The Cretan Muslims or Cretan Turks
( or , or ; , , or ; ) were the
Muslim
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
inhabitants of the island of
Crete
Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...
. Their descendants settled principally in
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
, the
Dodecanese Islands under Italian administration (part of
Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
since 1947),
Syria
Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
(notably in the village of
Al-Hamidiyah),
Lebanon
Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...
,
Palestine
Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...
,
Libya
Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...
, and
Egypt
Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
, as well as in the larger
Turkish diaspora.
Cretan Muslims were descendants of
ethnic Greeks who had converted to
Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
after the
Ottoman conquest of Crete in the seventeenth century.
They identified as
Greek Muslims
Greek Muslims, also known as Grecophone Muslims, are Muslims of Greeks, Greek ethnic origin whose adoption of Islam (and often the Turkish language and identity in more recent times) dates either from the contact of early Arabic dynasties of th ...
, and were referred to as "
Turks" by some Christian Greeks due to their religion; not their ethnic background.
Many Cretan Greeks had converted to
Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
in the wake of the
Ottoman conquest of Crete. This high rate of local conversions to Islam was similar to that in
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to the north a ...
,
Albania
Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...
, parts of western
Greek Macedonia (such as the Greek Muslim
Vallaades), and
Bulgaria
Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
; perhaps even a uniquely high rate of conversions rather than immigrants. The Greek Muslims of Crete continued to speak
Cretan Greek
Cretan Greek, or the Cretan dialect (, ), is a variety of Modern Greek spoken in Crete and by the Cretan diaspora.
Geographic distribution
The Cretan dialect is spoken by the majority of the Cretan Greeks on the island of Crete, as well as by ...
. European travellers' accounts note that the "Turks" of Crete were mostly not of Turkic origin, but were Cretan converts from Orthodoxy.
Sectarian violence during the 19th century caused many Muslims to leave Crete, especially during the
Cretan Revolt (1897–1898)
The Cretan Revolt of 1897–1898 was a successful insurrection by the Greek Orthodox population of Crete against the rule of the Ottoman Empire after decades of rising tensions. The Greek insurrectionists received supplies and armed support firs ...
, and after Crete's unilateral
declaration of union with Greece in 1908.
Quote, p. 87: "In the eve of the Occupation of İzmir by the Greek army
The Hellenic Army (, sometimes abbreviated as ΕΣ), formed in 1828, is the land force of Greece. The term '' Hellenic'' is the endogenous synonym for ''Greek''. The Hellenic Army is the largest of the three branches of the Hellenic Armed F ...
in 1922, there was in the city a colony of Turcocretans who had left Crete around the time that the island was united with the Greek Kingdom
The Kingdom of Greece (, Romanization, romanized: ''Vasíleion tis Elládos'', pronounced ) was the Greece, Greek Nation state, nation-state established in 1832 and was the successor state to the First Hellenic Republic. It was internationally ...
."
Quote, p. 88: "Some effort was made by Greece prior to the war to win Turcocretans to the idea of Greek government in Anatolia
Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...
. The Greek Prime Minister Venizelos dispatched an obscure Cretan politician by the name of Makrakis to İzmir
İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...
in the early months of 1919, and his mission is qualified a "success", although the Greek mission set up İzmir, "presenting a naive picture of the incorrigible Turks", is cited as describing "the various organizations">urkishorganizations which includes the worst elements among Turcocretans and the Laz people
The Laz people, or Lazi ( ''Lazi''; ka, ლაზი, ''lazi''; or ჭანი, ''ch'ani''; ), are a Kartvelian languages, Kartvelian ethnic group native to the South Caucasus, who mainly live in Black Sea coastal regions of Black Sea Region, ...
(...) as disastrous and inexpedient" in the same source." Finally, after the
Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922 and the
Turkish War of Independence
, strength1 = May 1919: 35,000November 1920: 86,000Turkish General Staff, ''Türk İstiklal Harbinde Batı Cephesi'', Edition II, Part 2, Ankara 1999, p. 225August 1922: 271,000Celâl Erikan, Rıdvan Akın: ''Kurtuluş Savaşı tarih ...
, the remaining Muslims of Crete were compulsorily
exchanged for the Greek Christians of Anatolia under the terms of the
Treaty of Lausanne
The Treaty of Lausanne (, ) is a peace treaty negotiated during the Lausanne Conference of 1922–1923 and signed in the Palais de Rumine in Lausanne, Switzerland, on 24 July 1923. The treaty officially resolved the conflict that had initially ...
(1923).
At all periods, most Cretan Muslims were Greek-speaking,
using the
Cretan Greek
Cretan Greek, or the Cretan dialect (, ), is a variety of Modern Greek spoken in Crete and by the Cretan diaspora.
