Armenians

Today there are approx. 80 thousand. Armenians. Inhabitants around Southeast Anatolia, around the border with today's Armenia and Istanbul. They have lived in Anatolia since at least the 10th century., and they come from Indo-Europeans. They may have appeared in Asia Minor as early as the 8th century. p.n.e., as evidenced by the similarity of their language with Greek, but it is not confirmed in the sources. They speak of the Armenians only from the 6th century. p.n.e., when they succumbed to the Persian king Cyrus the Great. From then on it became a tradition, that they were subjects of another country (not counting the reign of Tigranes II the Great, who lived in years 95 – 56 p.n.e.). Armenia adopted Christianity under the Roman protectorate, w IV w. and thus became the first Christian country in the world.

In the Ottoman Empire, the Armenians, Kurds and Turks lived in the same areas in relative peace. Only in the 19th century, who brought national slogans with him, harmony was brutally broken by the eruption of bloody ethnic conflicts. The first Armenian massacre took place in 1896 r., when they occupied the Istanbul building of the Ottoman Bank, threatening to blow it up in an accident, when the Turks do not recognize their nationality claims. Armenians have always counted on the help of the Christian states of Europe, and even Russia, but these countries were limited to formal protests. On the eve of World War I, the Russian authorities became interested in the Armenians as potential saboteurs in the rear of the Ottoman army; Volunteer militia units were established from refugees from the lands of the Ottoman Empire. The Armenian population, oppressed by the Turks and Kurdish militias, spontaneously joined the sabotage activity., which triggered an immediate reaction from the Turkish government. Firstly, in January 1915 r., the young were interned, Armenians fighting in the Turkish army and sent to heavy public works, where they died en masse of hunger and exhaustion, and as a result of execution. This led to the uprising, which broke out in the city of Van in April. The Armenians murdered the Muslim inhabitants of Vanu and turned the vicinity of the city into a fortress that defended itself for many months. The defenders were supported by the Russians and the Armenian partisans. The Turkish authorities therefore ordered the resettlement of the Armenian population from eastern Anatolia to the south. Disputes continue to this day, whether it was done intentionally, knowing, that resettlement to deserted and desert areas towards the border with Syria may end in a great tragedy, which could be described as genocide. It also happened. During the deportation, as masses of people were driven on foot through desert and mountain regions, died approx. 800 thousand. Armenians, and just over a million were to be displaced! Thus, approx. 200 thousand, the same number was still inhabited by Istanbul and slightly less areas of north-eastern Anatolia occupied by the Russian army. To this day, the Turkish government avoids responsibility for these events, constantly recalling the Armenian "fifth column" at the back of the Ottoman army and talking about it, that the people involved in the deportation are long dead. Armenians, on the other hand, are demanding compensation for 1915 r., but their hopes are in vain.

Other minorities

Apart from Kurds and Armenians, there are no other nationalities or ethnic groups in Turkey. Turkey is still inhabited by tens of thousands of Greeks, most around Istanbul and the Black Sea coast. Next to the Greeks, they live on the Black Sea, mostly in the vicinity of Trabzon and further east – Laz's, turbulent Georgians. Until today, in the province there, we can meet traditionally dressed Łazy, especially on their feasts. Until the beginning of the years 90. in Turkey, there was a ban on the use of the language of Łazów, but they themselves are not nationally aware and feel themselves Turkish, originally Georgian. Several hundred Tatars and Circassians also live on the Black Sea. The south-eastern provinces are inhabited by Syrians and Arabs, however, they do not constitute uniformly compact nationalities. They are the opposite of Jews sticking together, living in the northwestern territories of Turkey, being the descendants of the Jews expelled by the Spaniards over 500 years ago. Until recently, they spoke broken Spanish. Like in the old days, and today they are engaged in trade.