BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY Afro-Turks are people of black African origin in Turkey.
History
Beginning several centuries ago, a number of Africans, usually via Zanzibar and from places like Niger, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Kenya and Sudan[1] came to the Ottoman Empiresettled by the Dalaman, Menderes and Gediz valleys, Manavgat, and Çukurova. African quarters of 19th century İzmir like Sabırtaşı, Dolapkuyu, Tamaşalık, İkiçeşmelik, and Ballıkuyu have mention in contemporary records.[2] Some came from Crete following the population exchange between Greece and Turkey in 1923. They settled on the Aegeancoast, mainly around İzmir.[3] Afro-Turks in Ayvalık declare that their ancestors from Crete spoke Greek when they came to Turkey and learned Turkish later.[4] Afro-Turks living in İzmir had celebrated the traditional spring festival Dana Bayramı ("Calf Festival") until the 1960s. Dana Bayramı is currently revived among the younger generation of Afro-Turks.[2]
Ulcinj in Montenegro had its own black community – descendent of the Ottoman slave trade that had flourished there.[5] As a consequence of the slave trade and privateer activity, it is told how until 1878 in Ulcinj 100 black people lived.[6] The Ottoman Army counted thousands of Black African soldiers in its ranks. The army sent to Balkans during the Austro-Turkish War of 1716–18 included 24,000 men from Africa.[7]
Today
Areas with significant populations are in the Aegean Region, especially İzmir, Aydın, and Muğla. At the time of Barack Obama's inauguration, a group of Afro-Turks from the districts Ortaca, Dalaman, and Köyceğiz gathered in Ortaca for celebration.[8] There are also people of African ancestry living in some villages and municipalities of Antalya andAdana provinces.[9] Some of the descendants of African settlers remain, mixed with the rest of the population in these areas, and many migrated to larger cities.[3] These factors make it difficult to guess the number of Turks of African ancestry.[10]
No comments:
Post a Comment