Geographic distribution
The Cretan dialect is spoken by the majority of the Cretan Greeks on the island of Crete, as well as by ...
dialect, but the language of administration and the prestige language for the Muslim urban upper classes was
Ottoman Turkish
Ottoman Turkish (, ; ) was the standardized register of the Turkish language in the Ottoman Empire (14th to 20th centuries CE). It borrowed extensively, in all aspects, from Arabic and Persian. It was written in the Ottoman Turkish alphabet. ...
. In the folk tradition, however, Cretan Greek was used to express Muslims' "Islamic—often
Bektashi
Bektashism (, ) is a tariqa, Sufi order of Islam that evolved in 13th-century western Anatolia and became widespread in the Ottoman Empire. It is named after the wali, ''walī'' "saint" Haji Bektash Veli, with adherents called Bektashis. The ...
—sensibility".
Today, the highest number of the Turkocretan descendants can be found in
Ayvalık
Ayvalık (), formerly also known as Kydonies (), is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Balıkesir Province, Turkey. Its area is 305 km2, and its population is 75,126 (2024). It is a seaside town on the northwestern Aegean Se ...
. Those who left Crete in the late 19th and early 20th centuries settled largely along Turkey's Aegean and Mediterranean coast. Alongside Ayvalık and
Cunda Island
__NOTOC__
Cunda Island, also called Alibey Island, (), Greek Moschonisi ( or Μοσχόνησος), is the largest of the Ayvalık Islands archipelago in Turkey, which was historically called the ''Εκατόνησα'' (''Hekatonisa'') or '' ...
, they settled in
İzmir
İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...
,
Çukurova
Çukurova (), or the Cilician Plain (''Cilicia Pedias'' in antiquity), is a large fertile plain in the Cilicia region of southern Anatolia. The plain covers the easternmost areas of Mersin Province, southern and central Adana Province, western Os ...
,
Bodrum
Bodrum () is a town and district of Muğla Province, Turkey. About 200 thousand people live in the district, which covers 650 km2 and includes the town. It is a port town at the entrance to the Gulf of Gökova. Known in ancient times as Hal ...
,
Side
Side or Sides may refer to:
Geometry
* Edge (geometry) of a polygon (two-dimensional shape)
* Face (geometry) of a polyhedron (three-dimensional shape)
Places
* Side, Turkey, a city in Turkey
* Side (Ainis), a town of Ainis, ancient Thessaly, ...
,
Mudanya
Mudanya (also: Mudania; , ''ta Moudaniá''; the site of ancient Apamea Myrlea) is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Bursa Province, Turkey. Its area is 369 km2, and its population is 108,011 (2022). It is located on the Gulf ...
,
Adana
Adana is a large city in southern Turkey. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the northeastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the administrative seat of the Adana Province, Adana province, and has a population of 1 81 ...
and
Mersin
Mersin () is a large city and port on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast of Mediterranean Region, Turkey, southern Turkey. It is the provincial capital of the Mersin Province (formerly İçel). It is made up of four district governorates ...
.
History
Starting in 1645, the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
gradually took Crete from the
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...
, which had ruled it since 1204. In the
final major defeat,
Candia The name Candia can refer to:
People
* The House of Candia, a noble family from Savoy (14th-16th)
* Alfredo Ovando Candía, 56th president of Bolivia
* Antoinette Candia-Bailey, American academic administrator
* Cecilia Maria de Candia, British-It ...
(modern Iraklion) fell to the Ottomans in 1669 (though some offshore islands remained Venetian
until 1715). Crete remained part of the Ottoman Empire until 1897.
The fall of Crete was not accompanied by an influx of Muslims. At the same time, many Cretans converted to Islam – more than in any other part of the Greek world. Various explanations have been given for this, including the disruption of war, the possibility of receiving a
timar
A timar was a land grant by the sultans of the Ottoman Empire between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries, with an annual tax revenue of less than 20,000 akçes. The revenues produced from the land acted as compensation for military service. A ...
(for those who went over to the Ottomans during the war),
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
-
Orthodox dissension, avoidance of the head-tax (
cizye
Jizya (), or jizyah, is a type of taxation levied on non-Muslim subjects of a state governed by Islamic law. The Quran and hadiths mention jizya without specifying its rate or amount,Sabet, Amr (2006), ''The American Journal of Islamic Social Scie ...
) on
non-Muslims, the increased social mobility of Muslims, and the opportunity that Muslims had of joining the paid militia (which the Cretans also aspired to under Venetian rule).
It is difficult to estimate the proportion which became Muslim, as Ottoman ''cizye'' tax records count only Christians: estimates range from 30 to 40% By the late 18th century, as many as 30% of the islanders may have been Muslim. The Muslim population declined through the 19th century, and by the last Ottoman census, in 1881, Muslims were only 26% of the population, concentrated in the three large towns on the north coast, and in
Monofatsi.
