Preveza under the Russians was a prosperous place with 2000 families. The women assisted in the fields and gathered the olives, while the men traded with the communities around the Ambracian gulf and spent their lazy evenings smoking their pipes. Their houses were well stocked with olive oil and silk, precious commodities that brought much revenue. Only a few years after Ali conquered the town, though, things changed dramatically. The population was reduced almost by half, town houses were abandoned in favour of huts in the fields, hunger and disease claimed many lives. People roamed the streets like ghosts, while the Ottomans occupied newly built mansions and prospered by oppressing the Christians.