Turks of Thrace executing a folk dance in Echinos - Şahin [1]

Turks of Western Thrace (Batı Trakya Türkleri in Turkish, Τούρκοι Δυτικής Θράκης Turki Dhitikis Thrakis in Greek, Западнотракийски турци Zapadnotrakiyski turtsi in Bulgarian) is a minority group in Greece, traditionally settled in the Western Thrace region of Greece, which is composed of the three prefectures (Xanthi, Rhodope and Evros) out of five of the Greek periphery East Macedonia and Thrace. According to official sources, they number approximately 50,000, out of the approximately 98,000 Thracian Muslims recorded in the 1991 census.^[1] The size of the Muslim minority as a whole (as well as the Turkish identifying component) may be significantly higher according to various NGOs. According to Human Rights Watch, the Muslim minority numbers between 80,000 and 120,000 (1999), and they will tend to attribute "Turkishness" to the entire minority.^[2][3] Image File history File linksMetadata Åžahin. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Åžahin. ... Greece is generally an ethnically homogeneous country. ... Western or Greek Thrace is the part of Thrace located between the rivers Nestos (Bulgarian Mesta) and Evros (Bulgarian Maritsa, Turkish Meriç) in northeastern Greece. ... Greece consists of 13 administrative regions known as Peripheries of Greece, which are further subdivided into 51 prefectures (nomoi, singular - nomos, Greek: νομοί, νομός)): See also List of the prefectures of Greece by area List of the prefectures of Greece by population density List of the prefectures of Greece by population External... Xanthi (Greek: Ξάνθη) is one of the fifty-one prefectures of Greece. ... Rhodope (Greek: Ροδόπη, Rodopi) is one of the prefectures of Greece. ... Evros (Greek: Έβρος) is one of the fifty-one prefectures of Greece and is the northernmost. ... The peripheries (περιφέρειες) are the subnational divisions of Greece. ... East Macedonia and Thrace is one of the thirteen peripheries of Greece, being the eastern part of Greek Macedonia along with Thrace. ... Map of the Greek Prefectures according to the 1991 census with the minority highlighted. ... Human Rights Watch Banner Human Rights Watch is a United States-based international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. ...

Within the larger definition of Muslim minority, Turks of Western Thrace were exempted from the 1922-1923 Exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey and were recognized special rights within the framework of Lausanne Treaty, such as education in the Turkish language. Map of the Greek Prefectures according to the 1991 census with the minority highlighted. ... 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Cartoon The 1923 Exchange of Populations between Greece and Turkey refers to the first large scale population exchange, or agreed mutual expulsion in the 20th century. ... West boarders of Turkey The Treaty of Lausanne was a peace treaty that was signed in Lausanne, Switzerland on July 24, 1923 by Turkey and Entente powers that fought in the First World War and in the Turkish Independence War. ... Turkish (Türkçe) is a Turkic language spoken natively by the Turkish people in Turkey, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Greece, Republic of Macedonia and other countries of the former Ottoman Empire, as well as by several million emigrants in the European Union. ...

Within Turkey, the term is used either in the form of Batı Trakyalı for being specific on their provenance or of Trakyalı since they are part of a single cultural aire with the native inhabitants of Turkey's Thrace (Eastern Thrace). Outside Thrace, many are also settled in or around İstanbul or İzmir or in the Western Anatolian countryside, and were either born in Western Thrace or can trace close ties there. A non-negligible number of Turks of Western Thrace also live as immigrants in Germany and other European countries. Thrace (Bulgarian: Тракия, Trakiya; Greek: Θράκη, ThrákÄ“; Latin: Thracia or Threcia, Turkish: Trakya, Macedonian: Тракија) is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. ... Prominent issues in Greek foreign policy include a dispute over the name of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the enduring Cyprus problem, Greek-Turkish differences over the Aegean, and relations with the USA. The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Greek refusal to recognize the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia... The location of Istanbul Province Maiden Tower and Historical Peninsula of Istanbul Istanbul (Turkish: Ä°stanbul) (the former Constantinople, Greek: Κωνσταντινούπολις) is the largest city in Turkey, and arguably the most important. ... Ä°zmir (Greek: Σμύρνη) is the third most populous city of Turkey and the countrys largest port after Ä°stanbul. ... Anatolia lies east of the Bosphorus, between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Anatolia (or Anatolian Peninsula) is a region of Southwest Asia which corresponds today to the Asiatic portion of Turkey, as opposed to the European portion, the Thrace. ... World map showing Europe Political map (neighbouring countries in Asia and Africa also shown) Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of the Earth. ...

Notable Turks of Western Thrace

• Şerif Gören: Winner of 1982 Palme d'Or in Cannes Film Festival

1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Palme dOr (Golden Palm) is the name of the highest prize given to a film at the Cannes Film Festival. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

See also

• Western Thrace
• Muslim minority of Greece
• Republic of Gumuljina
• Turks of the Dodecanese

Western or Greek Thrace is the part of Thrace located between the rivers Nestos (Bulgarian Mesta) and Evros (Bulgarian Maritsa, Turkish Meriç) in northeastern Greece. ... Map of the Greek Prefectures according to the 1991 census with the minority highlighted. ... Turks of the Dodecanese is a 5,000-strong [citation needed] community of ethnic Turks inhabiting the Dodecanese islands of Rhodes and Kos (Ä°stanköy in Turkish) who had not been affected by the 1923 Exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey since the islands were under Italian rule at...

References

1. ^ Υπουργείο Εξωτερικών, Υπηρεσία Ενημέρωσης: Μουσουλμάνικη μειονότητα Θράκης and Ελληνική Επιτροπή για τη διαχείρηση των υδατικών πόρων: Στοιχεία από την πρόσφατη απογραφή του πληθυσμού
2. ^ Human Rights Watch document 1999, page 2, footnote
3. ^ Human Rights Wacth document 1999, page 11 While it is indeed true that the minority is mixed on an ethnolinguistic basis, being made up of ethnic Turks, Pomaks (Muslim Slavs who speak a Bulgarian dialect), and Romas, the group overwhelmingly identifies itself as Turkish and page 11 footnote: 65-75% real Turkish, 15-25% Turkish Pomaks, 5-10% Turkish Roma

External links

• The magazine "Mihenk" published by Turks in Western Thrace (Turkish)
• Human Rights Watch document: Destroying ethnic identity - The Turks of Greece, August 1990
• Human Rights Watch document: Greece - Improvements for Turkish minority - Problems remain, April 1992
• Human Rights Watch document: Greece - The Turks of Western Thrace, January 1999
• Umbrella organisation of Western Thrace Turks and UN-ECOSOC member: Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe