Armenians in Turkey ( ; , the latter meaning
Istanbul-Armenian) have an estimated population of 40,000 to
70,000.
Most are concentrated around Istanbul
. The
Armenians support their own newspapers and
schools. The majority belong to the
Armenian Apostolic faith, with smaller
numbers of
Armenian
Catholics and
Armenian
Evangelicals.
History
Armenians living nowadays in Turkey are a remnant of a once much
larger community that existed for hundreds of years and long before
the establishment of the
Ottoman
Empire. Estimates for the
number of Armenian citizens of the
Ottoman Empire in the decade before World War I range between 2
to 2.5 million. During the Ottoman Empire, the Armenians of Turkey
were active in business and trade, just like the
Greeks and
Jews of Turkey.
Starting in the late nineteenth century, political instability,
dire economic conditions, and continuing ethnic tensions prompted
the emigration of as many as 100,000 Armenians to
Europe, the
Americas and the
Middle East.
This massive exodus
created the modern Armenian
diaspora worldwide based on mainly Ottoman Armenian populations
emigrating in large numbers, in addition to some emigration from
the Caucasus which was more towards
Russia
.
In 1894–1897 at least 100,000 Armenians were killed during the
Hamidian massacres in 1894, 1895,
1896. Further massacres ensued in 1909, also known as the
Adana Massacre, that caused the death of an
estimated 20,000 to 30,000 Armenians. The
Armenian Genocide followed in 1915–1916
until 1918, during which the Ottoman government of the time ordered
the deportation of up to 1.5 to 2 million Armenians allegedly for
political and security considerations. These measures affected a
huge majority, close to 75%-80% according to estimates, of all the
Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire during
World War I. Many died directly through Ottoman
massacres and atrocities, while others died as a result of mass
deportations and forced population movements, and more through
unlawful
Kurdish militia
attacks.
As for the
remaining Armenians in the Eastern parts of the country, they found
refuge by 1917–1918 in the Caucasus and
eventually within the areas controlled by the newly established
Democratic
Republic of Armenia
and never returned to their original homes in
Eastern Turkey (composed of the 6 vilayets,
namely (Erzurum,
Van, Bitlis
, Diyarbekir, Kharput
, and Sivas
).
Some Armenians, about 300,000 according to some estimates, were
adopted by Turks and Kurds or married with Muslim populations in a
process of
Turkification and
Kurdification to avoid facing a similar
fate.
Most of
the Armenian survivors ended up in northern Syria
and the
Middle East in general, with some
temporarily returning to their homes in Turkey at the end of World
War I particularly during the French
Mandate, as a result of France being allocated the control of
southeastern Turkey
and all of
Cilicia according to the Sykes–Picot Agreement.
The Armenian population suffered a final blow with ongoing
massacres and atrocities throughout the period 1920–1923, the
period of the
Turkish War of
Independence, the ones suffering most being the remnants of the
Armenians in the East and the South of the country, as well as the
Greeks in the
Black Sea Region.
Mass deportations of Turkey's surviving Armenian population
continued especially after the withdrawal of the French forces from
the area. The few remaining Armenians left anyway.
By the end
of the 1920s, only a handful number of Armenians were left in
Turkey scatterered sparsely throughout the country, with the only
viable Armenian populace remaining in Istanbul area and the
environs.
Demographics
The
present Armenian population is estimated between 40,000 and 70,000
mostly living in Istanbul and the
environs. Even the small number of actual Turkish Armenians
living in Turkey is diminishing further due to emigration to
Europe,
Americas and
Australia.
The community is recognized as a separate
"millet" in the Turkish system and
has its own religious, cultural, social and educational
institutions and its distinct media. The Turkish Armenian community
struggles very hard to keep its own institutions and schools open
and media running, against diminishing demand due to emigration and
quite considerable economic sacrifices.
The Turkish Armenian community is divided into a majority Apostolic
Orthodox Armenians belonging to the
Armenian Apostolic Church with a
small minority belonging to the
Armenian Catholic Church and the
Armenian Evangelical
Church.
Constantinople
The number of Armenians in Constantinople did not exceed more than
1,000 households – some 5,000 to 6,000 souls – in both the city
proper and Galatia, the former Italian suburb across the Golden
Horn. These figures are based on 1478 census of the shops in
Constantinople and Galatia conducted by the judge (qadi) and police
chief (za’im) of the city. Five of six thousand Armenians was not a
great number among a population estimated 100,000 to 120,000 – just
a bit more than 5 percent. It was in fact the smallest among the
major group listed: 57,000 Muslims (9,500 households), 22,500
Greeks (3,750 households) and 9,900 Jews (1,650 households).
According to 1844 statistics Constantinople had population of
891,000 people, 475,000 Muslims, 222,000
Armenians, 132,000
Greeks
and 25,000 foreigners.According to 1885 official population census,
the capital of the Empire, had 873,565 residents. But only 384,910
were
Ottoman Turks (or Muslims). Other
488,655 were others, 156,861
Armenians,
152,741
Greeks, 44,361
Bulgarians and 129,243 foreigners.
