Bulgarians in Turkey
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Bulgarians Bulgarians ( bg, българи, Bǎlgari, ) are a nation and South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and the rest of Southeast Europe. Etymology Bulgarians derive their ethnonym from the Bulgars. Their name is not completely unders ...
in Turkey ( tr, Türkiye'deki Bulgarlar, bg, Българи в Турция) form a minority of
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
. They are Bulgarian expatriates in Turkey or Turkish citizens was born there of full or partially Bulgarian descent. People of Bulgarian ancestry include a large number from the
Pomak Pomaks ( bg, Помаци, Pomatsi; el, Πομάκοι, Pomáki; tr, Pomaklar) are Bulgarian-speaking Muslims inhabiting northwestern Turkey, Bulgaria and northeastern Greece. The c. 220,000 strong ethno-confessional minority in Bulgaria is ...
and a very small number of Orthodox of ethnic Bulgarian origin. Prior to the ethnic cleansing of
Thracian Bulgarians Thracians or Thracian Bulgarians ( Bulgarian: Тракийски българи or Тракийци) are a regional, ethnographic group of ethnic Bulgarians, inhabiting or native to Thrace. Today, the larger part of this population is concentra ...
in 1913, the Christian Bulgarians had been more than the
Pomaks Pomaks ( bg, Помаци, Pomatsi; el, Πομάκοι, Pomáki; tr, Pomaklar) are Bulgarian-speaking Muslims inhabiting northwestern Turkey, Bulgaria and northeastern Greece. The c. 220,000 strong ethno-confessional minority in Bulgaria is ...
, afterwards Pomak refugees arrived from Greece and Bulgaria. Pomaks are also Muslim and speak a
Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...
dialect.Raju G. C. Thomas; Yugoslavia unraveled: sovereignty, self-determination, intervention; 2003
p.105
/ref>R. J. Crampton, Bulgaria, 2007, p.8Janusz Bugajski, Ethnic politics in Eastern Europe: a guide to nationality policies, organizations, and parties; 1995
p.237
/ref> According to Ethnologue at present 300,000 Pomaks in
European Turkey East Thrace or Eastern Thrace ( tr, Doğu Trakya or simply ''Trakya''; el, Ανατολική Θράκη, ''Anatoliki Thraki''; bg, Източна Тракия, ''Iztochna Trakiya''), also known as Turkish Thrace or European Turkey, is the pa ...
speak Bulgarian as their mother tongue. It is very hard to estimate the number of Pomaks along with the Turkified Pomaks who live in Turkey, as they have blended into the Turkish society and have been often linguistically and culturally dissimilated. According to '' Milliyet'' and ''
Turkish Daily News Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and ...
'' reports, the number of the Pomaks is 600,000. The origin of the Pomaks has been debated, but there is an academic consensus that they are descendants of native
Bulgarians Bulgarians ( bg, българи, Bǎlgari, ) are a nation and South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and the rest of Southeast Europe. Etymology Bulgarians derive their ethnonym from the Bulgars. Their name is not completely unders ...
who converted to Islam during the Ottoman rule of the
Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
;


