Set against the background of impending Turkish Nationalism, a Greek Commercial Trader in 1920's cosmopolitan Smyrna falls for a Turkish woman and despite their cultural differences love remains. Challenges and pain are afoot for these lovers as individuals and for the prosperity of a city.

SYNOPSIS:

SMYRNA: PROSPERITY & PAIN”

Synopsis by

Kimberly Ruzich

“SMYRNA: PROSPERITY & PAIN” is a drama about a Greek Commercial Trader who is based in cosmopolitan Smyrna in 1922 and falls in love with a Turkish woman despite cultural differences, set against the background of impending Turkish Nationalism. It’s the story of two people with colliding cultures and biased families pulled apart by the rise of Imperialism and Nationalism.

Konstantinos Karamides is a successful Import/Export dealer who falls for the beautiful and enigmatic daughter of one of his vendors, a young lady named Ceren Turan. Unfortunately, she is Turkish Muslim, and his sister, Athina Karamides, with whom he is very close, disapproves. Ceren’s father, Suleiman, only approves, as he believes it will improve his fig farm sales to Konstantinos.

While he is courting Ceren, Konstantinos seeks to expand his business by meeting with a representative from the Standard Oil Company in hopes of becoming an independent exporter. However, he does not realise that it will never happen, as the combined Allied Forces are jockeying to get their share of mineral rights in Mesopotamia. A number of Allied representatives have met at the Standard Oil building in Smyrna to discuss their respective country’s interest. They also agree to side with the Turkish Nationalists to ensure that nothing jeopardizes their plans.

Meanwhile, General Mustafa Kemal is planning an attack, as he firmly believes that it should be “Turkey for the Turks.” There are signs of trouble, as Greek peasants and farmers from the interior are being flushed out of their homes and towards the quayside at Smyrna by the Kemalists.

During a date, Konstantinos and Ceren discuss what they have seen and heard, and spend the night together, making love and planning to go to America to start a new life with no judgment. They are awakened in the early hours of the morning; the house being invaded by Chettes (irregulars supported by the Turkish invading army) The city of Smyrna is on fire, set by Turkish Nationalists just outside the Turkish Quarter. While there are twenty-one Allied warships in the harbour, none of them lift a finger to do anything. They are under orders to maintain net neutrality by Admiral Bristol.

Hundreds of thousands of people are on the quayside, hoping to get to a ship. Many of them drown or are killed by the Turkish Nationalists. During the fighting, Konstantinos, Ceren and Athina manage to escape the Karamides mansion, which has been invaded by Chettes. Konstantinos tells Ceren to go back to her home in Aydin, thinking she will be safe there.

She instead finds her Aunt Esin in the marketplace, and the two of them find passage to Piraeus. Konstantinos also makes his way to Piraeus, where his father lives and works. Through many struggles, Konstantinos makes his way to New York, while Ceren and her Aunt Esin are able to go to Chicago. While in Chicago, Ceren gives birth to a daughter, Evangelia, whose father is Konstantinos.

When Evangelia is a teenager, Ceren tells her about her father. She goes to New York with her mother to meet him, but Ceren dies along the way. She finds Konstantinos, much to his surprise, and is able to spend the summer with him, his wife and children. She finds out more about the genocide that took place in addition to learning about her Greek heritage. She finds out what the true cost and impact of imperialism and nationalism has had not only on Konstantinos, but on a whole nation.

“SMYRNA: PROSPERITY & PAIN” is a study in humanity, and how it can evaporate in favour of greed, power and the almighty dollar. It shows how two clashing cultures can come together to realise they are similar in many ways, but the difference is, as in love and war, no one leaves a tragedy like this unscathed.