Afro-Turks
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| Regions with significant populations |
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| Muğla Izmir Antalya |
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Afro-Turks, African Turks, or Turkish Africans are people of African descent in Turkey. "Afro-Turk" is a neologism; they have been colloquially named as Arap (Arab) or zenci in Turkish, and are now also referred to as Afrika kökenli Türkler (Turks with African roots).[citation needed]
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History [edit]
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 Empire settled 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 Aegean coast, 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 [edit]
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 and Adana 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]
Notable Afro-Turks [edit]
Arts
- Esmeray, singer
- Tuğçe Güder, adopted by Turkish parents, model and actress
- Kuzgun Acar, sculptor
- Mansur Ark, musician
- Safiye Ayla, musician
- Yasemin Esmergül, actress
- Ahmet Kostarika, actor
- Dursune Şirin, actress
- İbrahim Şirin, classical Ottoman musician
- Cenk Sökmen, musician
- Melis Sökmen, actress, musician (Guinean grandmother)
- Sait Sökmen, ballet dancer, choreographer (Guinean mother)
- Sibel Sürel, ballerina
- Ali Tınaz, actor, television presenter
- Tuncay Vural, choreographer
- Tracey Emin, English artist (Turkish Cypriot father, whose grandfather was Sudanese)
Sports
- Fercani Bey, footballer
- Ömer Besim Koşalay, athlete, journalist
- Vahap Özaltay, footballer
- Hadi Türkmen, former vice-president of the Turkish Football Federation
- Sadri Usuoğlu, football manager
- Mustafa Yıldız known as "Arap Mustafa", 1972 and 1981 Kırkpınar champion
Literature
- Mustafa Olpak, writer and activist
Politics
- Zenci Musa, Teşkilât-ı Mahsûsa member
- Baroness Meral Hussein-Ece, whose great grandfather was a Sudanese slave, taken to Cyprus.[11]
Military
See also [edit]
- Afro-Arab
- Afro Iranian
- Afro Iraqis
- Black people in the Ottoman Empire
- Black people in Turkey
- Slavery in the Ottoman Empire
Notes [edit]
- ^ "Turks with African ancestors want their existence to be felt". Todayszaman.com. 2008-05-11. Retrieved 2012-05-03.
- ^ a b "Afro-Türklerin tarihi, ''Radikal'', 30 August 2008, retrieved 22 January 2009". Radikal.com.tr. 2008-08-30. Retrieved 2012-05-03.
- ^ a b "Turks with African ancestors want their existence to be felt, ''Today's Zaman'', 11 May 2008, Sunday, retrieved 28 August 2008". Todayszaman.com. 2008-05-11. Retrieved 2012-05-03.
- ^ Yerleşim Yerleri ve Göç: Balıkesir/Ayvalık, afroturk.org, retrieved 25 January 2009
- ^ "Yugoslavia – Montenegro and Kosovo – The Next Conflict?". Cyber-adventures.com. 1997-01-16. Retrieved 2012-05-03.
- ^ "Ulcinj – History". Visit-montenegro.com. Retrieved 2012-05-03.
- ^ African Slave Trade in Russia, By Dieudonne Gnammankou in La Channe et le lien, Doudou Diene, (id.) Paris, Editions UNESCO, 1988
- ^ "Afro-Turks meet to celebrate Obama inauguration, ''Today's Zaman'', 20 January 2009, retrieved 22 January 2009". Todayszaman.com. 2009-01-20. Retrieved 2012-05-03.
- ^ "Yerleşim Yerleri ve Göç, afroturk.org, retrieved 25 January 2009". Afroturk.org. Retrieved 2012-05-03.
- ^ Afrika'nın kapıları İzmir'e açılıyor, Yeni Asır, 21 November 2008, retrieved 25 January 2009
- ^ Marie Woolf: UK peer Meral Hussein-Ece and artist cousin Tracey Emin trace roots to slavery The Australian, 19 July, 2010
External links [edit]
- (Turkish) Afro-Turk Website of the Afro-Turks' association in Ayvalık
- (Turkish) Sessiz Bir Geçmişten Sesler Website of a research project on Afro-Turks
- (English) Turks with African ancestors want their existence to be felt, Today's Zaman, 25 June 2008
- (English) [1], article published on 27 August 2012 about the Calf Fest, the Afro-Der Association and recent developments.
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