The Armenian community in Istanbul has 30 schools, 17 cultural and
social organizations, two daily newspapers called Jamanak and
Marmara, two sports clubs, named Shishly (Şisli) and Taksim, and
many health establishments as well as numerous religious
foundations set up to support these activities.
Crypto-Christian Armenian Turks
However many say that the actual number of people of Armenian
ethnic origin currently living in Turkey is higher than the
official numbers given (40,000-70,000), which comprise Armenians as
per the definition of a Christian minority
(
ekalliyet).
During the Armenian Genocide many Armenian orphans were adopted by
local Muslim families, who sometimes changed their names and
converted them to Islam.
One source cites 300,000 but another analysis
considers this an overestimate, leaning towards 63,000, the figure
cited in the Armenian Patriarch of
Constantinople's 1921 report to the United States
Department of State
.
When relief workers and surviving Armenians started to search for
and claim back these Armenian orphans after
World War I, only a small percentage were found
and reunited, while many others continued to live as Muslims.
Additionally, some Armenian families had converted to Islam in
order to escape the genocide.
Because of this, there are an unknown number of people of Armenian
origin in Turkey today who are not aware of their ancestry as well
as around 300,000 "secret" Armenians, called
Crypto-Christians. : Prof. Cöhce ise, bu
konuda daha iddialı. Ermeni mühtedi ve evlatlıklar arasında,
'Kripto Hıristiyanlar' ya da 'Gizli Ermeniler' olduğunu, bunların
Müslüman görünüp Gregoryan geleneklerini sürdürdüklerini söylüyor.
Cöhce, bu insanlar üzerinde son dönemlerde kimliklerine döndürmek
için çalışmalar yapıldığını, yakın gelecekte bunların Ermenilerin
hayallerini gerçekleştirmek için kullanılacaklarını ileri
sürüyor.
Cöhce: "Türkiye'de yaklaşık 100 bin 'mühtedi' Ermeni var." The
figure [of 300,000] may have been accurate in 1915, but several
generations have passed since then, so figures must be much higher,
particularly for mixed heritage. The figure of just how many
individuals of some Armenian descent existing in Turkey is hotly
disputed, because of the natural progression of populations. But
most conservative estimates would put them passed the one-million
mark by the late 20th century.
Others dispute the high number of "secret Armenians" of Armenian
ethnicity as this may have changed through Turkification by time
and through marriage with general
Turkish and
Kurdish populations and borders of
Armenianness may be blurred and many may actually feel more Turkish
than Armenian by now.
According to an article by
Zaman columnist Erhan Başyurt,
İbrahim Ethem Atnur of
Atatürk
University alleges that the state colluded with the
Armenian Patriarchate
to artificially increase the Armenian population by raising
orphaned Turks as Armenians. : Raporda, Türk çocuğu olduğu hâlde
Güllü ve Cemile adındaki iki kız çocuğuyla, Çengelköy'de ikamet
eden Yüzbaşı Abidin Bey'in evinden Nimet adındaki bir Türk kızının
zorla alıkonarak Ermeni Patrikhanesi'nde üç gün tutulduğu, Müslüman
oldukları anlaşıldıktan sonra ailelerine teslim edildikleri, fakat
bir süre sonra yeniden kaçırıldıkları kaydediliyor. Yine Üsküdarlı
Papaz Samayan Efendi tarafından alıkonan Cevri isimli kızın Türk ve
Müslüman olduğu ispatlandığı hâlde teslim edilmediği vurgulanıyor.
Türk kızların zorla Hıristiyanlaştırıldığı kaydediliyor. Amaç,
Ermeni nüfusunu yüksek göstermek.
See Atnur's
Türkiye'de Ermeni Kadınları ve Çocukları
Meselesi for details. Through the book, the article also
quotes
Şeyhülislam Mehmet Nuri
Efendi as having written "Bazı kötü niyetliler tarafından birçok
Müslüman kızlarının ailelerinden alınarak Patrikhane'ye, Rum ve
Ermeni yetimhanelerine nakledildiği bir kısmının da Hıristiyan
aileler nezdinde hizmetçi olarak kullanıldığı bilgilerine
ulaşıldığını." (January 2, 1922) In the 1960s, some of these
families converted back to
Christianity
and changed their names.
According to the Armenian Embassy in Canada,
The genocide, as we have seen, destroyed western
Armenia and numerous other Armenian centers in Turkey. By the
Second World War, Constantinople or Istanbul was the sole urban
center with an Armenian presence. In 1945, an arbitrary property
tax on the minorities impoverished many Greek and Armenian
businessmen. Ten years later, mobs looted and burned Greek and
Armenian businesses in Istanbul. At present there are some 75,000
Armenians in Turkey, the majority of whom live in Istanbul, where
conditions, despite cultural pressures and occasional hostile acts,
are not as unfavorable as one may imagine. Twenty schools, some
three dozen churches, and a hospital maintain a strong Armenian
identity. A number of Armenian newspapers, including the daily
Marmara continue to publish, and Armenian organizations go about
collecting donations and sponsoring cultural activities. The
Armenian patriarch is also invited to official Turkish state
ceremonies. Major problems include the lack of a seminary, Armenian
institutions of higher education, and linguistic
assimilation.
