Cremation in Turkey/Greece

[rivonia]

I know that this is a strange subject to discuss-BUT.

Can anyone tell me if they do CREMATIONS/is there a crematorium in TURKEY?

Is there a CREMATORIUM in GREECE and if so where>?

Many thanks

Peter

 

[satsuma]

As far as Turkey goes, I understand there was one in Istanbul around 1930 but none currently exist! Records show it was open for roughly 5 years, but then closed due to lack of use!

 

[duncan99210]

Here's the answer for Greece according to the Anglican Church http://www.anglicanchurch.gr/13.html And this would appear to be the answer for Turkey http://www.turkishliving.com/forums/births-deaths-marriages/528-once-you-have-finished-living.html In both instances, in short, no crematorium, therefore no cremation.

 

[little_roundtop]

It's my understanding from speaking to Greek friends (I'm on Crete) that there is a crematorium in (or near) Athens. I'm given to understand that there may be others in the future.

The problem is the Orthodox church of course and the huge majority of the Greek population are believers.

Edite: Seems I'm wrong again (apparently). See this: http://greece.greekreporter.com/2012/03/01/greater-athens-crematorium-plan-finally-wrecked/

But then there's this: http://www.athensnews.gr/portal/9/49558

 

[JonJon]

Well thats certainly set my mind at rest!

 

[AntarcticPilot]

It is a very wise thing for people to write down their wishes for when they die. We will all die one day; barring loss at sea, we will all leave our remains behind for someone - probably a deeply grieving someone - to deal with. Living overseas means that the support structures we know of in the UK won't be present; the hospital or whatever will no doubt be willing, but language barriers will intervene. There will be unfamiliar legal requirements - bad enough in the UK with a calm, friendly, English speaking registrar, but do you even know the requirements for registering a death in the country you live in? What documents do you need, who is legally entitled to register a death and so on? Of course, the local UK Consulate or English Church will help - but they may well be over-stretched, and also may be a long way away.

And of course, the majority religion of the country will make a BIG difference to the options. The Orthodox Church regards cremation as a complete no-no; the Catholic Church regards it as a very poor second best, tolerated only because in the UK the cost of burial is high. Islam regards burial as essential - within 24 hours of death. That covers most Mediterranean countries. Some less usual religions (e.g. Parsee) regard cremation as being absolutely blasphemous! It is only us Reformed types from Western Europe that are unbothered by the nature of the eventual disposal of our remains.

Specifying your wishes in advance - perhaps with options if "Plan A" is not available - will save those near you a lot of worry one day. Of course, making sure there is provision in your will for the costs is a pretty good idea as well.

 

[JonJon]

Yes I've heard of people on Rhodes , their wife has popped over to the mainland and died for what ever reason. They have been buried on the mainland within the 24 hours before the spouse has even known they're dead.

 

[Ludd]

Old Scots saying "If they'll no' bury me for love ,they'll bury me for the smell."
They can feed me to the dogs,for all I care Just so long as they make sure I'm dead first!

 

[Tranona]

There is a spendid description of how bodies were dealt with in Anatolya in the 19th century in Loius de Bernieres book Birds without Wings. In an area with so little deep soil and limited cultivatable land a body only stayed in a grave for 15 years or so, then the bones were dug up and stored in the cellar in the church - similar to the catacombs in Italy. The importance of the period in the grave was not just to allow decomposition of the flesh, but to ensure that God had taken the soul. If the dead person was a witch then the body would not decompose. Scary stuff - particularly when you read the passage in the book, which is told from a child's perspective.

 

[PLEIAS]

No there's no cremation in Greece, regardless of what you read or hear.But as i foiund out you can arrange with a funeral parlour to transport the remains to across the border to Bulgaria for cremation and from what they say it happens often.

 

[rivonia]

Thank you everyone for the in put.

Peter

 

[GrahamM376]

There is a spendid description of how bodies were dealt with in Anatolya in the 19th century in Loius de Bernieres book Birds without Wings. In an area with so little deep soil and limited cultivatable land a body only stayed in a grave for 15 years or so, then the bones were dug up and stored in the cellar in the church - similar to the catacombs in Italy. The importance of the period in the grave was not just to allow decomposition of the flesh, but to ensure that God had taken the soul. If the dead person was a witch then the body would not decompose. Scary stuff - particularly when you read the passage in the book, which is told from a child's perspective.

Much the same in Portugal now. Unless one can afford a permanent grave or drawer, the graves are temporary and dug up after 5 years. If the corpse has rotted enough, the bones are washed off and then put into a cupboard, these are stacked in rows around the cemetary. If not rotted enough, they're re-planted for another year or two. As space is getting limited, some cemetaries will no longer sell permanent plots. Cremation is available there but a bit of a strange process/ceremony compared to UK.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Much the same in Portugal now. Unless one can afford a permanent grave or drawer, the graves are temporary and dug up after 5 years. If the corpse has rotted enough, the bones are washed off and then put into a cupboard, these are stacked in rows around the cemetary. If not rotted enough, they're re-planted for another year or two. As space is getting limited, some cemetaries will no longer sell permanent plots. Cremation is available there but a bit of a strange process/ceremony compared to UK.

just to note that the UK is rather unusual in granting "perpetual" rights to graves; the principle of burial for a number of years then removing bones to an ossuary has been standard practice in many places since the Middle Ages. Monastic graveyards and churchyards operated on that principle. And even in the UK, "perpetual" rights are rarely that; it usually means "long enough that your body and coffin will have rotted down to compost, including most of the bones" - that's something like 50 years in the sort of moist organic soils we have.

Also worth noting that graves were rarely marked before the 16th-17th centuries, so the presence of a grave location was simply a matter of memory. Once Grandad's grand-children were gone, no-one would know where he was planted.

I recall that one of the jobs that students went after when I were a lad was excavating burial grounds for redevelopment. Funnily enough, the average labourer wasn't happy about digging up graveyards - even if the last burial there was 100 years ago. So, the rates were good, it was unskilled work, and if you didn't have nightmares about dealing with old bones, it was a good earner! I never did it - geology students have too much field-work during the vacations to get much in the way of holiday jobs - but several school mates did.