of Turkey and the Muslim citizens of Greece...
. Shortly before 1912 the area was called "Surukli" (from the Turkish suru which means heard) and was owned by five Turkish land owners (Τσιφλικάδες) who sold their land to Jews from Thessaloniki. The first Greeks that settled in the area were a vlach family from Vlasti
Vlasti
Vlasti is a former community in Kozani peripheral unit, West Macedonia, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Eordaia, of which it is a municipal unit. Vlasti is about 24 km from Ptolemaida...
of the Kozani prefecture
Kozani Prefecture
Kozani is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of West Macedonia. Its capital is the city of Kozani.-Geography:Kozani borders the regional units of Kastoria to the west and northwest, Florina to the north, Pella to the northeast, Imathia and Pieria to the east, Larissa ...
, the Christos Lolas' family. Although they were originally shepherds, the family sold their sheep to buy the land from the Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
. In 1914 forty families of arvanites
Arvanites
Arvanites are a population group in Greece who traditionally speak Arvanitika, a dialect of the Albanian language. They settled in Greece during the late Middle Ages and were the dominant population element of some regions of the Peloponnese and Attica until the 19th century...
came from Mandritsa
Mandritsa
Mandritsa is a village in southernmost Bulgaria, part of Ivaylovgrad municipality, Haskovo Province. It is known as the only Albanian village in Bulgaria. As of 14 December 2006, Mandritsa has a population of 75...
(Μανδρίτσα) in North Thrace following a Bulgarian invasion in their home village. Most of them were bilingual in Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
and Arvanitika
Arvanitika
Arvanitika also known Arvanitic is the variety of Albanian traditionally spoken by the Arvanites, a population group in Greece...
. Their primary occupation was silk
Silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...
production and they moved to Souroti to take advantage of the local mulberries. In 1922, after the population exchange between Greece and Turkey
Population exchange between Greece and Turkey
The 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey was based upon religious identity, and involved the Greek Orthodox citizens of Turkey and the Muslim citizens of Greece...
about 48 families arrived from Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
originating from Izmir
Izmir
Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...
(Σμύρνη), Aydin
Aydin
Aydın is a city in and the seat of Aydın Province in Turkey's Aegean Region. The city is located at the heart of the lower valley of Büyük Menderes River at a commanding position for the region extending from the uplands of the valley down to the seacoast...
(Αηδίνι), Boursa (Προύσσα), Kyos
KYOS
KYOS is a radio station broadcasting a News Talk Information format. Licensed to Merced, California, USA, the station serves the Merced area. The station is currently owned by Mapleton License of Merced, LLC and features programing from ABC Radio, Premiere Radio Networks and Talk Radio Network. ...
(Κύος), Mudanya
Mudanya
Mudanya , is a town and district of Bursa Province in the Marmara region of Turkey. It is located on the Gulf of Gemlik, part of the south coast of the Sea of Marmara. As of 1911, it was connected with Bursa by a railway and a carriage road, and with Istanbul by steamers...
(Μουδανιά) and also from Eastern Thrace. Those were educated and they carried their own traditions. In Souroti they worked as silk, olive oil
Olive oil
Olive oil is an oil obtained from the olive , a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. It is commonly used in cooking, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and soaps and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps...
producers and vine dressers. Between 1928 and 1930 more vlach shepherds came from Vlasti
Vlasti
Vlasti is a former community in Kozani peripheral unit, West Macedonia, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Eordaia, of which it is a municipal unit. Vlasti is about 24 km from Ptolemaida...
along with 4-5 families of Sarakatsanoi (Σαρακατσάνοι). Land was distributed to the immigrants by the Greek state first in 1914 and later in 1932.
Modern Establishment
The community of Souroti was officially established and recognized by the Greek state on Sep. 20th, 1947. Since then the village, whose main productive activities were agriculture and bottling of mineral water, has undergone steady development. In 1997 during a major reorganization of local self-government initiated by the GreekGreece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
government called "Kapodistrias plan", Souroti merged with the municipality of Vasilika
Vasilika
Vasilika is a town and a former municipality in the Thessaloniki regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Thermi, of which it is a municipal unit. Population 9,303 ....
along with Ag. Paraskeyi, Ag. Antonio, Libadi, Monopigado and Peristera. Nowadays people from the nearby Thessaloniki are moving to the area around the village which is expected to turn into a suburb of Thessaloniki.