People who claim descent from Cretan Muslims are still found in several Muslim countries today, and principally in
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
.
Between 1821 and 1828, during the
Greek War of Independence
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted ...
, the island was the scene of repeated hostilities. Most Muslims were driven into the large fortified towns on the north coast and both the Muslim and Christian populations of the island suffered severe losses, due to conflicts, plague or famine. In the 1830s,
Crete
Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...
was an impoverished and backward island.
Since the Ottoman sultan,
Mahmud II
Mahmud II (, ; 20 July 1785 – 1 July 1839) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1808 until his death in 1839. Often described as the "Peter the Great of Turkey", Mahmud instituted extensive administrative, military, and fiscal reforms ...
, had no army of his own available, he was forced to seek the aid of his rebellious vassal and rival, Kavalalı
Mehmed Ali Pasha of Egypt, who sent troops to the island. Starting in 1832, the island was administered for two decades by
Mustafa Naili Pasha, whose rule attempted to create a synthesis between the Muslim landowners and the emergent
Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
commercial classes. His rule was generally cautious, pro-
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
, and he tried harder to win the support of the Christians (having married the daughter of a priest and allowed her to remain Christian) than the Muslims. In 1834, however, a Cretan committee had already been founded in
Athens
Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
to work for the union of the island with
Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
.
In 1840, Egypt was forced by
Palmerston to return Crete to direct Ottoman rule.
Mustafa Naili Pasha angled unsuccessfully to become a semi-independent prince but the Cretans rose up against him, once more driving the Muslims temporarily into siege in the towns. An Anglo-Ottoman naval operation restored control in the island and Mustafa Naili Pasha was confirmed as its governor, though under command from
Istanbul
Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
. He remained in Crete until 1851 when he was summoned to the capital, where at a relatively advanced age he pursued a successful career.
Religious tensions erupted on the island between Muslims and Christians and the Christian populations of Crete revolted twice against Ottoman rule (in 1866 and in 1897). In the
uprising of 1866, the rebels initially managed to gain control of most of the hinterland although as always the four fortified towns of the north coast and the southern town of
Ierapetra
Ierapetra (; ancient name: ) is a Greece, Greek city and municipality located on the southeast coast of Crete.
History
The town of Ierapetra (in the local dialect: Γεράπετρο ''Gerapetro'') is located on the southeast coast of Crete, sit ...
remained in Ottoman hands. The Ottoman approach to the "Cretan question" was that, if Crete was lost, the next line of defense would have to be the
Dardanelles
The Dardanelles ( ; ; ), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli (after the Gallipoli peninsula) and in classical antiquity as the Hellespont ( ; ), is a narrow, natural strait and internationally significant waterway in northwestern Turkey th ...
, as indeed it was the case later. The Ottoman Grand Vizier, Mehmed Emin Aali Pasha arrived in the island in October 1867 and set in progress a low profile district-by-district reconquest of the island followed by the erection of blockhouses or local fortresses across the whole of it. More importantly, he designed an Organic Law which gave the Cretan Christians equal (in practice, because of their superior numbers, majority) control of local administration. At the time of the
Congress of Berlin
At the Congress of Berlin (13 June – 13 July 1878), the major European powers revised the territorial and political terms imposed by the Russian Empire on the Ottoman Empire by the Treaty of San Stefano (March 1878), which had ended the Rus ...
in the summer of 1878, there was a further uprising, which was speedily halted through the adaptation of the Organic Law into a constitutional settlement known as the
Pact of Halepa.
Crete became a semi-independent parliamentary state within the Ottoman Empire under a Greek Orthodox Governor. A number of the senior "Christian Pashas" including
Photiades Pasha and
Adossides Pasha ruled the island in the 1880s, presiding over a parliament in which liberals and conservatives contended for power. Disputes between these led to a further insurgency in 1889 and the collapse of the
Pact of Halepa arrangements. The international powers allowed the Ottoman authorities to send troops to the island and restore order but the Sultan
Abdulhamid II
Abdulhamid II or Abdul Hamid II (; ; 21 September 184210 February 1918) was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1876 to 1909, and the last sultan to exert effective control over the fracturing state. He oversaw a Decline and modernizati ...
used the occasion for ruling the island by martial law. This action led to international sympathy for the Cretan Christians and to a loss of any remaining acquiescence among them for continued Ottoman rule. When a small insurgency began in September 1895, it quickly spiralled out of control and by the summer of 1896, the Ottoman forces had lost military control over most of the island. A new insurrection that began in 1897 led to
a war between Greece and the Ottoman Empire. The Great Powers dispatched a multinational naval force, the
International Squadron, to Crete in February 1897, and by late March 1897 it brought Cretan insurgent and Greek Army operations against the Ottomans in Crete to a halt by forcing the Greek Army to abandon the island, bombarding insurgent forces, placing sailors and
marines
Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included Raid (military), raiding ashor ...
ashore, and instituting a
blockade
A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force.
