(Excerpt from the book ‘The Greek community in Sudan’)
Although the British consolidated their rule in south Sudan within the first decade of the 20th century, the Greek presence in the province of Bahr El Ghazala dates back to 1895. It was Gregory Apostolidis from Imvros, who was active in the Sambi, a transport station on the White Nile at a distance of 245 miles from Wau. Later, Apostolidis moved to Yirol where he opened a small shop. He got married to a native woman and had two sons.
In the early 20th century, more Greeks settled in. Among the pioneers of that period were Panagiotis Kikezos, Dimitis Gialouris, Vasilis Kikezos, Gregory Kyriazis, Maistros Lagoutaris and Ilias Papoutsidis. Gradually, the Greeks dominated the local economy. Although they were not numerous they lived in several cities in the southwest of Sudan, such as Raga, Aweil, Tonj, Rumbek, Deim Zuber, Nzara, Meshr'a er Req and Kossinga. In 1939, they set up the “Greek Community of Bahr El Ghazal”.
