Coutalianos in Istanbul through the Greek press- The great excitement
“Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing about.“
Benjamin Franklin
The texts that follow are written in the old type of the Greek language, which was dominant at the time. Wanting to facilitate our readers, we make a short commentary and highlight the main points of each text. Coutalianos’ proud victories in Istanbul delighted the Greeks. In this chapter we have listed some newspaper articles from which we may get an idea of what exactly was happening in those days in the capital of the Ottoman Empire.
The Greek newspaper “Neologos” was published in Istanbul. In the published text, the journalist tries to maintain a moderate attitude so as not to provoke state censorship. The following article gives details about the wrestling match between Coutalianos and Simon.
Description of the wrestling matches that Coutalianos gave in front of the Sultan.
The article presents various biographical details about the athlete’ s life. There are discussions of the people’s reactions when Coutalianos set foot in Istanbul.
The article mentions facts related to the confrontations of Coutalianos against the wrestler Doublier and Simon.
Coutalianos is taken to the emperor’s palace accompanied by police chief Vahri Passa.
Coutalianos fights against Simon and other Turkish wrestlers in front of the Sultan. He performs a weight lifting demonstration.
In the above article biographical details about the athlete are given.
Coutalianos wins over Simon and makes the Greeks proud.
Coutalianos and Doublier show off their weight lifting skills.
Coutalianos performs a demonstration of his skills in front of the Sultan.
Doublier came from Bucharest to face Coutalianos.