Journalist
Hrant Dink says that the
current population of around 50,000 is half of what it was eighty
years ago as a result of a deliberate attempt instituted during the
Single Party
Period to reduce the population of the minorities.
Vakıflı Köyü, Samandağ, an Armenian village in Turkey
Vakıflı Köyü (Armenian: — Vakif) is the
only remaining ethnic Armenian village in Turkey.
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.
Hemshins of Armenian origin
The
Hemshin Peoples are a number of diverse groups of
people who in the past history or present have been affiliated with
the Hemşin area which is in Turkey's eastern Black
Sea region.
They are called (and call themselves) as
Hemshinli
( ),
Hamshenis,
Homshentsi
(
Armenian: Համշենի) meaning
resident of Hemshin (historically Hamshen) in the relevant
language. The term "
The Hemshin" is used also in
some publications to refer to Hemshinli.
The area was annexed by the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century and
during the Ottoman period, there was a process of migrations and
Islamization. The details and the accompanying circumstances for
the migrations and the Islamization process during the Ottoman era
are not clearly known and documented.
Most sources agree however that prior to Ottoman era, the great
majority of the residents of Hemshin were mainly ethnic
Armenians and members of the
Armenian Apostolic Church and
practiced
Christianity. They also kept
a lot of the elements of Armenian ethnicity in their traditions and
local language to this day.
As a
result of those developments, distinctive communities with the same
generic name have also appeared in the vicinity of Hopa
, Turkey as well as
in the Caucasus. Those three
communities are almost oblivious to one another's existence.
Within
Turkey, are found the Hemshinli of Hemshin proper
(also designated occasionally as western Hemshinli
in publications) are Turkish-speaking Sunni Muslims who mostly live in the counties
(ilçe) of Çamlihemşin and Hemşin in Turkey's Rize Province
.
Also in
Turkey are the Hopa Hemshinli (also designated
occasionally as eastern Hemshinli in publications)
are Sunni Muslims and mostly live in the Hopa and Borçka counties
of Turkey's Artvin
Province
. In
addition to Turkish, they speak a dialect of
western Armenian they call
"
Homshetsma" or "Hemşince" in Turkish.
In
addition, outside the republic of Turkey,
Homshentsik (also designated occasionally as
Northern Homshentsik in publications) are
Christians who live in Abkhazia
and in Russia's Krasnodar
Krai. They speak Homshetsma as well.
There are also some
Muslim Hemshinli living in Georgia
and Krasnodar
, Russia and some
Hemshinli elements amongst the Meskhetian Turks.
Politics
The traditional Armenian political parties were known to be very
active in Armenian-Turkish political life from the 1890s to 1915 at
least) and this included the
Armenian Revolutionary
Federation (ARF - Dashnagtsutiun), the
Social Democrat Hunchakian
Party (Hunchak) and the Armenakan Party, the predecessor of the
Armenian Democratic
Liberal Party (Ramgavar Party). But the activities of all these
Armenian parties were curtailed after 1915 and it has been the
status quo ever since that they play no legal role in
Turkish-Armenian politics, though remaining very active in the rest
of the
Armenian diaspora.
However Armenian
vigilantes belonging to
these same parties, and most prominently the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation (ARF) launched a campaign of assassinations of political
Turkish leaders perceived to have had an active role in "planning"
and "ordering" the
Armenian
Genocide and convicted by the
Turkish Courts-Martial of
1919-20. The ARF's campaign known as
Operation Nemesis was continued
relentlessly to pursue such leaders worldwide and at least 7 of the
Ittihadist leaders were killed by the Armenian vigilantes.
These
included: Talât Pasha (assassinated
on March 15 1921 in Berlin), Enver Pasha
(killed on August 14, 1922 in Tajikistan
), Behbud Khan
Javanshir (assassinated on July 18, 1921, in Constantinople),
Said Halim Pasha (assassinated on
December 5, 1921, in Rome), Bahattin
Şakir (assassinated on April 17, 1922 in Berlin), Jemal Azmi (assassinated on April 17 1922 in
Berlin) and Jemal Pasha (assassinated
on July 25, 1922 in Tbilisi).
