Recent from talks
Turkish settlers in Northern Cyprus
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Turkish settlers in Northern Cyprus
The Turkish settlers (Cypriot Turkish: Türkiyeliler, "those from Turkey"), also referred to as the Turkish immigrants (Turkish: Türkiyeli göçmenler), are a group of Turkish people from Turkey who have settled in Northern Cyprus since the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974. It is estimated that these settlers and their descendants (not including Turkish soldiers) now make up about half the population of Northern Cyprus. The vast majority of the Turkish settlers were given houses and land that legally belong to Greek Cypriots by the government of Northern Cyprus, which is solely recognised by Turkey. The group is heterogeneous in nature and is composed of various sub-groups, with varying degrees of integration. Mainland Turks are generally considered to be more conservative than the highly secularized Turkish Cypriots, and tend to be more in favor of a two-state Cyprus. However, not all settlers support nationalist policies.
A concern with regards to the relatively small and dwindling population of Turkish Cypriots had existed amongst the Turkish Cypriot leadership before the 1974 invasion. Turkish Cypriots migrated from the island throughout the British rule, some moving to Turkey due to the active encouragement of the newly established Republic of Turkey in the 1920s, some fleeing economic difficulties and conflict to other countries in the subsequent decades. In 1967, Rauf Denktaş had noted that there was a need to encourage the Turkish Cypriots now living in Turkey to return to Cyprus, so as to maintain the "balance of the population".
The Turkish state had previously carried out mass population transfers, most notably during the population exchange with Greece in the 1920s and the deportations of Kurds in the 1930s. In the 1970s, Turkey had been experiencing increasing political violence and economic difficulties, exacerbated by high unemployment and an influx into the cities. In particular, there was diminished demand for agricultural labour due to increasing mechanisation, which would contrast with the sudden high demand for an agriculture workforce in Cyprus in 1974.
The conflict in 1974 caused a significant displacement of Cypriot population. Greek Cypriots fled from the north to the south, and Turkish Cypriots fled in the opposite direction during the conflict. A number of people from both communities did remain on the other side of the divide, but the vast majority of these ended up moving forcibly or voluntarily, particularly after the Third Vienna Agreement signed in August 1975. This population movement resulted in the depopulation of the northern part of the island. There are no reliable censuses conducted in the immediate aftermath of the war, but according to one estimate, the population of the north decreased from 234,000 to 70,000, of which 20,000 were Greek Cypriots still remaining in the area. Eventually, by the end of 1975, an estimated 180,000 Greek Cypriots had moved to the south and 60,000 Turkish Cypriots had moved to the north, resulting in a population deficit of 120,000. In particular, the Karpass Peninsula had become almost entirely depopulated.
This depopulation resulted in an emptying of houses and entire communities, and a vast amount of farmland and orchards were abandoned. Most acutely, there were 125,000 dönüms of citrus orchards in the north, most left behind by the Greek Cypriots, that would give produce in the autumn of 1974. As a stopgap measure, the Turkish government announced on 9 September 1974 that 5,000 seasonal workers would be sent from Turkey to help with the harvest. These workers were sent in from citrus-producing regions of Turkey such as Antalya and Mersin, and around half returned to Turkey at the end of the agricultural season.
In the meantime, the Turkish Cypriot authorities launched a largely unsuccessful campaign to persuade Turkish Cypriots abroad to return to their homeland. İsmet Kotak, the Minister for Public Works and Resettlement, was tasked with managing the campaign. He organised ads in Turkish newspapers with invitations to Turkish Cypriots in Turkey, and travelled to Turkey in 1975 to personally launch a plea on Turkish television. There was very limited response to this as many Turkish Cypriots had already fully settled and integrated in Turkey. Turkish Cypriots in the UK and Australia were also targeted, but only around 600–700 families ended up resettling from the UK.
According to Hatay, the first group of such settlers arrived on the island in February 1975; heavy settlement continued until 1977. These farmers originated from various regions of Turkey, including the Black Sea Region (Trabzon, Çarşamba, Samsun), the Mediterranean Region (Antalya, Adana, Mersin) and the Central Anatolia Region (Konya). In February 1975, the number of "workers" from Turkey in the island was 910.
