Armenians in Turkey

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Armenians in Turkey
Türkiye Ermenileri
Kigork Berç Keresteciyan (Türker).jpg
Hrant Dink.jpg
Ara Guler.JPG
Arto Tuncboyaciyan.jpg
Alen Markaryan.JPG
Total population
(excluding Crypto-Armenians and ethnically Armenian Hamshenis)
Regions with significant populations
İstanbul, Hatay, Diyarbakir, Malatya
Predominantly Armenian Apostolic with Armenian Catholic and Armenian Evangelical minorities.
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Armenians in Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye Ermenileri; Armenian: Թուրքահայեր, also Թրքահայեր, "Turkish Armenians"), one of the indigenous peoples of Turkey, have an estimated population of 50,000 to 70,000,[4][5] down from 2 million in 1914. Today, the overwhelming majority of Turkish Armenians are concentrated in Istanbul. They support their own newspapers and schools, and the majority belong to the Armenian Apostolic faith.




When Constantinople finally became part of the Ottoman Empire, financial support was given to the Apostolic Church by the Sultan, so it could build churches in the city, which prior to that the Byzantines refused as they viewed the church as heretical. Armenians in the Ottoman Empire were viewed as a Separate millet, and given the status of second class citizens, but were generally treated well until well into the empires existence regardless. Many Armenians gained significant positions in the empire in professions such as banking, which they almost had a monopoly in, with 32/37 Bankers being Armenian,[6] and the oldest still running Turkish company Zildjian was founded by an Armenian.


There was conflict between Armenians and Turks between 1892 and 1915. The Armenian Genocide[7] followed in 1915–1916 until 1918, during which the Ottoman government of the time ordered the deportation and killing of 0.9 to 1.2 million Armenians because of alleged political and security considerations. These measures affected a huge majority of Armenians, an estimated 75%-80% of all the Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Many died directly through Ottoman massacres, while others died as a result of Dehydration,Disease, and starvation during the death marches and in the Syrian Desert, and even more due to Kurdish raids on fleeing refugees and on Armenians in the death marches.

As for the remaining Armenians in the Eastern parts of the country, they found refuge by 1917–1918 in the Caucasus and within the areas controlled by the newly established Democratic Republic of Armenia. They never returned to their original homes in Eastern Turkey (composed of the six vilayets, namely (Erzurum, Van, Bitlis, Diyarbekir, Mamuretülaziz, and Sivas).

An estimated 300,000 Armenians were adopted by Turks and Kurds or married into Muslim populations in a process of Turkification and Kurdification to avoid facing a similar fate.[8][9] Their descendants are known as Hidden Armenians and are present throughout Western Armenia, but particularly in Dersim(Tunceli), which witnessed mass conversions.

Most of the Armenian survivors from Cilicia and the southernmost areas with Armenians like Diyarbakir ended up in northern Syria and the Middle East. All those who survived the death camps in/deportations to Deir ez-Zor ended up there as well. Armenians deported from areas that were under allied control by 1918, particularly the short lived French Mandate, which had control of southeastern Turkey and all of Cilicia according to the Sykes–Picot Agreement, were able to return to their homes to gather things or search for loved ones. After the fall of French Cilicia, Some of those returnees attempted to stay permanently after the Turks gained the territory back, but were all driven away by the early 1930s due to various reasons.[10] Those who left the Mandate ended up in Syria, France, Armenia, the Americas and the rest of Europe, in that order. The Armenian population suffered a final blow with ongoing massacres and atrocities throughout the period 1920–1923, during the Turkish War of Independence. Those suffering the most were those Armenians remaining in the East and the South of the country, and the Pontic Greeks in the Black Sea Region.

By the end of the 1920s, only a sprinkling of non converted Armenians were left in Turkey scattered sparsely throughout the country, with the only viable Armenian population remaining in Istanbul and its environs. At the time of the establishment of the Republic of Turkey, Hatay province was part of Syria, and is why that area still has some established and officially recognized Armenian communities.



Armenian Christians[edit]



Regions with Armenian Christians[edit]

Main article: Armenians in Istanbul

The Armenian Community of Istanbul is the largest in Turkey, a catalyst being due to the fact that it was the only place that Armenian Christians were at least somewhat protected at the time of the creation of Turkey post Armenian Genocide. Other factors included the Patriarchate having its headquarters in the city, and the city's economy and quality of life attracting Armenian immigrants which allowed for the community to keep stable numbers in the face of discrimination and constant migration, unlike the Greek community, which by comparison had far less or no immigration and now has only 2-3000, mostly elderly members, regardless of the fact it had far more members then the Armenian community starting in 1924(the first post genocide census).

