Armenian Fig Industry Smyrna
Diana Figs are world-renowned and distributed throughout the world. Djanik Elmassian was one of the leading exporters and packers of Diana Figs in Smyrna. Djanik Elmassian's fig packers were established in 1850 and represented one of the largest fruit packing industries in Asia Minor and the Armenian plateau.
Located on the Western coast of Asia Minor, Smyrna has been the seat of a large Armenian population that was decimated in 1922. On September 13, 1922; the Great Fire of Smyrna began with a fire at the port city of Smyrna. The fire lasted until September 22, 1922. Plumes of smoke were seen from naval ships in the harbor, and the entire population was destroyed. Many of the Armenian and Greek survivors drowned and or were saved by merchant ships. Historical accounts witnessed the intentional arson of the Armenian and Greek quarters by Turkish gendarmes and looters. The city of Smyrna was renamed Izmir, and remains a popular tourist destination, albeit absent of the significant Armenian and Greek influences and history.
The massacre in Izmir (Smyrna) included the lynching of the Orthodox Metropolitan Chrystomos on September 9, 1922 and the forced slaughter of Armenian and Greek men who were sent to their deaths in forced labour battalions.
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