In stark difference from all other Armenian diaspora centers, that
are highly politicized and where the traditional political parties
of the diaspora such as "Dashnags", the "Hunchaks" and the
"Ramgavars" play an important role in many aspects of Armenian
political and community life and in pursuit of the
Armenian Question and
Armenian nationalism, the Turkish
Armenians remain, for very obvious political and historical
reasons, generally immune, at least publicly, to any allegiances to
any of the traditional Armenian political parties, as these parties
remain de-facto prohibited parties in Turkey. Thus at many times,
the political as well as the religious leadership of the Turkish
Armenians and the Armenian-language media in Turkey as well have
been known not only to shun off the political standpoints and
tactics of the Armenian parties in the diaspora, but also to remain
very critical regarding the more militant positions those parties
take regarding the Armenian Question, as they may relate directly
to the status of the Armenians in Turkey and the fear of possible
repurcussions on the well-being and the future of the Armenian
community of Turkey. This is a unique position unparalleled
anywhere else in the diaspora.
Some even point to the fact that in the early 1920s, there were a
number of Armenians in
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's movement,
even actively aiding him in his
Turkish National Movement and
supporting his
Kemalist ideology
and
secular movement. The
Armenians perceived in the secular state established by Atatürk a
way of survival for the remnants of Armenians still in Turkey. They
were encouraged by him ordering the trial of a number of leaders of
the previous Ittihadist regime for the accusation of committing
atrocities against the minorities in Turkey during World War I,
including against the Armenians.
The Armenians of Turkey were also highly critical of the activist
role that the
Armenian
Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA), the
Justice Commandos
Against Armenian Genocide (JCAG),
Armenian Revolutionary Army
(ARA) and other Armenian guerrilla organizations played in
targeting Turkish diplomats and interests worldwide at the height
of their anti-Turkish campaign in the 1970s and 1980s. The fears of
the Turkish Armenians were justified with the fact that at many
times, Turkish-Armenian institutions and even religious centers
were targeted by threats and actual bombings in retaliation of the
acts of ASALA, JCAG, ARA and others.
The
Turkish-Armenian Artin Penik committed
suicide in 1982 by self-immolation
in protest of the attack on 7 August 1982 in Ankara
's Esenboğa
International Airport
by the Armenian
Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia. Penik died five days
after he set himself on fire in Taqsim plaza,
the main square of Istanbul, Turkey, but his
stance was highly mediatised by the Turkish mass media as a protest
of most Turkish-Armenians against such attacks. Nine people
had been killed and more than 70 wounded in the attack on the
Turkish airport.
Another
turbulent point for the Armenian community of Turkey was the
highly-publicized public trial of the Armenian gunman and one of
the perpetrators of the operation, the 25-years old Levon Ekmekjian, who was found guilty and
eventually hanged at Ankara's civilian
prison on January 30, 1983. He had been sentenced to death
in September 1982 after having confessed that he had carried out
the airport attack with another gunman on behalf of ASALA, and
despite the fact that he publicly condemned violent acts during his
own trial and appealed to the Armenian militants to stop the
violence.
The
Turkish
Armenian Reconciliation Commission (TARC) was set up in July
2001 a joint project of a number of Turkish and Armenian
intellectuals and political experts to discuss various aspects of
the Turkish-Armenian relations and approving a set of
recommendations to the governments of Turkey and Armenia
on how to improve the strained relations between
the two countries.
Thousands of Turks joined Turkish intellectuals in publicly
apologizing for the
World War I era mass
killings and deportations of Armenians in the
Ottoman Empire. The unprecedented apology was
initiated by a group of 200 Turkish academics, journalists, writers
and artists disagreeing with the official Turkish version of what
many historians consider the first genocide of the 20th century.
Their petition, entitled “I apologize,” was posted on a special
website http://www.ozurdiliyoruz.com/.
On the
occasion of a World Cup qualifying
match between the two national football teams of
Turkey and Armenia in the Armenian
capital Yerevan
, and following the Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan's invitation to attend the
match, on 6 September 2008, the Turkish President Abdullah Gül paid a breakthrough landmark
visit to Armenia that he said "promises hope for the future" for
the two countries. The Armenian president Sargsyan will
reciprocate the visit to Turkey during 2009.
Local politics
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.
However no Armenian
has been elected as Member of Parliament to the Grand
National Assembly of Turkey
since 1960.
Hrant Dink, the Turkish-Armenian
journalist, writer and political activist, and the chief editor and
publisher of
Agos had carved himself a position
of that of a very prominent figure for conveying the ideas and
aspirations of the Armenian community in Turkey not only for
Turkish-Armenians but for many Armenians worldwide. His newspaper
Agos had played an important role in presenting Armenian
historical grievances through publishing of articles and opinions
in the
Turkish language addressed
to the Turkish public opinion. His
assassination in front of his newspaper
offices on January 19, 2007 turned into an occasion for expression
of national grief throughout Turkey and the rallying of great
support for the concerns of the Armenian community in Turkey by the
general Turkish public.
.
Dink was best known for advocating Turkish-Armenian reconciliation
and
human and
minority rights in Turkey; he was often
critical of both Turkey's
denial of the
Armenian Genocide, and of the
Armenian diaspora's campaign for its
international recognition. Dink was prosecuted three times for
denigrating
Turkishness, while receiving numerous death threats from
Turkish nationalists. At his funeral, one hundred thousand mourners
marched in protest of the assassination, chanting "We are all
Armenians" and "We are all Hrant Dink". Criticism of
Article 301 became increasingly vocal after his
death, leading to parliamentary proposals for repeal of the
law.