Some of the most important areas for Armenians in Istanbul are the Pangaltı and Kumkapı districts. Kumkapi has the Patriarchate, and is known for its many fish restaurants and historic Churches. One of the main differences between the districts is that Kumkapi is Apostolic, While Pangalti has a mix of Armenian and Roman Catholic. Kumkapi is also located in the Old city, while Pangalti is in the newer part.

Hatay Province[edit]

Iskenderun has one small Armenian church, and a community of a few dozen Armenians.[11]

Vakıflı Köyü (Armenian: ՎաքիֆVakif) is the only remaining fully ethnic Armenian village in Turkey. This village and 6 others managed to brave past the Armenian Genocide in the Musa Dagh Defense. This particular village only exists as of now due to some of the population deciding to stay after Hatay province was invaded and annexed by Turkey in 1939, while the other 6 villages populations decided to leave.[12][13] It is located on the slopes of Musa Dagh in the Samandağ district of Hatay Province, the village overlooks the Mediterranean Sea and is within eyesight of the Syrian border. It is home to a community of about 130 Turkish-Armenians,[13] and around 300 people who are from the village who come back to visit during the summer.

Diyarbakir Province[edit]

Diyarbakir(or Amida/Tigranakert) has three operating Armenian churches as of 2015- one Apostolic,[14] one Catholic, and one Protestant[15]- The largest amount for any city in Turkey excluding Istanbul. The city's modern Armenian community was established in the 1920s and 30s when all the Armenians that still lived in the surrounding areas consolidated by moving to Amida, forming a community consisting of 30 families as of the 1980s. It could also be assumed that many Crypto Armenians have been living here as well, because when the Apostolic church was restored in 2011 after years of abandonment, several thousand people came to celebrate mass there.[16]

Based on that, because the conditions are changing for Armenians(and Christians in general) in Amida, a much larger Armenian Christian community could potentially come into being if the Crypto Armenian population start revealing their identities. Many already have, with several baptisms being done as a show of their new Christian and Armenian identities. The success of the Armenian community here as a whole is largely thanks to the Kurdish HDP party mayor, who has publicly apologized for Kurdistans role in the Armenian genocide, and has even went as far as building a Genocide memorial in the city.[17]

Other places[edit]

both Identified and officially recognized Armenians elsewhere are spread thinly throughout the eastern and central parts of the country in tiny communities such as in Malayta, Sivas, Van, Kayseri, Elazig, and Muş. Many of these communities are so tiny that there isn't even a single church to accommodate them. In some cases the community is large enough, But the leadership of the city makes it so it's impossible to have one, Such as in Malayta.[18] The number of Armenian Christians have risen significantly in these parts of the country, particularly in cities like Van, Mus, and Sivas, where the communities are new and entirely Crypto in origin. However,[19] These new communities of entirely Crypto origin are not legally identified as Armenians, so therefore can't even attempt to get Armenian services like churches and schools, regardless of identifying openly as Armenians. However, Many of them have been living as Cryptos for years, and have built inconspicuous places of worship in the countryside, such as rock churches.[20][21]

Immigration from Armenia[edit]

The Christian Armenian presence in Turkey is reinforced by a constant flow of mostly illegal immigrants from Armenia who settle in Turkey in search of better job opportunities, where the difference in pay can be quite significant.[22] Despite a negative public opinion in Armenia of "an Armenian who works for a Turk" as a result of the century-long uneasy relationship between the two countries, by 2010, there were between 22,000 and 25,000 Armenian citizens living illegally in Istanbul alone, according to Turkish officials,[23] and an estimated total amount of 100,000. Many of them are employed in Turkish households to provide domestic services, such as cooking and cleaning.[24] According to a 2009 interview poll of 150 Armenian work migrants, the majority are women.[23] In 2010, amid Armenia's push for the recognition of the 1915 events as genocide, Prime Minister Erdoğan threatened to deport the illegal immigrants back to Armenia,[25] however the situation gradually thawed. Some Armenian immigrants do not discuss ever returning to their homeland having adapted to life in Turkey.[23] Beginning in 2011, children of the Armenian citizens living illegally in Istanbul have been allowed to attend local Armenian minority schools, but as they are not Turkish citizens, they do not receive diplomas at the end of the school term.[26][27]

Muslim Armenians[edit]



Other Armenians[edit]

Crypto Armenians[edit]

Hidden Armenians or crypto-Armenians[29] is an umbrella term to describe people in Turkey "of full or partial ethnic Armenian origin who generally conceal their Armenian identity from wider Turkish society."[30] They are descendants of Armenians in Turkey who were Islamized and either Kurdified or Turkified under the threat of either death, displacement, loss of property or a combination of those during the Armenian Genocide.[31] Ways in which they were converted included orphans being taken in by Muslim families, Armenian women being taken as wives by soldiers, and entire families converting by joining communities that accepted them. The latter option is said to of happened en masse in the Province of Dersim(Tunceli).


