Armenians in Turkey

**Armenians in Turkey** (; , romanized: Hayery T’urk’iayum; "Turkish Armenians"), are ethnic Armenians living in Turkey. 

They have an estimated population of 50,000 to 70,000, Today, in the Kumkapı quarter in Fatih, Istanbul, the various churches Armenian, Greek Orthodox and Syriac as well as the Armenian Patriarchate of Turkey. In some ways, the quarter has even regained its reputation as an Armenian quarter. Yet, the majority of Armenians residing in Kumkapı today are immigrants from Armenia, while of the original Armenian population, only a few individuals still call Kumkapı their home. The Armenian population in Turkey, which makes up the largest Christian community in the country, "resembles an iceberg melting in the sea" with its some 60,000 members, the newly elected Armenian Apostolic Patriarch of Istanbul has said. At present, the Armenian community in Istanbul has 20 schools (including the Getronagan Armenian High School), 17 cultural and social organizations, three newspapers (*Agos*, *Jamanak*, *Marmara*), two sports clubs (Şişlispor, Taksimspor). 

### Dersim 
According to Mihran Prgiç Gültekin, the head of the Union of Dersim Armenians, around 75% of the population in villages of Dersim are "converted Armenians." The greater part of hidden Armenians of Dersim, according Gultekin, is afraid that the nationalist regime may be back and may repress them. Currently over 200 families have announce their Armenian descent in Dersim, Gultekin said. In April 2013, Aram Ateşyan, the acting Armenian Patriarch of Istanbul, stated maybe that 90% of Tunceli (Dersim)'s population is of Armenian origin. In 2015, a group of citizens in Dersim (Tunceli) established the Dersim Armenians and Alevis Friendship Association (DERADOST). The opening ceremony of the association was attended by Hüseyin Tunç, then Deputy Mayor of Tunceli, Yusuf Cengiz, President of Tunceli Chamber of Commerce and Industry, representatives of non-governmental organisations and some citizens. On the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, president of the association Serkan Sariataş said that the state should face its past history as soon as possible. In 2015, 12 crypto-Armenians from Dersim baptized in Istanbul. The districts of Mazgirt, Nazımiye and Çemişgezek had a large Armenian population during the Ottoman period. A large part of this population must have been deported out of Anatolia with the deportation order of 1915. It is likely that the remaining population migrated to Western Anatolia. Through the 20th century, an many of Armenians living in the mountainous region of Dersim had converted to Alevism. During the Armenian genocide, many of the Armenians in the region were saved by their Kurdish neighbors.

### Muş 
In 2014, Armenians from Muş established an association. Daron Moush Armenians Solidarity Social Tourism Association made an official application after the formation of a board of seven members. The association, which started its activities in Muş and started accepting members, elected its president next week. Speaking at the foundation ceremony of the Daron Muş Armenians Solidarity, Social and Tourism Association, board member Armen Galustyan said, "Regardless of religion, Armenianism is a race, a nation, just like the Turks, Kurds and Arabs. Armenianhood is not an enmity."

### Hatay 
Vakıflı, located in the Samandağ district of Hatay province of Turkey, is the only Armenian village in Turkey with a population of 100 people, all of whom are Armenians. The entire village population is Armenian. 

### Rize 
The **Hemshin people**, also known as **Hemshinli** or **Hamshenis** or **Homshetsi**, are an numerically small group of Sunni Muslim Armenians who had been converted from Christianity in the beginning of the 18th century who are affiliated with the Hemşin and Çamlıhemşin districts in the province of Rize, Turkey. They are Armenian in origin, and were originally Christian and members of the Armenian Apostolic Church, but over the centuries evolved into a distinct ethnic group and converted to Sunni Islam after the conquest of the Ottomans of the region during the second half of the 15th century. 

### Batman 
**Sason**

An Armenian minority may still live in Sason (according to an estimate which was made in 1972, about 6,000 Armenian villagers were still living in the region).

## Culture 
### Language 
Most Armenians in Turkey speak Turkish, not Armenian, and this rate rises to 92 percent among young people. On 21 February 2009, International Mother Language Day, a new edition of the ''Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger* was released by UNESCO in which the [Western] Armenian language in Turkey was defined as a definitely endangered language, Also, Hamsheni, a branch of Western Armenian, was classified separately language. Some Muslim Hamshenis, influenced by the fact that the Homshetsi dialect of Armenian is preserved as the spoken language in their circles, accept the fact that they are of Armenian origin. However, Hamshenis in Rize have mostly forgotten their mother tongue and they speak Turkish. 

