Turks in Serbia

Turks in Serbia

Total population
647 Serbian citizens (2011)[1] 2,194 Turkish citizens (2009)[2]
Regions with significant populations
Belgrade, Sandzak
Languages
Turkish and Serbian
Religion
Sunni Islam

Turks in Serbia (Turkish: Sırbistan'daki Türkler), also referred to as Turkish Serbians and Serbian Turks, are people of Turkish ancestry present in Serbia. Turks have lived on this territory since the Ottoman period. The Turkish minority has traditionally lived in the urban areas of Serbia together with many Muslim Albanians; however, in 1830, when the Principality of Serbia was granted autonomy, most Turks emigrated as "muhacirs" (refugees) to Ottoman Turkey, and by 1862 almost all of the remaining Turks left Central Serbia, including 3,000 from Belgrade.^[3] According to the 2011 census only 647 people declared themselves as Turks, though this does not include the Turkish minority in Kosovo.^[4]

Notable people

• Okan Demirok, first runner up of Best Model of Turkey (2016)
• Nevzat Tandoğan, Turkish governor and mayor, his mother was born in Belgrade and his father was from Sarajevo
• Hikmet Kıvılcımlı, Turkish communist leader, theoretician, writer, publicist, and translator. He was a founder of the Vatan Partisi (VP)
• Yahya Kemal Beyatlı, Turkish poet, through his mother he is descended from Hafız Paşazade Mahmut Paşa from Niš. Also his great uncle Leskofçalı Galip was born in Leskovac, Serbia.
• Leskofçalı Galip [tr], 19th century Ottoman Divan poet.
• Kılıçzade Hakkı [tr], Turkish philosopher and writer.
• Cevat Abbas Gürer, Turkish soldier, politician.
• İsmail Hakkı Kılıçoğlu [tr], Turkish politician.
• Muallim Cevdet [tr], Turkish educator, writer, his family emigrated from Niš.

See also

• Serbia-Turkey relations
• Serbs in Turkey
• Turkish minorities in the former Ottoman Empire
  • Turks in the Balkans
  • Turks in Kosovo
  • Turks in Montenegro
• Ottoman Empire
• Ottoman architecture
• Islam in Serbia

References

1. Попис становништва, домаћинстава и станова 2011. у Републици Србији: Становништво према националној припадности - „Остали“ етничке заједнице са мање од 2000 припадника и двојако изјашњени
2. Çalışma ve Sosyal Güvenlik Bakanlığı. "YURTDIŞINDAKİ VATANDAŞLARIMIZLA İLGİLİ SAYISAL BİLGİLER (31.12.2009 tarihi itibarıyla)". Archived from the original on 2012-03-10. Retrieved 2011-09-27.
3. Vuletić, Aleksandra (2012), Censuses in 19th century Serbia: inventory of preserved microdata (PDF), Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, p. 7, The Turkish civilian population, which lived almost exclusively in urban areas, started to emigrate from Serbia after it was granted the autonomous status in 1830. In 1862, all remaining Turkish civilians were to leave Serbia. According to some estimations, about 3000 Turks left Belgrade that year („Državopis Srbije" II: 15). Turkish military garrisons stationed in six towns were also to leave in 1867.
4. Попис становништва, домаћинстава и станова 2011. у Републици Србији: Становништво према националној припадности - „Остали“ етничке заједнице са мање од 2000 припадника и двојако изјашњени

Bibliography

• Blagojević, Gordana (2007), Recent Turkish Migrants in Serbia and the Role of the Serbian-Turkish Friendship Association (PDF), Ethnographic Institute of the SASA, Belgrade.