History

The medieval Bulgarian Empire had active relations with
Eastern Thrace Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...
before the Ottoman conquest of the Balkans in the 14th–15th century: the area was often part of the Bulgarian state under its stronger rulers from
Krum Krum ( bg, Крум, el, Κροῦμος/Kroumos), often referred to as Krum the Fearsome ( bg, Крум Страшни) was the Khan of Bulgaria from sometime between 796 and 803 until his death in 814. During his reign the Bulgarian territory ...
's reign on, such as Simeon I and
Ivan Asen II Ivan Asen II, also known as John Asen II ( bg, Иван Асен II, ; 1190s – May/June 1241), was Emperor (Tsar) of Bulgaria from 1218 to 1241. He was still a child when his father Ivan Asen I one of the founders of the Second Bulgarian Empir ...
; the city of
Edirne Edirne (, ), formerly known as Adrianople or Hadrianopolis ( Greek: Άδριανούπολις), is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders ...
(Adrianople, Odrin) was under Bulgarian control a number of times. Bulgarians were sometimes taken captive during
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
raids and resettled in
Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
(modern Asian Turkey), but their traces are lost in the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
. As the
Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
were subjugated by the Ottomans, the entirety of the Bulgarian lands fell under Ottoman domination. It was during the Ottoman rule that a more substantial Bulgarian colony was formed in the imperial capital
Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...
(also known as
Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...
or, in Bulgarian, as Tsarigrad). The so-called "Tsarigrad Bulgarians" (цариградски българи, ''tsarigradski balgari'') were mostly craftsmen (e.g.
leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hog ...
workers) and merchants. During the
Bulgarian National Revival The Bulgarian National Revival ( bg, Българско национално възраждане, ''Balgarsko natsionalno vazrazhdane'' or simply: Възраждане, ''Vazrazhdane'', and tr, Bulgar ulus canlanması) sometimes called the Bu ...
, Istanbul was a major centre of Bulgarian journalism and enlightenment. Istanbul's St Stephen Church, also known as the Bulgarian Iron Church, was the seat of the Bulgarian Exarchate after 1870. According to some estimates, the Tsarigrad Bulgarians numbered 30–100,000 in the mid-19th century; today, there remains a small colony of 300–400, a small part of the city's Bulgarian community. A specific part of the Bulgarian population of modern Turkey were the
Anatolian Bulgarians The Anatolian Bulgarians or Bulgarians of Asia Minor ( bg, малоазийски българи, ''maloazijski bǎlgari'', or shortly, малоазианци, ''maloazianci'') were members of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church who settled in Ottoma ...
, Eastern Orthodox Bulgarians who settled in Ottoman-ruled northwestern Anatolia, possibly in the 18th century, and remained there until 1914. Much more intense was the fate of the Bulgarian population of Eastern Thrace in the Ottoman Province ('' vilâyet'') of Edirne. According to
Lyubomir Miletich Lyubomir Miletich ( bg, Любомир Милетич) (14 January 1863 – 1 June 1937) was a leading Bulgarian linguist, ethnographer, dialectologist and historian, as well as the chairman of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences from 1926 to ...
's detailed study of the province published in 1918, the Bulgarian population of the province (today mostly in Turkey, with smaller parts in
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
and Bulgaria) in 1912 numbered 298,726, of whom 176,554 Exarchists, 24,970 Patriarchists, 1,700
Eastern Catholics The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous ('' sui iuris'') particular churches of ...
and 95,502 Muslims (Pomaks). In the
Çorlu Çorlu () is a northwestern Turkish city in inland Eastern Thrace that falls under the administration of the Province of Tekirdağ. It is a rapidly growing industrial centre built on flatland located on the motorway Otoyol 3 and off the highwa ...
and Constantinople regions, Miletich estimates the Bulgarian population at a further 10,000. After the Balkan Wars of 1912–1913, most of the Bulgarian population was killed or expelled by the Ottomans to Bulgarian-controlled territories. The legal property rights of the expelled Thracian Bulgarians were recognized fully by the Republic of Turkey through the Treaty of Ankara, signed on October 18, 1925, but have been never denied or enforced yet.Terziev, Svetoslav
"The Thracian Bulgarians press Turkey in EU"
, ''Sega'' Newspaper, September 19, 2007. Accessed September 20, 2007.
Almost one century after 1913, the heirs of the Bulgarian refugees have still not been compensated yet. After the Balkan Wars some Turks left Bulgaria and a number of Bulgarians moved from Ottoman Turkey to Bulgaria. Between the Balkan Wars and the First World War there were a series of agreements on exchanges of population between Bulgaria and Turkey.


Present

There remain two
Bulgarian Orthodox The Bulgarian Orthodox Church ( bg, Българска православна църква, translit=Balgarska pravoslavna tsarkva), legally the Patriarchate of Bulgaria ( bg, Българска патриаршия, links=no, translit=Balgarsk ...
churches in the city of Edirne: Saint George (dating to 1880) and Saints Constantine and Helena (built in 1869). The Bulgarian churches were reconstructed in the 2000s with the cooperation of Turkey, using mostly Bulgarian state funds. They are both in a good condition today; Saint George also has a Bulgarian library and an ethnographic collection. In September 2007 Evgeni Kirilov, Bulgarian deputy in the
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
, proposed an amendment to the resolution concerning the EU-Turkish relations, which refers to the property of the Thracian Bulgarians and the obligations of Turkish authorities according to the Treaty of Ankara. In January 2010, Turkish daily '' Milliyet'' reported that Bulgarian minister
Bozhidar Dimitrov Bozhidar Dimitrov Stoyanov ( bg, Божидар Димитров Стоянов, 3 December 1945 – 1 July 2018) was a Bulgarian historian, politician, and polemicist in the sphere of Medieval Bulgarian history, the Ottoman rule of Bulgaria and ...
(himself a son of Thracian refugees) talked on a prospect to demand compensation from Turkey in return for the property of expelled Bulgarians. In a response the Turkish foreign minister
Ahmet Davutoğlu Ahmet Davutoğlu (; born 26 February 1959) is a Turkish academic, politician and former diplomat who served as the 26th Prime Minister of Turkey and Leader of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) from 2014 to 2016. He previously served as ...
has underlined that Bulgaria has not filed any official claim and that any such demand needs to be viewed as a whole to also envisage the rights of the two million Turkish refugees from Bulgaria based on the Treaty of Ankara. Bulgarian prime minister Boyko Borisov stated that the Bulgarian government had no prospects for demanding compensation from Turkey and Dimitrov was forced to publicly apologise for his statement.'Tazminatçı Bakan' özür diledi
''Milliyet'', January 8, 2010. Accessed January 8, 2010