**The Armenian-speaking population in Turkey according to censuses**

### Music 
Music culture especially developed among the Hamshenis. The first music album made by Homshetsi dialect is *Vova*, which consists of anonymous folk music. The national Hamsheni instruments include *tulum*, *şimşir kaval* or the *Hamshna-Zurna.* Komitas, Rober Hatemo, Hayko Cepkin, Yaşar Kurt, Cem Karaca (half-Armenian), Udi Hrant Kenkulian can be given as an example to many Armenians working on Turkish and Armenian music.    

### Cinema and acting 
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), who was mother of Cem Karaca.

### Assimilation and Armenian place names 
Although the Armenian place names in Turkey are mostly changed, some names are used officially today.

It estimated that 3,600 Armenian geographical locations have been changed and changed Armenian place names make up 8.8% of place names in Turkey.

**Some province, district and place names of Armenian origin**

**Rize** 
* **Ardeşen**, from Armenian *Ardaşén means "*fieldvillage".
* **Hemşin**, from Armenian *Hamamaşén/Hamşén'' means "Hamam's village". **Çamlıhemşin** is a combination of the Turkish word *Çamlı* and the Armenian word. 
**Diyarbakır** 
* **Çermik**, from Armenian *Çermuk* means "spa" .
**Elâzığ** 
* **Keban**, from Armenian *Gaban* means "passage". 
**Ağrı**
* **Patnos**, from Armenian *Patnots* maybe means "surrounded" or "fenced".

**Muş**

* **Varto**, it was recorded in 1554 as *Varto kavar*, which means "Vart's district" in Armenian. Varto is probably related to the Armenian personal name *Vartan*. 
* **Malazgirt**, from Armenian *Manavazagerd/Manazgerd* means "Manavaz's fortress". 

**Şanlıurfa**

* **Siverek**, from Armenian *Seraverag* means "black ruins".
**Tunceli** 

* **Pertek**, from Armenian *Pertag* means "small castle".
* **Mazgirt**, from Armenian *Medzgerd* means "great fortress".

**Malatya** 

* **Arguvan**, from Armenian *Arkavan* means "king's city/village".
**Province names of Armenian origin**

* **Erzincan**, from Armenian *Erizagan* means "Belonging to Erez", "from Erez".
* **Bayburt**, from Armenian *Baberd*, *berd* means "castle", but the structure of the compound is doubtful.

## Demographics 
On the eve of the World War I there were estimated between 1,500,000 and 2,000,000 Armenians in the Ottoman Empire however, according to the 1914 Ottoman census, this figure is only 1,229,007, of which 1,161,169 "Armenians" and 67,838 "Armenian Catholics". Estimates of the Armenian population in Turkey today range from 50,000 to 70,000, but these number not include secret and Islamized Armenians, with population estimates ranging from 80,000 to 300,000. In 1987, Suren Eremian on Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia says 180,000 Armenians live in Turkey with more than forcibly 1,000,000 "Muslimized" Armenians. Keith David Watenpaugh says about this:

### Armenian population in Ottoman Empire according to censuses 
### 1914 census by vilayets
Armenians were found especially in the east of the Ottoman Empire, there were significant Armenian diasporas in Western Anatolia. 

### 1906/7 census by vilayets 
## Notable people 
List of Armenians born or originating in Turkey and the Ottoman Empire

The persons on the list are classified into three separate categories: 

* Christian Armenian
* Muslim Armenian 
* Hamsheni (also Muslim Armenians)

### Politicians 
* Hagop Kazazian Pasha (1836–1891) Christian Armenian, minister of finance and privy treasury in Ottoman Empire
* Gabriel Noradunkyan (1852–1936) Christian Armenian, minister of trade and foreign affairs in Ottoman Empire 
* Armen Garo (1872–1923) Christian Armenian, activist and politician, was leading member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation for more than two decades
* Mesut Yılmaz (1947–2020) Hamsheni, politician who served in ministerial positions such as the prime minister, minister of culture and tourism, the minister of state and deputy prime minister
* Mekertich Portukalian (1848–1921) Christian Armenian, liberal politician, teacher and journalist founder of Armenakan Party
* Garo Paylan (b. 1972) Christian Armenian, politician and member of parliament  
* Murat Karayalçın (b. 1943) Hamsheni, politician who served as minister of foreign affairs, deputy prime minister, mayor of Ankara and the founder of the SHP
* Selina Özuzun Doğan (b. 1977) Christian Armenian, politician and member of parliament
* Alper Taş (b. 1967)  Hamsheni, socialist politician and former leader of Left Party
* Markar Esayan (1969–2020) half Christian Armenian, politician and member of parliament
* Krikor Zohrab (1861–1915) Christian Armenian, politician, influential writer and lawyer

