Ganos (Greek: Γάνος), now known as Gaziköy, is a neighbourhood of the municipality and district of Şarköy, Tekirdağ Province, Turkey. Its population is 372 (2022). It is a historically important town, located on the Sea of Marmara, beneath the namesake Mount Ganos. It was known for its wine production. The wine was exported via the town's harbor and shipped throughout the Byzantine Empire and internationally. Although Ganos's wine trade declined under the Ottoman Empire, it continued to serve a more local market. The town was also a center of ceramics production through the late Ottoman period, especially during the 19th century.
Various ruins now mark the site of the old town, including traces of fortifications and several kilns. There were previously several old churches as well, but only the buildings' foundations are still extant. The present village of Gaziköy is located below the old town's acropolis.
The ancient site of Serrion Teichos may have been at or near Ganos.
Name
The name Ganos is derived from nearby Mount Ganos. The settlement is now officially known as Gaziköy. Rarely, the form Gannos (Greek: Γάννος) is attested. The 12th-century geographer al-Idrisi rendered the town's name in Arabic as Qānūs. Ganos also appears in various European portolan charts, nautical charts, and descriptions of coasts under names such as Logam, Longam, Lo Gano, etc.
Geography
Ganos is located on the Sea of Marmara, about north of Höşkoy (ancient Chora) and about 27 km southwest of Tekirdağ (ancient Rhaidestos). Overlooking the town is the namesake Mount Ganos. The coastal strip beneath the mountain is fertile and well-watered, and there are extensive clay deposits in the ground. This clay is "exceptionally pure and rich in minerals". The region's climate is well-suited to viticulture.
The settlement is divided into two parts. The acropolis was the core of the ancient settlement, while the lower surrounding area is the core of the village today.
History
Ganos is already mentioned by the 4th century BCE; according to legend it was founded by settlers in the company of Byzas, founder of Byzantium. Pliny the Elder also mentioned Ganos in the 1st century CE. Little is known about the ancient Ganos. One local goddess, known as Thea Ganeia (Greek: Θέα Γάνεια), is attested in inscriptions. The 6th-century Synekdemos of Hierokles describe Ganos as a city (polis) in the province of Thrace, as does the De Thematibus of Constantine Porphyrogennetos in the early 10th century.
In 813, the Bulgars under Krum pillaged both Mount Ganos and the town below. Many people from the surrounding area had taken refuge here; they were either killed or taken as prisoners. In 914, another Bulgar raid under Tsar Symeon caused devastation in Ganos.
In the middle Byzantine period, Ganos was part of a major wine-growing region which covered the triangle between Ganos, Chora, and Melio. The vineyards may have been part of estates belonging to the monasteries on Mount Ganos. This monastic community is attested since at least the 10th century.
According to Armstrong and Günsenin, the growth of Ganos as a town was because of these vineyards producing wine for export — the town grew up around the harbor where the wine was shipped out. The wine was stored in amphorae manufactured in kilns along the coast, including in the town of Ganos. The earliest amphorae from Ganos are dated to the early 11th century. By the late 11th century, glazed ceramics were being produced at Ganos, possibly because of a population increase stimulating demand. Local ceramic production continued into the Ottoman period, with only a minor interruption in the early 14th century when the Catalan Company's raids damaged the surrounding region.
The 12th-century Arabic geographer al-Idrisi wrote favorably about the spacious streets and shops of Ganos and Panion. He gave the distance between Ganos and the inland town of Rusion as one day's journey.