Tazou - Ταζού

Tazou (Grk: Ταζού) was a village located in the Erpaa region of Pontus. In Turkish, Tazou means hunting dog (or hound dog). Around 1770, Anastasios Karambonikoglou (Mavromoustakidis/Black moustache), George Oukoutsoglou (Boudopoulos), Giannis Sikhloglou (dense forest), and Lazaros Karabatsakidis (Mavropodaros/Black foot) purchased the village from a Turkish official who was also the owner of several hunting dogs.

After signing the transfer papers, Anastasios Karambonikoglou asked if the official could gift them one of his hunting dogs. The Turk gifted them a hound dog, but in return asked that the village be named Tazou (hound dog). The village grew and prospered for 150 years before its inhabitants were either massacred or expelled following the genocide and subsequent Exchange of Populations between Greece and Turkey.

Tazou should not be confused with Tazlou which was a village with a similar sounding name in the same region.   

References:
Toptsam. The Pontian Resistance movement with Captain Gotsanastas. L.Tsakiridis. p.176. (in Greek)

 

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