Discovery of the mineral water spring
While still part of the Ottoman EmpireOttoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, the area around today's bottling factory was a swamp, and the spring of mineral water
Mineral water
Mineral water is water containing minerals or other dissolved substances that alter its taste or give it therapeutic value, generally obtained from a naturally occurring mineral spring or source. Dissolved substances in the water may include various salts and sulfur compounds...
unknown. During the 1915 military campaigns of the First World War, the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
troops that camped at the then called Surukli mapped the spring and built a rudimentary bottling facility. In 1917 Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
n troops camped there and they too built a new bottling facility. They called the water "Sour Water" (Serbian
Serbian language
Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
: Kisela Voda). The Lolas family appropriated and refurbished the facility in 1918. In 1925 George Chonaios took over the Lola's enterprise. Chonaios had the facility work as a private enterprise, however he allotted 5% of the profit to the local community. In 1998 the company went public. Since then it exhibited rapid development and became one of the most popular mineral water brands in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
.
Quality of the mineral water
Souroti water has been recognized as a sub-acidic sparkling mineral water rich in calcium and magnesium in accordance with Greek Legislation (Government Gazette 600/1-8-1991, Decision No. 4). It is also included in the European UnionEuropean Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
's list of Natural Mineral Waters. The water, at least in the beginning of 20th century, was naturally sparkling. Although it still preserves its original mineral composition, nowadays carbon dioxide is added during bottling.
The water is estimated to come from a container approximately 150 m underground. It owes its excellent quality to the rock formations at Mount Anthemounta which consist of semi-metamorphic, metamorphic and igneous rocks. Water flowing in the substrate is slow-moving and as it passes through the various rocks it is filtered and enriched with beneficial elements giving it its unique mineral composition and distinctive taste. Water in the spring is cold at a steady temperature of around 16 °C. Its special features are a high magnesium
Magnesium
Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg, atomic number 12, and common oxidation number +2. It is an alkaline earth metal and the eighth most abundant element in the Earth's crust and ninth in the known universe as a whole...
content with the ideal calcium
Calcium
Calcium is the chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. It has an atomic mass of 40.078 amu. Calcium is a soft gray alkaline earth metal, and is the fifth-most-abundant element by mass in the Earth's crust...
to magnesium ratio and a low sodium
Sodium
Sodium is a chemical element with the symbol Na and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal and is a member of the alkali metals; its only stable isotope is 23Na. It is an abundant element that exists in numerous minerals, most commonly as sodium chloride...
and nitrate
Nitrate
The nitrate ion is a polyatomic ion with the molecular formula NO and a molecular mass of 62.0049 g/mol. It is the conjugate base of nitric acid, consisting of one central nitrogen atom surrounded by three identically-bonded oxygen atoms in a trigonal planar arrangement. The nitrate ion carries a...
content. It also contains potassium
Potassium
Potassium is the chemical element with the symbol K and atomic number 19. Elemental potassium is a soft silvery-white alkali metal that oxidizes rapidly in air and is very reactive with water, generating sufficient heat to ignite the hydrogen emitted in the reaction.Potassium and sodium are...
and fluorine
Fluorine
Fluorine is the chemical element with atomic number 9, represented by the symbol F. It is the lightest element of the halogen column of the periodic table and has a single stable isotope, fluorine-19. At standard pressure and temperature, fluorine is a pale yellow gas composed of diatomic...
as well as valuable trace elements such as iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
, copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
, manganese
Manganese
Manganese is a chemical element, designated by the symbol Mn. It has the atomic number 25. It is found as a free element in nature , and in many minerals...
, lithium
Lithium
Lithium is a soft, silver-white metal that belongs to the alkali metal group of chemical elements. It is represented by the symbol Li, and it has the atomic number 3. Under standard conditions it is the lightest metal and the least dense solid element. Like all alkali metals, lithium is highly...
, selenium
Selenium
Selenium is a chemical element with atomic number 34, chemical symbol Se, and an atomic mass of 78.96. It is a nonmetal, whose properties are intermediate between those of adjacent chalcogen elements sulfur and tellurium...
, chromium
Chromium
Chromium is a chemical element which has the symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in Group 6. It is a steely-gray, lustrous, hard metal that takes a high polish and has a high melting point. It is also odorless, tasteless, and malleable...
and zinc
Zinc
Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...
. It has exceptional taste and is very pleasant to drink, assists in the functioning of the digestive and urinary systems and it has several other health benefits. One liter of Souroti water meets 1/4 of the body's daily needs in calcium and magnesium. All this makes it different from soda water, which is ordinary potable water to which sodium bicarbonate has been added so that it acquires approximately the same properties as natural mineral water.