A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are ...
of Crete and key ports in Greece. Meanwhile, the International Squadron's senior admirals formed an "Admirals Council" that temporarily governed Crete pending a resolution of the Cretan uprising, and the Admirals Council eventually decided that Crete should become an autonomous state within the Ottoman Empire. After a violent riot by Cretan Muslims against Cretan Christians and British occupation forces on 6 September 1898 (25 August according to the
Julian calendar
The Julian calendar is a solar calendar of 365 days in every year with an additional leap day every fourth year (without exception). The Julian calendar is still used as a religious calendar in parts of the Eastern Orthodox Church and in parts ...
then in use on Crete, which was 12 days behind the modern
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It went into effect in October 1582 following the papal bull issued by Pope Gregory XIII, which introduced it as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian cale ...
during the 19th century), the Admirals Council ordered all Ottoman forces to leave Crete, and the last of them were evacuated on 6 November 1898. The 21 December 1898 (9 December according to the Julian calendar) arrival of
Prince George of Greece and Denmark
Prince George of Greece and Denmark (; 24 June 1869 – 25 November 1957) was the second son and child of George I of Greece and Olga Konstantinovna of Russia, and is remembered chiefly for having once saved the life of his cousin the future Em ...
as the first
High commissioner of an autonomous
Cretan State
The Cretan State (; ) was an autonomous state governing the island of Crete from 1898 to 1913, under ''de jure'' suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire but with ''de facto'' independence secured by European Great Powers. In 1897, the Cretan Revolt (18 ...
, although still under the
suzerainty
A suzerain (, from Old French "above" + "supreme, chief") is a person, state (polity)">state or polity who has supremacy and dominant influence over the foreign policy">polity.html" ;"title="state (polity)">state or polity">state (polity)">st ...
of the Sultan, effectively detached Crete from the Ottoman Empire.
The island's Muslim population dropped dramatically because of these changes, with many emigrating to other parts of the Ottoman Empire. From the summer of 1896 until the end of hostilities in 1898, Cretan Muslims remained under siege in the four coastal cities, where massacres against them took place. Subsequent waves of emigration followed as the island was united by stages with
Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
. In 1908, the
Cretan
Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...
deputies declared union with
Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
, which was internationally recognized after the
Balkan Wars
The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...
in 1913. Under the
Treaty of London, Sultan
Mehmed V
Mehmed V Reşâd (; or ; 2 November 1844 – 3 July 1918) was the penultimate List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1909 to 1918. Mehmed V reigned as a Constitutional monarchy, constitutional monarch. He had ...
relinquished his formal rights to the island. The Cretan Muslims still remaining were forced to leave Crete under the
population exchange between Greece and Turkey in 1923. In
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
, some descendants of this population continued to speak a form of
Cretan
Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
dialect
A dialect is a Variety (linguistics), variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standard language, standardized varieties as well as Vernacular language, vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardize ...
until recently.
Culture
Literature
Turks in Crete produced a varied literary output, leading one researcher to define a "Cretan School" which counts twenty-one poets who evolved within Ottoman
Divan poetry or
Turkish folk literature traditions, especially in the 18th century. Personal, mystical, fantastic themes abound in the works of these men of letters, reflecting the dynamism of the cultural life in the island.
A taste and echo of this tradition can be perceived in the verses below by
Giritli Sırrı Pasha
Giritli Sırrı Pasha ("Sırrı Pasha the Cretan") was a 19th-century Ottoman Empire, Ottoman administrator and man of letters of Turkish Cretan origin.
He was born in 1844 in Kandiye, Crete, Ottoman Empire as the son of Helvacızade Salih Tosun ...
(1844–1895);
''Fidânsın nev-nihâl-i hüsn ü ânsın âfet-i cânsın''
''Gül âşık bülbül âşıkdır sana, bir özge cânânsın''
which were certainly addressed to his wife, the poet-composer
Leyla Saz
Leyla Saz, also called Leyla Hanımefendi (1850–1936), was an Ottoman and later a Turkish composer, poet and writer.
Biography
Born in 1850, she was the daughter of İsmail Hakkı Pasha, (often called Hekim İsmail Pasha (İsmail Pasha t ...
, herself a notable figure of
Turkish literature and
Turkish Classical Music.
Recently, a number of books written by descendants of Cretan Muslims in the form of novelized family souvenirs with scenes set in Crete and Anatolia have seen the day in Turkey's book market.
