posted
I think this belongs here but I'm not totally sure. Sorry if it doesn't. Anyway, I learned from history class that Turkey was once the centre of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium). I'm not exactly sure but I'm guessing they'd be ethnically pretty close to the Greeks. Then they were conquered by the Turks who were from a part of Asia called Turkistein (sorry, I can't remember exactly but it was something like that), resulting in the Ottoman Empire. I recently read an atlas that said that the ethnic makeup of Turkey was 99% Turkish. Do they mean 99% of the people are descended from the people from Turkistein (?)? If so, where did all the people from the Eastern Roman Empire go? Constantinople was said the be one of the largest cities in the world at the time so I'd think Byzantium would be quite well populated. I haven't heard anything about a genocide and i think I would have if it happened. Same with if they were kicked out. Or do they just mean they were assimilated and 99% speak Turkish and practice the culture. Does anybody know?
Posts: 480 | From: British Columbia, Canada | Registered: Mar 2002
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When Turkey became Turkey in the 1920's it created a ethic group based on Nationalism. Therefore, everyone in Turkey where "Turks" even the Kurds are seen as "Mountain Turks."
Turkey is 99% "Turks" because everone who lived in present day Turkey became "Turks" when the country was formed
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Turkey is very diverse, with groups that have been there for thousands of years living in tribal societies, along with Armenians, Greeks, Roma (gyspsies), Arabs, Bosnians, and a very large Kurdish population. The largest ethnic goup are Turks, which is basically a blanket term for a specific group of ethnic descendents of the former Ottoman empire. To be honest, its more a grouping based on a common language than ethnicity; because the Turks have been under so many empires and spread between Asia, Europe, and Africa, the Turks themselves are actually rather ethnically diverse. One does not have to be born in Turkey to be a Turk; it just so happened that many Turks settled into an area that eventually would become Turkey.
Also of note, the Galacians found in the bible were a group of Celts from Gaul who had settled in Turkey, and have since been absorbed into the population.
-------------------- Armistice Day has become Veterans' Day. Armistice Day was sacred. Veterans' Day is not. So I will throw Veterans' Day over my shoulder. ... What else is sacred? Oh, Romeo and Juliet, for instance. And all music is. -Kurt Vonnegut Posts: 55 | From: Salisbury, NC/Bridgewater, VA | Registered: Nov 2005
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That makes sense. I only studied university world history until 1500, around the time Constantinople was conquered. Therefore I don't know exactly what happened afterwards though I suppose I could find a book on it. Maybe I'll do that.
Posts: 480 | From: British Columbia, Canada | Registered: Mar 2002
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posted
We could easily add the genocide of Armenians here as well.
Posts: 246 | From: Toronto, ON / Kyiv, Ukraine | Registered: Jul 2005
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The exchange of populations in the 20s kind of split along religious lines, too. Most ethnic Greeks were Orthodox Christian. Those who had converted to Islam picked up certain of the "secondary cultural characteristics" of the Turks (language, food rules, etc), and thus stayed in Anatolia, where they would be safer and more comfortable. There was, and to a degree still is, a considerable amount of rancor between the Greeks and Turks. A lot of this stems from the war in the 20s, but the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in the 70s and the ensuing staring contest in the Aegean hasn't helped.
Interestingly, something that has improved relations was the earthquake that hit Turkey in 1999 (or was it 2000?). Greece was quick to send relief aid and emergency workers to Turkey, who were able to repay the kindness shortly thereafter when Greece was hit by a temblor.
-------------------- When Hell is full, the dead will walk to work. Posts: 32 | From: Orange County, CA | Registered: Sep 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Monster of Samos: There was, and to a degree still is, a considerable amount of rancor between the Greeks and Turks. A lot of this stems from the war in the 20s, but the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in the 70s and the ensuing staring contest in the Aegean hasn't helped.
The movie "Midnight Express" was a good illustration of that. It made Turkey look pretty awful. I was told that it was produced or written or something, by Greeks, which is why it was so anti Turk. -anyone know for sure about that?
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(snurched because one of my nutbar family members is all about wolves and another one is all about dragons...)(with apologies to surfcitydogdad) Posts: 2397 | From: Texarkana, TX | Registered: Mar 2006
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quote:Originally posted by snapdragonfly: ...The movie "Midnight Express" was a good illustration of that. It made Turkey look pretty awful. I was told that it was produced or written or something, by Greeks, which is why it was so anti Turk. -anyone know for sure about that?
Here is the IMDB entry. None of the writers, producers, or directors look like they have Greek names, although I realize that's not necessarily definitive.
Nick
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posted
Nick, I looked at the producers and writers in that link and they mostly seem to be British so I guess that was another UL!
-------------------- "Wolves, dragons and vampires, man. Draw the nut-bars like big ol' nut-bar magnets." ~evilrabbit
(snurched because one of my nutbar family members is all about wolves and another one is all about dragons...)(with apologies to surfcitydogdad) Posts: 2397 | From: Texarkana, TX | Registered: Mar 2006
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