Nea Ionia

Nea Ionia (Νέα Ιωνία, meaning New Ionia) is a town and a northern suburb of the Athens agglomeration, Greece, and a municipality of the Attica region. It was named after Ionia, the region in Anatolia from which many Greeks migrated in the 1920s as a part of the population exchange between Greece and Turkey. Many of the town families originated from the town of Alanya which is currently a part of Turkey.

Nea Ionia is 7 km northeast of Athens city centre. The municipality has an area of 4.421 km2. It is served by three Line 1 metro stations: Nea Ionia, Pefkakia and Perissos.

History
In the past, the area was named Podarades after Greek Revolution Hero of Albanian origin Ziliftar Poda and his followers, settled in this area. The modern settlement was built after the Greco-Turkish War (1919-22) and the subsequent population exchange between Greece and Turkey in 1923. The suburb developed rapidly thanks to carpet handicrafts. The refugees carried their expertise to Athens and opened important carpet handicrafts. This branch was the main economical source for the residents of Nea Ionia for many years. Nea Ionia gradually increased its population and expanded into a large area. The suburb is composed of 13 neighborhoods: Nea Ionia (Center), Perissos, Inepoli, Pefkakia, Saframpoli, Neapoli, Eleftheroupoli, Alsoupoli, Kalogreza, Lazarou, Anthrakorihia, Irini, Omorfoklissia and Palaiologou.

Sports
Nea Ionia is the seat of the clubs O.F. Nea Ionia (Όμιλος Φιλάθλων Νέας Ιωνίας), club founded in 1926 with achievements in handball and Nea Ionia F.C. Other notable clubs are Eleftheroupoli F.C. with earlier presence in Beta Ethniki and DIKE.AS. Nea Ionia with current presence in A1 Ethniki handball. In the past there are also the important clubs PAO Saframpolis, PAO Kalogrezas and Ikaroi Neas Ionias which are inactive today.

Notable residents

 * Nikos Milioris (1896–1983) Greek author and senior military officer.
 * Stelios Kazantzidis (1931–2001), Greek singer.
 * Giota Lydia (1934), Greek Laïko singer.
 * Nikos Xanthopoulos (1934-2023), Greek actor.
 * Maria Farantouri (1947), Greek singer.
 * Taki Tsan (1979), Greek rapper.
 * Pantelis Pantelidis (1983-2016), Greek singer.
 * Markos Kalovelonis (1994), Greek-Russian tennis player.