Armenians in Turkey

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Armenians in Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye Ermenileri; Armenian: Թրքահայեր, Պոլսահայեր, the latter meaning Istanbul-Armenian) have an estimated population of 40,000 (1995) to 70,000.^[1] Most are concentrated in and around İstanbul. During the Ottoman Empire just like the Greeks and Jews, they are bankers and merchants with extensive international contacts. The Armenians support their own newspapers and schools. They belong to the Armenian Apostolic faith and though they are Turkish citizens, they are solely identified as Armenians rather than Turks by the Turkish society and Turkish state. Discrimination by the Turkish state in all levels, verbal and sometimes physical attacks as well as Armenia's war with Turkic Azerbaijan, combined with the jingoistic support of Azerbaijan in the Turkish media during the Nagorno-Karabakh War, has raised apprehensions among the Armenian minority about their future status in Turkey. The assassination of the Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink has caused a deep trauma and fear among the Armenian minority.

Contents 1 History 2 Population 3 Culture 3.1 Religion 3.1.1 Christmas Date, Etiquette and Customs 3.2 List of Armenian schools in Istanbul 3.3 List of notable Turkish-Armenians in the republican period 4 See also 5 Notes 6 Notes and references 7 External links

[edit] History

Main article: Armenians in the Ottoman Empire

The Armenians living in Turkey are a remnant of a once-larger community. Before World War I, some 1.5 million Armenians lived in eastern Anatolia. Starting in the late nineteenth century, intergroup tensions prompted the emigration of possibly as many as 100,000 Armenians in the 1890s and a number more were killed due to the Hamidian massacres. In 1915, during World War I the Ottoman government ordered all Armenians deported from eastern Anatolia; at least 1 million of the Armenians, who numbered up to 2 million, died during a forced march southward beginning in the spring of 1915. Armenians and most historians contend — and Turkey denies — that the catastrophe that befell their community was the result of atrocities committed by Ottoman government directives, and that it constituted a genocide of the Armenian population.

[edit] Population

See also: Demographics of Turkey

The number of people of Armenian ethnic origins currently living in Turkey may be actually more than the official numbers given, which comprise Armenians as per the definition of a Christian minority (ekalliyet). Following the tragic events of 1915-17, some Armenian children became orphans. Many of the Armenian orphans were adopted by local Muslim families, who changed their names and converted them to Islam. While Western Christian missionaries 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 Turks. Additionally, some of the Armenian families had converted to Islam in order to escape the genocide. Therefore, there are a number of people of Armenian origin in Turkey today who are not aware of their ancestors and also a number of "secret" Armenians, who called Crypto-Christians.^[2] In the 1960s, some of these families converted back to Christianity and changed their names.

Approximately 40,000 Armenians (citizens of the Republic of Armenia) came to Turkey to look for a job illegally in recent a few years.^[3]

[edit] Culture

[edit] Religion

[edit] 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; Christians once celebrated Christmas on 6th of January, until the 4th century. The 25th of 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 the 25th of December and declared January 6th 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. On January 6th, the following greetings are traditionally appropriate: Krisdos Dzınav yev haydnetsav! (Christ is born and revealed) and Orhnyal e Dzınuntı yev Haydnutyunı Krisdosi! (Blessed be Christ's birth and revelation).^[4]

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.

New Year's Eve which falls within Hisnag is spent with families. Armenians go to church to give thanks for the year past and in the evening, family members and friends come together for the evening meal. Poor, lonely, orphaned people are not forgotten and are invited to dinner. Since it is a period of fast, sea-food and vegetables are served, with topik and dried nuts always present. On New Year's Eve, around midnight, all lights are turned off and the Lord's Prayer is said at midnight. After the prayer, all lights in the house are turned on, and families greet one another, gifts are given to children and anuşabur is served. On New Year's day, Armenians in Istanbul often burst a pomegranate, a symbol of plenty, in the shop entrances, or put a pomegranate on their desks. At least one ayazma is visited.

On Christmas Eve, on 5th of January, seven purple candles are lit together and after attending church on sunset, families get together for the Christmas dinner which, like on New Year's Eve, is mostly sea-food based. On Christmas day, on 6th of January, churchgoers attend Christmas mass between 10:00 and 12:00. In the Kumkapi district of Istanbul, the Patriarch presides over a religious parade starting at 10:00 AM from the Patriarchal Headquarters to the Surp Asdvadzadzin Patriarchal Church. In the afternoon, an open-house celebration is held at the Patriarchate. On the second day of Christmas, on 7th of January, families visit graves of relatives and say prayers.^[5]

[edit] List of Armenian schools in Istanbul

Schools are kindergarten through 12th grade (K-12), kindergarten through 8th grade (K-8) or 9th grade through 12th (9-12).

• Aramyan-Uncuyan Ermeni Ilkögretim Okulu (K-8) Web Site
• Bezciyan Ermeni Ilkögretim Okulu (K-8) Web Site
• Bomonti Ermeni Ilkögretim Okulu (K-8)
• Dadyan Ermeni Ilkögretim Okulu (K-8) Web Site
• Esayan Ermeni Lisesi (K-12) Web Site
• Getronagan Ermeni Lisesi (9-12) Web Site
• Kalfayan Cemaran Ilkögretim Okulu (K-8) Web Site
• Karagözyan Ilkögretim Okulu (K-8) Web Site
• Kocamustafapasa Anarat Higutyun Ermeni Ilkögretim Okulu (K-8)
• Levon Vartuhyan Ermeni Ilkögretim Okulu (K-8) Web Site
• Merametciyan Ermeni Ilkögretim Okulu (K-8) Web Site
• Nersesyan-Yermonyan Ermeni Ilkögretim Okulu (K-8)
• Pangalti Anarat Higutyun Ermeni Ilkögretim Okulu (K-8)
• Pangalti Ermeni Ilkögretim Okulu ve Lisesi (K-12) Web Site
• Sahakyan-Nunyan Ermeni Lisesi (K-12) Web Site
• Surp Haç Ermeni Lisesi (9-12)
• Tarkmanças Ermeni Ilkögretim Okulu (K-8) Web Site
• Yesilköy Ermeni Ilkögretim Okulu (K-8) Web Site

[edit] List of notable Turkish-Armenians in the republican period

• Agop Dilaçar - linguist and first Secretary General of the Turkish Language Association
• Ara Güler
• Hrant Dink
• Artin Penik
• Nubar Terziyan
• Onno Tunç
• Karin Karakaşlı
• Garo Mafyan
• Rober Hatemo
• Silviya N. Bursalıoğlu
• Levon Panos Dabağyan
• Garbis Zakaryan (nickname:iron fist)
• Agop Vartovyan
• Prof. Ardeş Panosyan
• Vahi Öz
• Kenan Pars (Kirkor Cezveciyan)
• Turgut Özatay
• Sami Hazinses
• Toto Karaca
• Matild Manukyan
• Pars Tuğlacı
• Hayko Cepkin
• Arto Tuncboyaciyan

[edit] See also

• Armenian-Turkish relations
• Armenians in the Ottoman Empire
• Varlık Vergisi
• Hamshenis
• Vakıflı

[edit] Notes

[edit] Notes and references

[edit] External links

• Armenians in Turkey TodayPDF (348 KiB) - Dr. Tessa Hofmann
• Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople Bulletin
• Organization of Istanbul Armenians of Los Angeles
• Patriotism versus Patria by Vartan Harutiunyan