Religious affiliation[edit]












Local politics[edit]

The Armenians in Turkey used to be active in Turkish politics. The Turkish-Armenian Sarkis "Aghparik" Cherkezian and Aram Pehlivanyan (Nickname: Ahmet Saydan) played a pivotal role in the founding of the Turkish Communist Party. There used to be Armenian activists in many other Turkish political parties as well. In 2015, three Turkish-Armenians, Garo Paylan (Peoples' Democratic Party), Markar Esayan (Justice and Development Party), and Selina Ozuzun Dogan (Republican People's Party)—were elected, and became the first Armenians to be elected as Member of Parliament to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey since 1961.[40]


Protests in Istanbul during the funeral of murdered journalist Hrant Dink where more than 100,000 people marched.[42] Protesters hold banners saying "We are all Hrant, we are all Armenians". (panorama from Halaskargazi Boulevard in Şişli district)



Assumption Armenian Catholic Church in Büyükada, Adalar, Istanbul.

Religious affiliation[edit]


Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople[edit]



Armenian Catholic Archdiocese of Constantinople[edit]


Christmas date, etiquette and customs[edit]



Armenian Churches in Turkey[edit]




In September 2011, the Turkish government recognized the right of immigrant families from Armenia to send their children to schools of the Turkey's Armenian community. This move came as a result of lobbying of Deputy Patriarch Aram Ateşyan, according to whom there were some 1,000 children of Armenian immigrants in Turkey at that time.[46] However, as they are not Turkish citizens, at the end of the school term, they do not receive diplomas.[47]



Turkish Armenians also have their own long-running hospitals:


Only a small percentage of Turkish Armenians speak Armenian, and are bilingual and use either or both Armenian (The Western Armenian dialect) and Turkish languages as a mother language, and Turkish in their daily lives. The vast majority of Turkish Armenians speak only Turkish as a mother language.[2]

Western Armenian[edit]

Main article: Western Armenian

Western Armenian (Armenian: Արեւմտահայերէն pronounced Arevmedahayeren), Armenian: Արեւմտեան աշխարհաբար pronounced Arevmedyan Ashkharhapar, (and earlier known as Armenian: Թրքահայերէն, namely "Trkahayeren" (Turkish-Armenian)) are one of the two modern dialects of the modern Armenian, an Indo-European language.


It was widely adopted in literary Armenian writing and in Armenian media published in the Ottoman Empire as well as large parts of the Armenian Diaspora and in modern Turkey.


Western Armenian is spoken by the Armenian diaspora, mainly in North America and South America, Europe and most of the Middle East except for Iran, where the Armenian population because of proximity to Armenia uses Eastern Armenian, while keeping the traditional Mashdotsian spelling. Adoption of Western Armenian is also mainly due to the fact that great majority of the Armenian diaspora in all these areas (Europe, Americas, Middle East) was formed in the 19th and early 20th century through Armenian populations emanating from the Ottoman Empire.

The Western Armenian language is markedly different in grammar, pronunciation and spelling from the Eastern Armenian language spoken in Armenia, Iran and Russia although they are both mutually intelligible. Western Armenian in marked difference also still keeps the classical Armenian orthography known as Mashdotsian Spelling, whereas Eastern Armenian adopted reformed spelling in the 1920s (Eastern Armenian in Iran did not adopt this reform then).

The Western Armenian language is still spoken by a small minority of the present-day Armenian community in Turkey. Only 18 percent of the Armenian community speaks Western Armenian, while 82 percent of the Armenian community speaks Turkish. This percentage is even lower among younger people of whom only 8 percent speaks Western Armenian and 92 percent speaks Turkish.[2] Turkish is replacing Western Armenian as a mother language, and UNESCO has added Western Armenian in its annual "Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger" where the Western Armenian language in Turkey is defined as a definitely endangered language.[3][48]

Armeno-Turkish (Turkish in Armenian alphabet)[edit]







Armenians and the Turkish language[edit]












Cinema and acting[edit]

In movie acting, special mention should be made of Vahi Öz who appeared in countless movies from the 1940s until the late 1960s, Sami Hazinses (real name Samuel Agop Uluçyan) who appeared in tens of Turkish movies from the 1950s until the 1990s and Nubar Terziyan who appeared in more than 400 movies.Movie actor and director Kenan Pars (real name Kirkor Cezveciyan) and theatre and film actress Irma Felekyan (aka Toto Karaca).