Religion
Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople
The
Armenian Patriarch of Istanbul established is
1461 is religious head of the Armenian community in Turkey. It has
exerted a very significant political role earlier and today still
exercises a spiritual authority, which earns it considerable
respect among
Orthodox churches.
The
Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople recognizes the primacy of
the Supreme Patriarch and
Catholicos of All Armenians, in the spiritual and
administrative headquarters of the Armenian Church, the Mother See of Holy
Etchmiadzin
, Vagharshapat, Republic of
Armenia, in matters that pertain to the worldwide Armenian Church. In local matters,
the Patriarchal
See is
autonomous.
Archbishop
Patriarch Mesrob
II Mutafyan of Constantinople is the 84th Armenian Patriarch of
Constantinople under the authority of the Supreme Patriarch and
Catholicos of All
Armenians.
Christmas date, etiquette and customs
Armenians celebrate
Christmas at a date
later than most of the Christians, on 6th of January rather than
25th of December. The reason for this is historical; according to
Armenians, Christians once celebrated Christmas on 6 January, until
the 4th century. 25 December was originally a
pagan holiday that celebrated the birth of the sun.
Many members of the church continued to celebrate both holidays,
and the Roman church changed the date of Christmas to be 25
December and declared January 6 to be the date when the
three wise men visited the baby Jesus. As the
Armenian Apostolic Church
had already separated from the Roman church at that time, the date
of Christmas remained unchanged for Armenians.
The Armenians in Turkey refer to Christmas as
Surp Dzınunt
(Holy Birth) and have fifty days of preparation called
Hisnag before Christmas. The first, fourth and seventh
weeks of Hisnag are periods of vegetarian fast for church members
and every Saturday at sunset a new purple candle is lit with
prayers and hymns. On the second day of Christmas, 7 January,
families visit graves of relatives and say prayers.
Armenian Churches in Turkey
Turkey has hundreds of Armenian churches, the majority of which are
either in ruins or are being used for other purposes. Armenian
churches still in active use belonging to various denominations,
mainly Armenian Apostolic, but also Armenian Catholic and Armenian
Evangelical Protestant.
Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Churches in Turkey
Besides the Surp Asdvadzadzin ("Holy Mother-of-God") Patriarchal
Church in Kumkapi, Istanbul, there are tens of Armenian Apostolic
churches. Many of them might be inactive because of lack of a
congregation or lack of clergy.
In Istanbul:
- Christ The King Armenian Church (Kadıköy, Istanbul)
- Church of the Apparition of the Holy Cross (Kuruçeşme,
Istanbul)
- Holy Archangels Armenian Church (Balat, Istanbul)
- Holy Cross Armenian Church (Kartal, Istanbul)
- Holy Cross Armenian Church (Selamsız, Üsküdar, Istanbul)
- Holy Hripsimiants Virgins Armenian Church (Büyükdere,
Istanbul)
- Holy Mother-of-God Armenian Apostolic Church (Bakırköy,
Istanbul)
- Holy Mother-of-God Armenian Church (Beşiktaş, Istanbul)
- Holy Mother-of-God Armenian Church (Eyüp, Istanbul)
- Holy Mother-of-God Armenian Church (Ortaköy, Istanbul)
- Holy Mother-of-God Armenian Church (Yeniköy, Istanbul)
- Holy Nativity of the Mother-of-God Armenian Church (Bakırköy,
Istanbul)
- Holy Resurrection Armenian Church (Kumkapı, Istanbul)
- Holy Resurrection Armenian Chapel (Taksim, Istanbul)
- Holy Three Youths Armenian Church (Boyacıköy, Istanbul)
- Holy Trinity Armenian Church (Galatasaray, Istanbul)
- Narlikapi Armenian Apostolic Church (Narlıkapı, Istanbul)
- St. Elijah The Prophet Armenian Church (Eyüp, Istanbul)
- St. John the Baptist Armenian Church (Üsküdar)
- St. John The Evangelist Armenian Church (Gedikpaşa,
Istanbul)
- St. John The Evangelist Armenian Church (Narlıkapı,
Istanbul)
- St. John The Forerunner Armenian Church (Bağlarbaşı, Uskudar,
Istanbul)
- St. George (Sourp Kevork) Armenian Church (Samatya,
Istanbul)
- St. Gregory The Enlightener (Sourp Krikor Lousavoritch)
(Ghalatya, Istanbul)
- St. Gregory The Enlightener (Sourp Krikor Lousavoritch)
