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blew through the city as a result of the
multiple ethnicities of its inhabitants and the
continuous commercial contact with Europe.
In 1996, the Ethnographic Museum of Kavala
called for the contribution of the inhabitants
for an exhibition titled “Kavala: The Tobacco
City of Yesterday”. The public’s response
exceeded all expectations; the number of
items collected was so large, that in 2003
the exhibition became permanent and, in
its enhanced version, now constitutes the
Tobacco Museum of Kavala. The purpose of
this thematic museum is multiple: to rescue
and promote the industrial history of the
area, featuring also the interesting motley of
its inhabitants, to delve into the history of the
processing of Eastern tobacco and to create
an archive for researchers.
The artefacts and photographs exhibited at
the museum are linked to tobacco farming
and processing, as well as the technological
evolution of its processing. Moreover,
they introduce us to the culture of tobacco
consumption by means of both smoking
paraphernalia and tobacco products
commonly used then in the area. Among
the exhibits visitors will find various fully
functional pieces of machinery which used
to be operated manually or electrically.
Experiential-educational workshops are
organized for groups upon request. Visitors
will also see rare archival material, private and
corporate documents, original publications
of the Greek Tobacco Organization and a
lot more. Seven themes are developed in
succession on the site: Cultivation – On-farm
Processing – Traditional Processing – Tonga Processing (pressing machines for IN THE AREA WAS
the production of tobacco bales) – Samples of processed tobacco – Tobacco CULTIVATED THE
merchants – Tobacco trade – Tobacco workers – Tobacco Unions – Tobacco
Industry / Cigarette Industry. Before the tonga, tobacco processing entailed WORLD’S MOST
only manual work, the story of which unfolds through a series of historical FRAGRANT TOBACCO,
photographs of great interest. The processing took place on the upper floors of CALLED “BASMAS”
the tobacco warehouses. Two men further up in the hierarchy of workers were
responsible for the first selection of the leaves and they enjoyed the privilege of ΣΤΗΝ ΠΕΡΙΟΧΗ
sitting very close to the light coming from the windows to facilitate their work. ΚΑΛΛΙΕΡΓΟΥΝΤΑΝ
A woman worker would be allocated to each pair of men; she would lay flat the Ο ΠΙΟ ΑΡΩΜΑΤΙΚΟΣ
selected leaves and press them into tight piles, the so-called pastalia. The next
stage of selection was carried out by pairs of less experienced workers. ΚΑΠΝΟΣ ΤΟΥ ΚΟΣΜΟΥ,
The existence of the tobacco trade shaped the urban aesthetics of Kavala. At the Ο ΛΕΓΟΜΕΝΟΣ
turn of the century and during the Interwar years, the city was blooming. «ΜΠΑΣΜΑΣ»
A rising social class that won the status of a “tobacco elite” left its indelible mark
on the streets, the squares and the harbour, demonstrating by means of various
buildings the economic and social reordering. The Grand Hall (also known

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