Athens reacted vigorously to Ankara’s objections regarding the historical map presented by General Dimitrios Choupis, Chief of the Hellenic National Defense General Staff (GEETHA), to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew during his recent visit to Istanbul.
The Defense Ministry clarified through sources that the gift was meant to be purely symbolic, describing Turkey’s response as “absurd.”
Military sources revealed that the map given by General Choupis to the Patriarch is the “Thraciae Veteris Typus” (1585) created by Flemish cartographer Abraham Ortelius. This map illustrates the larger geographical area of Thrace, including the Dardanelles Strait, the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus, Istanbul, the Black Sea, and the islands of Imbros (Gökçeada), Tenedos (Bozcaada), Lemnos, Samothrace, and Thasos.
“The map was selected as a symbolic gift for His All-Holiness as it represents his homeland, Imbros,” sources pointed out, adding that Turkey’s reaction to a 16th-century map is at least puzzling, especially for a country that still promotes the legally unfounded ‘Blue Homeland’ map in 2025.
Response from the Ministry Regarding Turkey’s Protest
“It is almost absurd for Turkey’s Ministry of Defense to object to a map from that historical era, while simultaneously endorsing the so-called ‘Blue Homeland’ map in 2025,” emphasized sources from the Greek Defense Ministry.
Turkey’s Response
It is important to note that General Choupis’ presentation of the map during his visit to the Phanar, coinciding with the 18th Meeting of Chiefs of Defense in the Balkans, elicited a reaction from Turkey’s Ministry of Defense, as reported by Turkish media outlets like Sözcü.
Unnamed Turkish defense officials accused the gesture of being an “exploitation of history,” asserting that such actions are merely “nostalgic consolation” and urged Greek officials to “acknowledge and accept reality.”
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