Armenian Church (Kuzguncuk, Istanbul)
- St. Gregory The Enlightener (Sourp Krikor Lousavoritch)
Armenian Church (Karaköy, Istanbul)
- St. Gregory The Enlightener (Sourp Krikor Lousavoritch)
(Kınalıada, Istanbul)
- St. James Armenian Church (Altımermer, Istanbul)
- St. Nicholas Armenian Church (Beykoz, Istanbul)
- St. Nicholas Armenian Church (Topkapiı, Istanbul)
- St. Santoukht Armenian Church (Hisar, Istanbul)
- St. Saviour (Sourp Pergitch) Armenian Chapel (Yedikule,
Istanbul)
- St. Sergius Armenian Chapel (Balıklı, Istanbul)
- St. Stephen Armenian Church (Karaköy, Istanbul)
- St. Stephen Armenian Church (Yesilköy, Istanbul)
- St. Takavor Armenian Apostolic Church (Kadekoy, Istanbul)
- Saints Thaddeus and Barholomew Armenian Church (Yenikapı,
Istanbul)
- St. Trinity (Sourp Yerrortutyoun) Church (Pera, Istanbul)
- St. Vartanants Armenian Church (Ferikoy, Istanbul)
- The Twelve Holy Apostles Armenian Church (Kandilli,
Istanbul)
Other areas:
- Holy Forty Martyrs of Sebastea Armenian Church (Iskenderun,
Hatay)
- Holy Mother-of-God Armenian Church (Vakıflıköy, Samandag,
Hatay)
- St. George (Sourp Kevork) Armenian Church (Derik, Mardin)
- St. Gregory The Enlightener Armenian Church (Kayseri)
- St. Gregory The Enligtener Armenian Church (Kırıkhan)
- St. Giragos Armenian Church (Diyarbakır)
- St. Vartanants (Ferikoy)
Armenian Catholic Churches in Turkey
- St. Mary Armenian Catholic Church (Beyoğlu, Istanbul).
- St. Jean Chrisostomus Armenian Catholic Church (Taksim,
Istanbul)
- St. Leon Armenian Catholic Church (Kadıkoy, Istanbul)
- Armenian Catholic Church of Immaculate Conception (Koca Mustafa
Paşa, Istanbul)
- St. Saviour Armenian Catholic Church (Karaköy, Istanbul)
- St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Catholic Church (Ortaköy,
Istanbul)
- St. Paul Armenian Catholic Church (Büyükdere, Istanbul)
- St. John the Baptist Armenian Catholic Church (Yeniköy,
Istanbul)
- Assumption Armenian Catholic Church (Büyükada, Istanbul)
The active Armenian Catholic churches remain as follows: The
Armenian Archbishopric in Beyoğlu, Istanbul located within the St.
Mary Armenian Catholic Church, also the St. Jean Chrisostomus
Armenian Catholic Church in Taksim, Istanbul and St. Leon Armenian
Catholic Church in Kadikoy, Istanbul.
Armenian Evangelical Churches in Turkey
- Armenian Evangelical Church (Pera, Istanbul)
- Armenian Evangelical Church (Gedik Paşa, Istanbul)
- The first Arm. Evangelical Congregation in the world
Education
Schools are kindergarten through 12th grade (K–12), kindergarten
through 8th grade (K-8) or 9th grade through 12th (9–12).
Ermeni İlköğretim Okulu means "Armenian primary+secondary
school".
Ermeni Lisesi means "Armenian high school".The
Armenian schools apply the full Turkish curriculum in addition to
Armenian subjects, mainly Armenian language, literature and
religion.
- K-8
- Aramyan-Uncuyan Ermeni İlköğretim Okulu
- Bezciyan Ermeni İlköğretim Okulu
- Bomonti Ermeni İlköğretim Okulu
- Dadyan
Ermeni İlköğretim Okulu
- Kalfayan
Cemaran İlköğretim Okulu
- Karagözyan İlköğretim Okulu
- Kocamustafapaşa Anarat Higutyun Ermeni İlköğretim Okulu
- Levon
Vartuhyan Ermeni İlköğretim Okulu
- Feriköy Ermeni İlköğretim Okulu
- Nersesyan-Yermonyan Ermeni İlköğretim Okulu
- Pangaltı Anarat Higutyun Ermeni İlköğretim Okulu
- Tarkmanças Ermeni İlköğretim Okulu
- Yeşilköy Ermeni İlköğretim Okulu
- 9–12
- K–12
Health
Turkish Armenians also have their own long-running hospitals:
- Surp Prgiç Armenian Hospital (Սուրբ Փրկիչ in Armenian - pronounced Sourp Pergitch or St
Saviour). It also has its media information bulletin called "Surp
Prgiç"
- Surp Agop Armenian Hospital (Սուրբ Յակոբ in Armenian pronounced Sourp Hagop)
Language
Most Turkish Armenians 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.
Western Armenian, originally the Istanbul Armenian dialect
Western Armenian, ( , , (and earlier known as ,
namely "Terkahayeren" (Turkish-Armenian)) is one of the two modern
dialects of the modern
Armenian, an
Indo-European language.
The
Western Armenian dialect was developed in the early part of the
19th century, based on the Armenian dialect of the Armenians in
Istanbul, to replace many of the Armenian dialects spoken
throughout Turkey.
