Romani people in Turkey
The Romani people in Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye'deki Romanlar) or Turks of Romani background (Turkish: Roman kökenli Türk) are Turkish citizens and the biggest subgroup of the Turkish Roma. They are Sunni Muslims mostly of Sufi orientation, who speak Turkish as their first language, in their own accent, and have adopted Turkish culture. Many have denied their Romani background over the centuries in order to establish a Turkish identity, to become more accepted by the host population. They identify themselves as Turks of Oghuz ancestry. More specifically, some have claimed to be members of the Yörüks, Amuca, Gajal or Tahtacı.
Romanlar | |
|---|---|
| Total population | |
| 500,000–2,750,000 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Istanbul, East Thrace, Marmara Region, Aegean Region, İzmir Province | |
| Languages | |
| Turkish as first language, in lesser case Rumelian Turkish, nearly extinct Sepečides Romani and Rumelian Romani | |
| Religion | |
| Sunni Islam, Sufism of Qadiriyya - Tariqa | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Lom people, Dom people, Abdal of Turkey |
Since 1996, their official name in Turkey has been Romanlar and not Roma. They are also called Şopar ("Gypsy kid") in Rumelian Romani dialect, and Manuş ("Human") or Çingene ("Gypsy") in Turkish, while once in Ottoman Turkish they were named Cingân ("Gypsy"), Kıptî ("Copts") and Mısırlı ("Egyptians"). As Gastarbeiter some Turkish Roma came to Germany and Austria and other European countries and fully assimilated in Turkish European communities.
There are an estimated 5,000,000 Romani people in Turkey.