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Post by rusalka on Dec 2, 2003 18:12:05 GMT -5
I wouldn't say that the Turks living in Cyprus today are indigenous to the island. The only two people who lived on the island since ancient times were the Greeks and Phoenicians (and a Jewish minority of course). The Turks arrived much later. What I meant was, that many Cypriots from the Turkish side in Cyprus, probably do have indigenous Cypriot ancestry (be it Greek or Pheonician). The Ottomans got hold of Cyprus quite late, and when they did, they did send a lot of Turkish people to the island to populate it; but I'm guessing that a lot of those Turkish people who were settled there did intermarry with the local population. In Turkey, nowadays, there's a distinction between being Turkish and being from Turkey. I'm from Turkey, but I'm not "Turkish" in the ethnic sense of the word. My family is originally from Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and the Black Sea coast of Northwestern Caucasia (today some of the area is Russia the rest is Abkhazia). And I'm sure a LOT of people from the major cities, like Istanbul and Izmir (Constantinopolis and Smyrna) have some Greek ancestry. It would be downright illogical to think otherwise; both cities were major Greek settlements from Ancient times to modern. Same goes from the Thracian part of Turkey and Balkan origins. Needless to say, it's not the most popular theory from a Turkish Nationalistic view and I did get into trouble back in Turkey or online, and have been called a "traitor" (wow).  |
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Post by Artemisia on Dec 2, 2003 18:58:26 GMT -5
What I meant was, that many Cypriots from the Turkish side in Cyprus, probably do have indigenous Cypriot ancestry (be it Greek or Pheonician). The Ottomans got hold of Cyprus quite late, and when they did, they did send a lot of Turkish people to the island to populate it; but I'm guessing that a lot of those Turkish people who were settled there did intermarry with the local population. In Turkey, nowadays, there's a distinction between being Turkish and being from Turkey. I'm from Turkey, but I'm not "Turkish" in the ethnic sense of the word. My family is originally from Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and the Black Sea coast of Northwestern Caucasia (today some of the area is Russia the rest is Abkhazia). And I'm sure a LOT of people from the major cities, like Istanbul and Izmir (Constantinopolis and Smyrna) have some Greek ancestry. It would be downright illogical to think otherwise; both cities were major Greek settlements from Ancient times to modern. Same goes from the Thracian part of Turkey and Balkan origins. Needless to say, it's not the most popular theory from a Turkish Nationalistic view and I did get into trouble back in Turkey or online, and have been called a "traitor" (wow). How very interesting! I was always wondering about the impact of minorities in Turkey. I have a Turkish friend who is actually half Slavic and looks like a Russian. You are part Slavic too? It would be interesting to see a picture of you, Rusalka. I'm guessing you may have some Thracian and Greek ancestry too. Where in Turkey are you from? And do you know if you have ANY Turkic or Mongoloid ancestry? |
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Post by rusalka on Dec 2, 2003 19:12:08 GMT -5
How very interesting! I was always wondering about the impact of minorities in Turkey. I have a Turkish friend who is actually half Slavic and looks like a Russian. You are part Slavic too? It would be interesting to see a picture of you, Rusalka. I'm guessing you may have some Thracian and Greek ancestry too. Where in Turkey are you from? And do you know if you have ANY Turkic or Mongoloid ancestry? Oh sure, let me try to post some photos, AWAR told me that it was rather tricky to post them as a file, but I'll see what I can do. I'm from Istanbul, and all my family is from Istanbul; at least after they emigrated from their original homelands. My mother's side being from Yugoslavia and Bulgaria does make me at least half Slavic. I am guessing that I might have some Thracian and/or Greek ancestry as well. The Greek people were great colonists and even where my father's family come from, there was the Greek colony of Colchis. I wouldn't be surprised anyone from the Aegean and Thracian areas having at least some Greek. And as Percy Bhysse Shelley said, "We're all Greeks" anyway  As for the Mongoloid-Turkic ancestry, not that I know of, so I'll say no. I can trace my ancestry back 4 to 5 generations. My father's side of the family, is especially touchy about this subject, because the Caucasian immigrants, when they were exiled from their homeland were tried to be assimilated and were told they were Turkish. As a result, one of our main languages is lost, it died with the last native speaker in 94. The other, Abkhazian, is extremely hard to learn and younger generations cannot speak it (including me, although I can read it from Kyrillic). |
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Post by rusalka on Dec 2, 2003 19:30:53 GMT -5
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Praetor
Full Member
Graecus in Fennia
Posts: 246
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Post by Praetor on Dec 10, 2003 20:43:02 GMT -5
Artemisia i saw the thread too late but from the very first moment i looked at your your pic I sensed "Cyprus"...Well partly correct.
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Post by Artemisia on Dec 10, 2003 22:44:49 GMT -5
Artemisia i saw the thread too late but from the very first moment i looked at your your pic I sensed "Cyprus"...Well partly correct. Yeah, you are right. I'll soon post a picture of my Cypriot great-grandmother and you will see that I look a lot like her. She was short though....something like 4'11", and I am 5'5". No one is really tall in my family.....typical Med features I guess. The only thing about me is that I am very light skinned and have black hair and eyebrows. |
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