Saba Altınsay's ''"Kritimu"'' and
Ahmet Yorulmaz's trilogy were the first to set the example in this move. There has even been family souvenirs written by the Cretan Muslim writer
Mustafa Olpak, whose biographies in retrospect from the shores of Istanbul, Crete and
Kenya
Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...
follow his grandfathers who were initially brought to the Ottoman Empire as slaves to Crete. (''see below: Further reading'').
Music
A study by one Greek researcher counts six Cretan Muslims who engaged themselves into music in Cretan Greek dialect. The Cretans brought the musical tradition they shared with the Cretan Christians to Turkey with them:
One of the significant aspects of Giritli culture is that this Islamic—often Bektashi—sensibility is expressed through the Greek language. here has beensome confusion about their cultural identity, and an assumption is often made that their music was somehow more "Turkish" than "Cretan". In my view this assumption is quite wrong....[Chris Williams, "The Cretan Muslims and the Music of Crete", in Dimitris Tziovas, ed., ''Greece and the Balkans: Identities, Perceptions, and Cultural Encounters since the Enlightenment'']
But certain instruments were more often used by Christians: there are few cases of Muslim
Cretan lyra
The Cretan lyra () is a pear-shaped three-stringed Greece, Greek Violin, a traditional Greek musical instruments, musical instrument, central to the traditional music of Crete and other islands in the Dodecanese and the Aegean Islands, Aegean Ar ...
-players compared to Christians: the very name for that instrument in
Turkish language
Turkish ( , , also known as 'Turkish of Turkey') is the most widely spoken of the Turkic languages, a member of Oghuz languages, Oghuz branch with around 90 million speakers. It is the national language of Turkey and one of two official languag ...
being ''Rum kemençesi'' – Greek
kemenche
Kemenche (, Persian language, Persian : کمانچه) or Lyra is a name used for various types of Bowed string instrument, stringed bowed musical instruments originating in the Eastern Mediterranean, particularly in Greece, Armenia, Iran, Turke ...
.
Cretan Muslim popular culture in Turkey
Nuances may be observed among the waves of immigrations from Crete and the respective behavioral patterns. At the end of the 19th century Muslims fled reprisal to take refuge in the present-day territory of Turkey or beyond (see
Al Hamidiyah). During the 1910s, with the termination of the
Cretan State
The Cretan State (; ) was an autonomous state governing the island of Crete from 1898 to 1913, under ''de jure'' suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire but with ''de facto'' independence secured by European Great Powers. In 1897, the Cretan Revolt (18 ...
which had recognized the Muslim community of the island a proper status, many others left. The
Greco-Turkish War (1919–22) There have been several Greco-Turkish Wars:
* Orlov revolt (1770) Greeks' first major, organized Revolt against the Ottoman Empire with the support of Russia
*Greek War of Independence (1821–1830), against the Ottoman Empire
* First Greco-Turkish ...
and the ensuing
population exchange is the final chapter among the root causes that shaped these nuances.
Among contributions made by Cretan Muslims to the Turkish culture in general, the first to be mentioned should be their particular culinary traditions based on consumption at high-levels of
olive oil
Olive oil is a vegetable oil obtained by pressing whole olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea'', a traditional Tree fruit, tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin) and extracting the oil.
It is commonly used in cooking for frying foods, as a cond ...
and of a surprisingly wide array of herbs and other plant-based raw materials. While they have certainly not introduced olive oil and
herbs
Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnish (food), garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typi ...
to their compatriots, Cretan Muslims have greatly extended the knowledge and paved the way for a more varied use of these products. Their predilection for herbs, some of which could be considered as unusual ones, has also been the source of some jokes. The Giritli chain of restaurants in
Istanbul
Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
,
Ankara
Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...
and
Bodrum
Bodrum () is a town and district of Muğla Province, Turkey. About 200 thousand people live in the district, which covers 650 km2 and includes the town. It is a port town at the entrance to the Gulf of Gökova. Known in ancient times as Hal ...
, and Ayşe Ün's "Girit Mutfağı" (''Cretan Cuisine'') eateries in
İzmir
İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...
are indicative references in this regard. Occasional although intrinsically inadequate care has also been demonstrated by the authorities in the first years of the Turkish Republic for settling Cretan Muslims in localities where
vineyards
A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...
left by the departed Greeks were found, since this capital was bound to be lost in the hands of cultivators with no prior knowledge of
viniculture. In the field of
maritime industries, the pioneer of
gulet boats construction that became a vast industry in Bodrum in our day, Ziya Güvendiren was a Cretan Muslim, as are many of his former apprentices who themselves have become master shipbuilders and who are based in Bodrum or
Güllük today.
