A unique experience of a descendant’s maternal grandfather from Trapezounta was documented on Day 6. He was a gifted sculptor. As refugees were being expelled from the city, Mustafa Kemal requested that he stay behind to create his busts and statues. The rest of the maternal side was ordered to leave the city for Greece. Once the statues were completed, the descendant’s maternal grandfather was allowed to visit his home to gather any belongings he could muster. His home had been ransacked, but he noticed an icon of the Virgin Mary on the floor. He picked it up, wrapped it in paper to protect it, and joined the rest of his family in Greece. The family was scared to remove the paper until today. The picture below is the first reveal of the icon, which was brought to Greece in 1926 and Philadelphia in 1970.