  • Lraper, [9] (Լրաբեր in Armenian) is a trilingual periodical publication in Armenian, Turkish and English languages and is the official organ of the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople


In September 2011, the Turkish government granted some financing to Jamanak, Marmara and Agos as part of a wider campaign in support of existing minority newspapers in Turkey.[50] The Turkish Press Advertisement Agency also declared intention to publish official government advertisements in minority newspapers including Armenian ones.[51]

Famous Turkish-Armenians[edit]

Turkish Armenians in the Diaspora[edit]



See also[edit]


  2. ^ a b c d Helix Consulting LLC. "Turkologist Ruben Melkonyan publishes book "Review of Istanbul’s Armenian community history"". Retrieved 11 June 2015. 
  6. ^ The Armenian economic superiority can be seen the best perhaps from the very fact that there were 32 Armenian bankers out of total 37 throughout the Ottoman Empire
  7. ^ /gen_bib1.html Extensive bibliography by University of Michigan on the Armenian Genocide
  8. ^ Kaplan, Sefa (2005-09-30). "Son yıllarda bu kadar müspet tepki almadım". Hürriyet (in Turkish). Retrieved 2008-08-28. Anadolu’da anneanneniz gibi 300 bin kadın bulunduğu söyleniyor. 
  9. ^ (Başyurt 2005). Hrant Dink: "300 bin rakamının abartılı olduğunu düşünmüyorum. Bence daha da fazladır."
  11. ^ "Iskenderun: Catholic Church - Katolik Kilisesi - Chiesa Cattolica - Katholischer Chucrh". 
  13. ^ a b Campbell, Verity (2007). Turkey. Lonely Planet. ISBN 1-74104-556-8. 
  17. ^ "Memorial to Armenian, Assyrian genocide victims unveiled in Diyarbakir". PanARMENIAN.Net. 
  18. ^ "Malatya: Post-Armenian life in modern Turkey’s once Armenian city - Features -". 
  19. ^ Vartan Estukyan. "Armenians in Anatolia wait for clergy". Agos. 
  20. ^ "Turkey’s Secret Armenians - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East". Al-Monitor. 
  21. ^ "Searching for traces of Armenian heritage in Anatolia". Zia Weise. 
  22. ^ Quote"I earn $600 a month, which is more than twice the money I would earn in Armenia"
  25. ^ Suna Erdem. Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatens to expel 100,000 illegal Armenians. The Times. 18 March 2010. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  26. ^ Armenian Children to Be Educated. Hürriyet. 2 September 2011. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  30. ^ Ziflioğlu, Vercihan (19 June 2012). "'Elective courses may be ice-breaker for all'". Hürriyet Daily News. Retrieved 24 June 2013. 
  35. ^ Smith, Thomas W. (September 2, 2001). "Constructing A Human Rights Regime in Turkey: Dilemmas of Civic Nationalism and Civil Society.". p. 4. One of the darkest events in Turkish history was the Wealth Tax, levied discriminatory against non-Muslims in 1942, hobbling Armenians with the most punitive rates. 
  37. ^ "Turkish Armenian Reconciliation Commission". Retrieved 11 June 2015. 
  38. ^ "BBC NEWS - Europe - Gul in landmark visit to Armenia". BBC News. 6 September 2008. Retrieved 11 June 2015. 
  40. ^ Armenian Observers in Turkey’s Parliamentary Election The Armenian Weekly, 9 June 2015, reached on June 9, 2015 [1]
  41. ^ "BBC NEWS - Europe - Turkish-Armenian writer shot dead". BBC News. 19 January 2007. Retrieved 11 June 2015. 
  42. ^ Mass protest at editor's funeral The Guardian, 24 January 2007, reached on 2 February 2013 [2]
  43. ^ "Why Do Armenians Celebrate Christmas on 6 January?". Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul. Retrieved 2007-01-04. 
  44. ^ "Our New Year and Nativity/Theophany Traditions". Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul. Retrieved 2007-01-04. 
  45. ^ "Armenians of Istanbul - Istanbul Armenians". Retrieved 11 June 2015. 
  46. ^ Armenian immigrant children to be allowed in minority schools Today's Zaman, 2 September 2011 [3]
  47. ^ (Turkish) Gayrimüslimler için hayat tozpembe değil. [4]
  48. ^ UNESCO: 15 Languages Endangered in Turkey, by T. Korkut, 2009
  50. ^ Dardaki azınlık gazetelerine bayram gecesi yardımı... Sabah, 8 September 2011 [5]
  51. ^ Minority Newspaper Meets with The Turkish Press Advertising Agency Greek Europe Reporter, 28 July 2011 [6]
  52. ^ "Berlin'in haber sitesi Almanya ve Türkiye'den gazete manşetleri. Berlin news. Berlin Nachrichten". Retrieved 11 June 2015. 



Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]