An overall pattern of investing in expertise and success remains remarkable among Cretan Muslims, as attested by the notable names below. However, with sex roles and social change starting out from different grounds for Cretan Muslims, the adaptation to the "fatherland" did not always take place without pain, including that of being subjected to
slurs as in other cases involving immigration of people. According to Peter Loizos, they were often relegated to the poorest land:
They were briefly feted on arrival, as 'Turks' 'returning' to the Turkish heartland... like the Asia Minor Christians seeking to settle on land in northern Greece, the Muslim refugees found that local people, sometimes government officials, had already occupied the best land and housing.[Peter Loizos, "Are Refugees Social Capitalists?" in Stephen Baron, John Field, Tom Schuller, eds., ''Social Capital: Critical Perspectives'', Oxford 2001, , p. 133-5]
The same author depicts a picture where they did not share the "Ottoman perceptions of certain crafts and trades as being of low status",
so more entrepreneurial opportunities were open to them. Like others who did not speak Turkish, they suffered during the "
Citizens Speak Turkish!" campaign which started in 1928. "Arabs, Circassians, Cretan Muslims, and Kurds in the country were being targeted for not speaking Turkish. In Mersin, for instance, 'Kurds, Cretans, Arabs and Syrians' were being fined for speaking languages other than Turkish.". In the summary translation of a book on
Bodrum
Bodrum () is a town and district of Muğla Province, Turkey. About 200 thousand people live in the district, which covers 650 km2 and includes the town. It is a port town at the entrance to the Gulf of Gökova. Known in ancient times as Hal ...
made by Loizos, it is stated that, even as late as 1967, the Cretans and the 'local Turks' did not mix in some towns; they continued to speak Greek and mostly married other Cretans.
Diaspora in Lebanon and Syria
there were about 7,000 Greek speakers living in
Tripoli, Lebanon
Tripoli ( ; , , ; , ; see #Names, below) is the largest and most important city in North Lebanon, northern Lebanon and the second-largest city in the country. Situated north of the capital Beirut, it is the capital of the North Governorate ...
and about 3,000 in
Al Hamidiyah,
Syria
Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
,
[Greek-Speaking Enclaves of Lebanon and Syria](_blank)
by Roula Tsokalidou. Proceedings ''II Simposio Internacional Bilingüismo''. Retrieved 4 December 2006 the majority of them Muslims of Cretan origin. Records suggest that the community left Crete between 1866 and 1897, on the outbreak of the last Cretan uprising against the Ottoman Empire, which ended the
Greco-Turkish War of 1897
The Greco-Turkish War of 1897 or the Ottoman-Greek War of 1897 ( or ), also called the Thirty Days' War and known in Greece as the Black '97 (, ''Mauro '97'') or the Unfortunate War (), was a war fought between the Kingdom of Greece and the O ...
.
Sultan
Abdul Hamid II
Abdulhamid II or Abdul Hamid II (; ; 21 September 184210 February 1918) was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1876 to 1909, and the last sultan to exert effective control over the fracturing state. He oversaw a Decline and modernizati ...
provided Cretan Muslim families who fled the island with refuge on the
Levant
The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...
ine coast. The new settlement was named Hamidiye after the sultan.
Many Cretan Muslims of Lebanon somewhat managed to preserve their identity and language. Unlike neighboring communities, they are
monogamous
Monogamy ( ) is a relationship of two individuals in which they form a mutual and exclusive intimate partnership. Having only one partner at any one time, whether for life or serial monogamy, contrasts with various forms of non-monogamy (e.g. ...
and consider
divorce
Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the M ...
a disgrace. Their community was close-knit and entirely
endogamous
Endogamy is the cultural practice of marrying within a specific social group, religious denomination, caste, or ethnic group, rejecting any from outside of the group or belief structure as unsuitable for marriage or other close personal relatio ...
until the
Lebanese Civil War
The Lebanese Civil War ( ) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 150,000 fatalities and led to the exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon.
The religious diversity of the ...
, when many of them were forced to migrate and the community was dispersed.
Cretan Muslims constitute 60% of
Al Hamidiyah's population. The community is very much concerned with maintaining its culture. The knowledge of the spoken Greek language is remarkably good and their contact with their historical homeland has been possible by means of satellite television and relatives.
Notable people

*
Ahmed Resmî Efendi: 18th-century Ottoman statesman, diplomat and author (notably of two
sefâretnâme). First ever Ottoman ambassador in
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
(during
Frederick the Great
Frederick II (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself ''King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prussia ...
's reign). He was born into a Muslim family of
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
descent in the
Cretan
Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...
town of
Rethymno
Rethymno (also Rethymnon; ) is a city in Greece on the island of Crete. It is the capital of Rethymno regional unit, and has a population of more than 35,000 inhabitants (nearly 40,000 for the municipal unit). It is believed to have been built ...
in the year 1700.
*
Giritli Ali Aziz Efendi: Turkey's third ambassador in Berlin and arguably the first Turkish author to have written in novelistic form.