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.
Partly
because of this, Istanbul veritably became the cultural and literary center
of the Western Armenians in the 19th and early 20th
century.
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 proximiity 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
Traditional Armenian
orthography known as Mashdotsian Spelling, whereas
Eastern Armenian language adopted
reformed
spelling in the 1920s.
The Western Armenian language is still spoken by the present-day
Armenian community in Turkey.
However 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.
Armeno-Turkish, Turkish in Armenian alphabet
From the early 18th century until around 1950, and for almost 250
years, more than 2000 books were printed in the
Turkish language using letters of the
Armenian alphabet. This is
popularly known as Armeno-Turkish.
Armeno-Turkish was not used just by Armenians, but also many
non-Armenian elite (including the
Ottoman Turkish intellectuals) could actually
read the Armenian-alphabet Turkish language texts.
The Armenian alphabet was also used alongside the Arabic alphabet
on official documents of the Ottoman Empire, written in
Ottoman Turkish.
For example, the
Aleppo
edition of
the official gazette of the Ottoman Empire, called "Frat" (Turkish
and Arabic for the Euphrates) contained a Turkish section of laws
printed in Armenian alphabet.
Also very notably, the first
novel to be
written in the Ottoman Empire was 1851's
Akabi Hikayesi,
written by Armenian statesman, journalist and novelist
Vartan Pasha (Hovsep Vartanian) in
Ottoman Turkish, was published with
Armenian script. "Akabi Hikayesidepicted an
impossible love story between two young people coming from two
different communities amidst hostility and adversity.
When the Armenian Düzoğlu family managed the Ottoman mint during
the reign of
Abdülmecid I, they
kept their records in Ottoman Turlish written in Armenian
script.
Great collection of Armeno-Turkish could be found in Christian
Armenian worship until the late 1950s. The
Bible used by many Armenians in the Ottoman Empire was
not only the Bible versions printed in Armenian, but also at times
the translated
Turkish language
Bibles using the
Armenian
alphabet. Usage continued in Armenian church gatherings
specially for those who were Turkophones rather than Armenophones.
Many of the Christian spiritual songs used in certain Armenian
churches were also in Armeno-Turkish.
Armenians and the Turkish language
Armenians played a key role in the promotion of the
Turkish language including the reforms of
the
Turkish language initiated by
Mustafa Kemal
Atatürk.
Bedros Keresteciyan, the Ottoman
linguist completed the first
etymological dictionary
of Turkish. Armenians contributed considerably to the development
of printing in Turkey: Tokatlı Apkar Tıbir started a printing house
in Istanbul in 1567, the historian Eremia Çelebi, Merzifonlu
Krikor, Sivaslı Parseh, Hagop Brothers,
Haçik Kevorkyan Abraham from Thrace,
Eğinli
Bogos Arabian,
Hovannes Muhendisian,
Rephael Kazancian were among many.
Bogos Arabian issued the first Turkish
daily newspaper,
Takvim-i Vekayi and its translation in
Armenian.
Hovannes Muhendisian
is known as the "Turkish Gutenberg".
Haçik Kevorkyan updated the
Ottoman Turkish alphabet.
Yervant Mısırlıyan
developed and implemented publishing books in installments for the
first time in the Ottoman Empire. Kasap Efendi, published the first
Comic magazine
Diyojen in 1870.
Agop Martayan Dilaçar (1895–1979)
was a Turkish Armenian
linguist who had
great contribution to the reform of
Turkish language. He specialized in
Turkic languages and was the first
Secretary General and head specialist of the
Turkish Language Association
(TLA) from its establishment in 1932 until 1979. In addition to
Armenian and
Turkish, Martayan knew
English,
Greek,
Spanish,
Latin,
German,
Russian and
Bulgarian. He was invited on September
22, 1932, as a linguistics specialist to the
First Turkish
Language Congress supervised by
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.
Istepan Gurdikyan (1865–1948),
linguist,
Turcologist,
educator and academic and
Kevork Şimkeşyan both ethnic
Armenians were also prominent speakers at the first Turkish
Language Conference.
Agop
Martayan Dilaçar continued his work and research on the
Turkish language as the head
specialist and Secretary General of the newly founded Turkish
Language Association in Ankara.
Atatürk suggested him the surname
Dilaçar (literally
meaning
language opener), which he accepted. He taught
history and language at
Ankara
University between 1936 and 1951 and was the head advisor of
the
Türk Ansiklopedisi (
Turkish Encyclopedia),
between 1942 and 1960. He held his position and continued his
research in linguistics at the Turkish Language Association until
his death in 1979.
Culture
Armenians keep a rich cultural life and do participate in the the
Turkish art scene.
Music
The pan-Turkish
Kardeş
Türküler cultural and musical formation, in addition to
performing a rich selection of Turkish, Kurdish, Georgian, Arabic
and gypsy musical numbers, also includes a number of beautiful
interpretation of Armenian traditional music in its repertoire.