### Popular culture 
* Diran Kelekian (1862–1915) Christian Armenian, journalist and professor
* Khachatur Malumian (1863–1915) Christian Armenian, journalist and political activist
* Bîmen Dergazaryan (1873–1943) Christian Armenian, composer and lyricist
* Komitas Vardapet (1869–1935) Christian Armenian, priest, musicologist, composer, arranger, singer and choirmaster who is considered the founder of the Armenian national school of music
* Rupen Zartarian (1874–1915) Christian Armenian, writer, educator and political activist
* Bedros Keresteciyan (1840–1909) Christian Armenian, journalist, translator, and writer of the first etymology dictionary of the Turkish language
* Daniel Varoujan (1884–1915) Christian Armenian, notable poet
* Yervant Odian (1869–1926) Christian Armenian, satirist, journalist and playwright
* Krikor Torosian (1884–1915) Christian Armenian, satirical writer, journalist and publisher
* Güllü Agop (1840–1902) Christian Armenian, actor, founder of modern Turkish theatre
* Armen Dorian (1892–1915) Christian Armenian, poet, teacher and editor
* Ruben Sevak (1886–1915) Christian Armenian, poet, prose-writer and doctor
* Hagop Baronian (1843–1891) Christian Armenian, writer, playwright, journalist and educator
* Rober Hatemo (b. 1974) Christian Armenian, singer
* Özcan Alper (b. 1975) Hamsheni, director and screenwriter 
* Şahan Arzruni (b. 1943) Christian Armenian, pianist
* Zahrad (1924–2007) Christian Armenian, promient poet
* Hrant Dink (1954–2007) Christian Armenian, former editor of the weekly Agos
* Ruhi Su (1912–1985) Muslim Armenian, opera singer, folk singer and saz virtuoso
* Nubar Terziyan (1909–1994) Christian Armenian, promient actor
* Adile Naşit (1930–1987) actress, partial Christian Armenian descent
* Hayko Cepkin (b. 1978) Christian Armenian, musician
* Ara Güler (1928–2018) Christian Armenian, journalist, photojournalist and writer 
* Aydoğan Topal (b. 1982) half Hamsheni, singer
* Sami Hazinses (1925–2002) Christian Armenian, film actor, composer and lyricist 
* Cem Karaca (1945–2004) half Christian Armenian, rock musician
* Kamer Sadık (1911–1986) Christian Armenian, cinema actor
* Behçet Gülas (b. 1975) Hamsheni, musician and singer
* Danyal Topatan (1916–1975) Christian Armenian, theater and television actor
* Fedon (b. 1946) half Christian Armenian, singer, tavern music commentator 
* Jaklin Çarkçı (b. 1958) Christian Armenian, mezzo-soprano
* Masis Aram Gözbek (b. 1987) Christian Armenian, conductor of Bosphorus Jazz Choir
* Sevan Nişanyan (b. 1956) writer and linguist, an atheist but Christian Armenian origin
* Kenan Pars (1920–2008) Christian Armenian, promient actor

### Armenian *fedayis* and millitary leaders 
* Hampartsoum Boyadjian (1860–1915) Christian Armenian, Hunchakian *fedayi*
* Arabo (1863–1893) Christian Armenian, Dashnak *fedayi* 
* Armenak Yekarian (1870–1926) Christian Armenian, Armenakan *fedayi* 
* Kevork Chavush (1870–1907) Christian Armenian, Dashnak *fedayi*
* Sebastatsi Murad (1874—1918) Christian Armenian, Hunchakian *fedayi*
* Andranik Ozanian (1865–1927) Christian Armenian, Dashnak *fedayi*, national hero
**Other millitary**

* Cihan Alptekin (1947–1972) Hamsheni, militant, revolutionary, political activist who was leader of left-wing organisations such as People's Liberation Army of Turkey and Revolutionary Youth Federation of Turkey
* Sarkis Torosyan (1891–1954) Christian Armenian, captain who awarded with a medal by Enver Pasha, however, later changed sides and joined the struggle against the Ottomans

### Other 
* Daron Acemoglu (b. 1967) Christian Armenian, economist, winner of the 2005 John Bates Clark Medal
* Calouste Gulbenkian (1869–1955) Christian Armenian, businessman and philanthropist who was born in Üsküdar, Istanbul

## References 
## Sources 
* 
* 
* 
** 
**  
**  
**  
*
*
* 
* 
*  
* 
* 
*  
* 
* 
* 
*  
*  
*  
*  
*  
* 
* 
*  
* 
*  
*  
*  
*  
*  
* 
*