*
Al-Husayn I ibn Ali at-Turki – founder of the
Husainid Dynasty
The Husainid dynasty or Husaynid dynasty () was a ruling Turkish dynasty of the Beylik of Tunis. The dynasty was of Greek origin from the island of Crete. It came to power under al-Husayn I ibn Ali in 1705, succeeding the Muradid dynasty. Af ...
, which ruled
Tunisia
Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...
until 1957.
*
Salacıoğlu: (1750
Hanya – 1825
Kandiye): One of the most important 18th-century poets of
Turkish folk literature.
*
Giritli Sırrı Pasha
Giritli Sırrı Pasha ("Sırrı Pasha the Cretan") was a 19th-century Ottoman Empire, Ottoman administrator and man of letters of Turkish Cretan origin.
He was born in 1844 in Kandiye, Crete, Ottoman Empire as the son of Helvacızade Salih Tosun ...
: Ottoman administrator, Leyla Saz's husband and a notable man of letters in his own right.
*
Vedat Tek: Representative figure of the First National Architecture Movement in
Turkish architecture. Son of
Leyla Saz
Leyla Saz, also called Leyla Hanımefendi (1850–1936), was an Ottoman and later a Turkish composer, poet and writer.
Biography
Born in 1850, she was the daughter of İsmail Hakkı Pasha, (often called Hekim İsmail Pasha (İsmail Pasha t ...
and
Giritli Sırrı Pasha
Giritli Sırrı Pasha ("Sırrı Pasha the Cretan") was a 19th-century Ottoman Empire, Ottoman administrator and man of letters of Turkish Cretan origin.
He was born in 1844 in Kandiye, Crete, Ottoman Empire as the son of Helvacızade Salih Tosun ...
.
*
Paul Mulla (''alias
Mollazade Mehmed Ali''): born Muslim, converted to Christianity and becoming a
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
bishop and author.
*
Rahmizâde Bahaeddin Bediz: The first Turkish photographer by profession. The thousands of photographs he took, based as of 1895 successively in Crete,
İzmir
İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...
,
Istanbul
Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
and
Ankara
Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...
(as Head of the Photography Department of
Turkish Historical Society
The Turkish Historical Society (; TTK) is a research society studying the history of Turkey and the Turkish people, founded in 1931 by the initiative of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, with headquarters in Ankara, Turkey. It has been described as "the Ke ...
), have immense historical value.
*
Salih Zeki
Salih Zeki Bey (1864, Istanbul – 1921, Istanbul) was an Ottoman mathematician, astronomer and the founder of the mathematics, physics, and astronomy departments of Istanbul University.
He was sent by the Post and Telegraph Ministry to study ...
: Turkish photographer in Chania
*
Ali Nayip Zade: Associate of
Eleftherios Venizelos
Eleftherios Kyriakou Venizelos (, ; – 18 March 1936) was a Cretan State, Cretan Greeks, Greek statesman and prominent leader of the Greek national liberation movement. As the leader of the Liberal Party (Greece), Liberal Party, Venizelos ser ...
, Prefect of
Drama
Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...
and
Kavala
Kavala (, ''Kavála'' ) is a city in northern Greece, the principal seaport of eastern Macedonia and the capital of Kavala regional unit.
It is situated on the Bay of Kavala, across from the island of Thasos and on the A2 motorway, a one-and ...
,
Adrianople
Edirne (; ), historically known as Orestias, Adrianople, is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the Edirne Province, province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, Edirne was the second c ...
, and
Lasithi
Lasithi () is the easternmost regional unit on the island of Crete, to the east of Heraklion. Its capital is Agios Nikolaos, the other major towns being Ierapetra and Sitia. The mountains include the Dikti in the west and the Thrypti in the ...
.
*
Ismail Fazil Pasha: (1856–1921) descended from the rooted Cebecioğlu family of
Söke who had settled in Crete He has been the first Minister of Public Works in the government of
Grand National Assembly in 1920. He was the father of
Ali Fuad and
Mehmed Ali.
*
Mehmet Atıf Ateşdağlı: (1876–1947) Turkish officer.
*
Mustafa Ertuğrul Aker: (1892–1961) Turkish officer who sank
HMS Ben-my-Chree.
*Writer
Cevat Şakir Kabaağaçlı, alias ''
Halikarnas Balıkçısı'' (
The Fisherman of Halicarnassus), although born in Crete and has often let himself be cited as Cretan, descends from a family of Ottoman aristocracy with roots in
Afyonkarahisar
Afyonkarahisar (, 'poppy, opium', ''kara'' 'black', ''hisar'' 'fortress') is a major city in western Turkey. It is the administrative centre of Afyonkarahisar Province and Afyonkarahisar District. Its population is 251,799 (2021). Afyon is in the ...
, and his father had been an Ottoman High Commissioner in
Crete
Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...
and later ambassador in
Athens
Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
.