It gave
sold-out concerts in Armenia as part of the Turkish-Armenian Cultural Program,
which was made possible with support from USAID.
The "Sayat-Nova” choir was founded in 1971 under the sponsorship of
the St. Children’s Church of Istanbul performs traditional Armenian
songs and studies and interprets Armenian folk music.
In classical opera music and theatre, Toto Karaca was a major
figure on the stage. In the folk tradition, the effect of
Udi Hrant Kenkulian as a legendary
oud player is indisputable.
In contemporary music,
Arto
Tunçboyacıyan and his brother the late
Onno Tunç are two veritable jazz musicians,
composers and arrangers. The Turkish rock artist
Yaşar Kurt declared he was of ethnic
Armenian descent. Another famous Armenian rock musician is
Hayko Cepkin.
Cinema and Acting
In movie acting, special mention should be made of Vahi Öz who
appeared in countless movies from the 1940s until late 1960s and
Sami Hazinses, who appeared in tens of Turkish movies from the
1950s until the 1990s. An equally prolific Armenian-origin movie
actor is Turgut Özatay, movie actor and director Kenan Pars (real
name Kirkor Cezveciyan) and theatre and film actress Irma Felekyan
(aka Toto Karaca).
Photography
In photography
Ara Güler is a famous
photojournalist of Armenian descent,
nicknamed "the Eye of Istanbul" or "the Photographer of
Istanbul".
Literature
Turkish Armenian novelists, poets, essayists and literary critics
continue to play a very important role particularly in the
litearary scene of the
Armenian
diaspora, with works of quality in
Western Armenian.
Robert
Haddedjian chief editor of Marmara newspaper published in Istanbul remains a pivotal figure in the literary criticism
scene. Zareh Yaldizciyan (1923–2007), better known by his
pen name Zahrad was a renowned
Western
Armenian poet.
Media
Istanbul is home to a number of long-running and influential
Armenian publications. Most notably "Jamanag" and "Marmara" also
have a long tradition of keeping alive the Turkish Armenian
literature, which is an integral part of the
Western Armenian language and
Armenian literature.
- Jamanag (Ժամանակ in Armenian meaning time) is a long-running
Armenian language daily newspaper published in Istanbul, Turkey.
The daily was established in 1908 by Misak Kochounian and has been
somewhat a family establishment, given that it has been owned by
the Kochounian family since its inception. After Misak Kochounian,
it was passed down to Sarkis Kochounian, and since 1992 is edited
by Ara Kochounian.
- Marmara, [279033] daily in
Armenian (Armenian: Մարմարա)
(sometimes "Nor Marmara" - New Marmara) is an Armenian-language
daily newspaper published since 1940 in Istanbul, Turkey. It was
established by Armenian journalist Souren Shamlian. Robert Haddeler
took over the paper in 1967. Marmara is published six times a week
(except on Sundays). The Friday edition contains a section in
Turkish as well. Circulation is reported at 2000 per issue.
- Agos, [279034] (Armenian: Ակօս, "Furrow") is a
bilingual Armenian weekly newspaper published in Istanbul in
Turkish and Armenian. It was established on 5 April 1996. Today, it
has a circulation of around 5,000. Besides Armenian and Turkish
pages, the newspaper has an on-line English edition too. Hrant Dink was its chief editor from the
newspaper's start until his assassination outside of the
newspaper's offices in Istanbul in January 2007. Hrant Dink's son
Arat Dink served as the executive editor of the weekly after his
assassination.
- Lraber Lraber,(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
Other Armenian media titles include: "Sourp Pergiç" (St. Saviour)
the magazine of the Armenian Sourp Pergiç (Pergitch) Hospital, also
"Kulis", "Shoghagat", "Norsan" and the humorous "Jbid" (smile in
Armenian)
Famous Turkish-Armenians
Turkish Armenians in the Diaspora
Despite leaving their homes in Turkey, the Turkish Armenians
traditionally establish their own unions within the
Armenian Diaspora. Usually named "Bolsahay
Miutyun"s (Istanbul-Armenian Associations), they can be found in
their new adopted cities of important Turkish-Armenian populations.
We can mention "Organization of Istanbul Armenians of Los Angeles",
the "Istanbul Armenian Association in Montreal" etc.
Armenians from Republic of Armenia in Turkey
With the
establishment of the Republic of Armenia, and because of economic hardship in the new
republic, and the differential in renumeration of work, many
Armenian nationals from the republic work in Turkey. The
official numbers are not validated, as it is a highly seasonal
process, but estimates vary between 40,000 and 70,000
Armenians from the modern Republic of Armenia work in Turkey, as
temporary residents, but it is alleged also at many times
illegally.
In similar fashion, some Turkish nationals work in the Republic of
Armenia, mainly in the construction sector.
See also
- General
- Demography
- Personalities
- Media
References
Sources
This article contains some text originally adapted from the
public domain Library
of Congress Country Study for Turkey.
External links
General
Media
, the only remaining ethnic Armenian village in
Turkey.
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