Notable people

: ''This list includes people of Bulgarian origin born in what is today Turkey or Bulgarians mainly active in the Republic of Turkey.'' * Antim I (1816–1888), first head of the Bulgarian Exarchate (from
Kırklareli Kırklareli () is a city within Kırklareli Province in the European part of Turkey. Name It is not clearly known when the city was founded, nor under what name. The Byzantine Greeks called it Sarànta Ekklisiès (''Σαράντα Εκκλησι ...
) * Alexander Bogoridi (1822–1910), Ottoman statesman of Bulgarian origin (from Istanbul) * Georgi Valkovich (1833–1892), physician, diplomat and politician (from Edirne) * Michael Petkov (1850–1921), Eastern Catholic priest (from Edirne) * Konstantin Bozveliev (1862–1951), socialist politician (from Istanbul) *
Konstantin Kotsev Konstantin Kotsev ( bg, Константин Коцев; June 4, 1926 – August 4, 2007) was a Bulgarian stage and film actor. Kotsev was amid the most popular Bulgarian actors from the last decades of 20th century. He is best known for hi ...
(1926–2007), stage and film actor (from Istanbul) * Nikola Aslanov (1875–1905),
IMARO The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO; bg, Вътрешна Македонска Революционна Организация (ВМРО), translit=Vatrešna Makedonska Revoljucionna Organizacija (VMRO); mk, Внатр ...
revolutionary (from Kırklareli) *
Hristo Silyanov Hristo Silyanov (1880 in Istanbul, Ottoman Empire – 1939 in Sofia, Bulgaria) ( bg, Христо Силянов) was a Bulgarian revolutionary,G. M. Dimitrov (1903–1972), politician (from Yeniçiftlik) *
Zako Heskija Zako Heskija, Isaac Solomonov Heskiya, ''Зако Хеския'', also: ''Zako Heskia'' or "Sako Cheskija" (21 September 1922 – 3 June 2006) was a Bulgarian film director and screenwriter. He was born in Istanbul (Turkey) to Jewish parents. ...
(1922–2006), film director (from Istanbul) * Hristo Fotev (1934–2002), poet (from Istanbul)


See also

*
Minorities in Turkey Minorities in Turkey form a substantial part of the country's population, representing an estimated 26% to 31% of the population. Historically, in the Ottoman Empire, Islam was the official and dominant religion, with Muslims having different d ...
*
Bulgarian diaspora The Bulgarian diaspora includes Bulgarians living outside Bulgaria and its surrounding countries, as well as immigrants from Bulgaria abroad. The number of Bulgarians outside Bulgaria has sharply increased since 1989, following the Revolutions ...
*
The Destruction of Thracian Bulgarians in 1913 ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
* Bulgaria–Turkey relations *
Turks in Bulgaria Bulgarian Turks ( bg, български турци, bŭlgarski turtsi, tr, Bulgaristan Türkleri) are a Turkish ethnic group from Bulgaria. According to the 2021 census, there were 508,375 Bulgarians of Turkish descent, roughly 8.4% of t ...
*
Anatolian Bulgarians The Anatolian Bulgarians or Bulgarians of Asia Minor ( bg, малоазийски българи, ''maloazijski bǎlgari'', or shortly, малоазианци, ''maloazianci'') were members of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church who settled in Ottoma ...
*
Asia Minor Slavs The Asia Minor Slavs were the historical South Slav communities relocated by the Byzantine Empire from the Balkans to Asia Minor (Anatolia). After Maurice's Balkan campaigns (582–602) and during the subduing of the Slavs in the Balkans in the 7t ...


Gallery

File:BASA-2072K-1-337-66-National costumes from Anatolia.jpg, Anatolian Bulgarians in their national costumes File:İstanbul 6019.jpg, The Bulgarian Iron Church of St Stephen in
Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...
File:BulgarianChurch.jpg, The Bulgarian Church of St George in
Edirne Edirne (, ), formerly known as Adrianople or Hadrianopolis ( Greek: Άδριανούπολις), is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders ...
File:Sts. Constantine and Helen Church (Edirne), Front.jpg, The Bulgarian Church of Sts Constantine and Helen in Edirne File:Balkans-ethnique.JPG, French ethnographic map of the Balkans by
Paul Vidal de la Blache #REDIRECT Paul Vidal de La Blache {{redirect category shell, {{R from move{{R from other capitalisation ...
showing the Bulgarian population in Eastern Thrace


See also

*
Minorities in Turkey Minorities in Turkey form a substantial part of the country's population, representing an estimated 26% to 31% of the population. Historically, in the Ottoman Empire, Islam was the official and dominant religion, with Muslims having different d ...
*
Bulgarian diaspora The Bulgarian diaspora includes Bulgarians living outside Bulgaria and its surrounding countries, as well as immigrants from Bulgaria abroad. The number of Bulgarians outside Bulgaria has sharply increased since 1989, following the Revolutions ...
*
The Destruction of Thracian Bulgarians in 1913 ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
* Bulgaria–Turkey relations *
Turks in Bulgaria Bulgarian Turks ( bg, български турци, bŭlgarski turtsi, tr, Bulgaristan Türkleri) are a Turkish ethnic group from Bulgaria. According to the 2021 census, there were 508,375 Bulgarians of Turkish descent, roughly 8.4% of t ...


References


External links


Bulgarian embassy in Turkey

Website of the Tsarigrad Bulgarians and the St Stephen Church in Istanbul

Website of the Pomaks in Turkey


{{Immigration to Turkey European diaspora in Turkey
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...