*
Hüsamettin Cindoruk
Ahmet Hüsamettin Cindoruk (born 8 June 1933) is a Turkish politician and the 17th Speaker of the Parliament of Turkey between 1991 and 1995. He was also the acting president of Turkey in 1993 and the leader of two political parties, notably o ...
: Turkish politician, president of the Turkish Republic.
*
Bülent Arınç (born 25 May 1948) is a
Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey since 2009. He is of Cretan Muslim heritage with his ancestors arriving to Turkey as Cretan refugees during the time of Sultan
Abdul Hamid II
Abdulhamid II or Abdul Hamid II (; ; 21 September 184210 February 1918) was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1876 to 1909, and the last sultan to exert effective control over the fracturing state. He oversaw a Decline and modernizati ...
and is fluent in Cretan Greek. Arınç is a proponent of reconverting the
Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia (; ; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque (; ), is a mosque and former Church (building), church serving as a major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The last of three church buildings to be successively ...
into a mosque, which has caused diplomatic protestations from Greece.
*
Halil Berktay (born 27 August 1947) Turkish historian of Cretan Muslim origin.
*
Tuba Büyüküstün, Turkish actress
*
Hülya Avşar
Hülya Avşar (born 10 October 1963) is a Turkish-Kurdish actress, singer, businesswoman and former beauty pageant titleholder. She is best known for numerous films and hit revenge series "Kadın İsterse". Her international roles include Safiye ...
, Turkish actress (maternal Cretan Muslim-
Yörük and paternal Kurdish)
*
Ferdi Özbeğen, Turkish singer
*
Bennu Yıldırımlar, Turkish actress
*
Necip Fazıl Kısakürek, Turkish Islamist poet (on mother side)
*
Mustafa Fehmi Kubilay, was a Turkish teacher and a lieutenant. He is considered a "Martyr of the Revolution" in Turkey.
See also
*
Al Hamidiyah
*
Cretan State
The Cretan State (; ) was an autonomous state governing the island of Crete from 1898 to 1913, under ''de jure'' suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire but with ''de facto'' independence secured by European Great Powers. In 1897, the Cretan Revolt (18 ...
*
Emirate of Crete
The Emirate of Crete ( or , ; ) was an Arab Islamic state that existed on the Mediterranean island of Crete from the late 820s to Siege of Chandax, the reconquest of the island by the Byzantine Empire in 961. Although the emirate recognized the ...
*
Greek Muslims
Greek Muslims, also known as Grecophone Muslims, are Muslims of Greeks, Greek ethnic origin whose adoption of Islam (and often the Turkish language and identity in more recent times) dates either from the contact of early Arabic dynasties of th ...
*
History of Crete
*
International Squadron (Crete intervention, 1897–1898)
*
Massacre of Phocaea
*
Turks in Lebanon
References
Notes
Bibliography
McTiernan, Mick, ''A Very Bad Place Indeed For a Soldier. The British involvement in the early stages of the European Intervention in Crete. 1897–1898,'' King's College, London, September 2014.
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*
* İzmir Life magazine, June 2003
*'Fethinden Kaybına Girit'' (Crete from its conquest to its loss)'', Babıali Kültür Yayıncılığı, 2007
*
Michael Herzfeld, ''A Place in History: Social and Monumental Time in a Cretan Town'', Princeton University Press, 1991
* Michael Herzfeld, "Of language and land tenure: The transmission of property and information in autonomous Crete", ''Social Anthropology'' 7:7:223-237 (1999),
*
Richard Clogg, ''A Concise History of Greece'', Cambridge University Press, 2002
*
Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition
The ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is a 29-volume reference work, an edition of the ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. It was developed during the encyclopaedia's transition from a British to an American publication. So ...
(1911), ''s.v.'' Crete;
La Grande Encyclopédie (1886), ''s.v.'' Crète
*
Kemal Özbayri and
Emmanuel Zakhos-Papazahariou, "Documents de tradition orale des Turcs d'origine crétoise: Documents relatifs à l'Islam crétois" ''Turcica'' VIII/I (5), pp. 70–86 (not seen)
*
Molly Greene, ''A Shared World: Christians and Muslims in the Early Modern Mediterranean'', Princeton, 2000.
*
A. Lily Macrakis, ''Cretan Rebel: Eleftherios Venizelos in Ottoman Crete'', PhD Dissertation, Harvard University, 1983.
External links
Project film: Benim Giritli limon ağacım – My Cretan lemon treeLozan Mübadilleri: The Association of Turks exchanged under Lausanne TreatyTestimonials by Greeks from Ayvalık and Turkish Cretans from Rethymno
{{Authority control
Greek Muslims
Turks in Greece
Muslim communities in Europe
Muslim ethnoreligious groups