The policy of settling farmers was conducted along the lines of the Agricultural Workforce Agreement signed by the Turkish Federated State of Cyprus (TFSC) and Turkey in 1975. The agreement was strongly supported by the administration of Rauf Denktaş. For instance, during its ratification process in the Turkish Cypriot Assembly, Raşit Ahmet Raşit, an MP, pleaded that the population transfer should not be rushed as there were cultural differences between Turkey and Cyprus, to which Denktaş had retorted "We need a population of 200,000 as soon as possible!". The consulates of the TFSC in Turkey were actively involved in organizing the transfer of this population; announcements through the radio and muhtars in villages called upon farmers interested in moving to Cyprus to apply to the consulates. Many farmers who moved to Cyprus were from parts of Turkey with harsh living conditions or had to be displaced. This was the case with the village of Kayalar, where people from the Turkish Black Sea district of Çarşamba were moved. These people were displaced due to the flooding of their village by a dam that was built, and were given a choice between moving to Cyprus and other regions in Turkey; some chose Cyprus. Christos Ioannides argued that these people had no political motivations for this choice; interviews with some have indicated that some did not know the location of Cyprus before moving there.
Hub AI
Turkish settlers in Northern Cyprus AI simulator
(@Turkish settlers in Northern Cyprus_simulator)
Turkish settlers in Northern Cyprus
The Turkish settlers (Cypriot Turkish: Türkiyeliler, "those from Turkey"), also referred to as the Turkish immigrants (Turkish: Türkiyeli göçmenler), are a group of Turkish people from Turkey who have settled in Northern Cyprus since the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974. It is estimated that these settlers and their descendants (not including Turkish soldiers) now make up about half the population of Northern Cyprus. The vast majority of the Turkish settlers were given houses and land that legally belong to Greek Cypriots by the government of Northern Cyprus, which is solely recognised by Turkey. The group is heterogeneous in nature and is composed of various sub-groups, with varying degrees of integration. Mainland Turks are generally considered to be more conservative than the highly secularized Turkish Cypriots, and tend to be more in favor of a two-state Cyprus. However, not all settlers support nationalist policies.
A concern with regards to the relatively small and dwindling population of Turkish Cypriots had existed amongst the Turkish Cypriot leadership before the 1974 invasion. Turkish Cypriots migrated from the island throughout the British rule, some moving to Turkey due to the active encouragement of the newly established Republic of Turkey in the 1920s, some fleeing economic difficulties and conflict to other countries in the subsequent decades. In 1967, Rauf Denktaş had noted that there was a need to encourage the Turkish Cypriots now living in Turkey to return to Cyprus, so as to maintain the "balance of the population".
The Turkish state had previously carried out mass population transfers, most notably during the population exchange with Greece in the 1920s and the deportations of Kurds in the 1930s. In the 1970s, Turkey had been experiencing increasing political violence and economic difficulties, exacerbated by high unemployment and an influx into the cities. In particular, there was diminished demand for agricultural labour due to increasing mechanisation, which would contrast with the sudden high demand for an agriculture workforce in Cyprus in 1974.
The conflict in 1974 caused a significant displacement of Cypriot population. Greek Cypriots fled from the north to the south, and Turkish Cypriots fled in the opposite direction during the conflict. A number of people from both communities did remain on the other side of the divide, but the vast majority of these ended up moving forcibly or voluntarily, particularly after the Third Vienna Agreement signed in August 1975. This population movement resulted in the depopulation of the northern part of the island. There are no reliable censuses conducted in the immediate aftermath of the war, but according to one estimate, the population of the north decreased from 234,000 to 70,000, of which 20,000 were Greek Cypriots still remaining in the area. Eventually, by the end of 1975, an estimated 180,000 Greek Cypriots had moved to the south and 60,000 Turkish Cypriots had moved to the north, resulting in a population deficit of 120,000. In particular, the Karpass Peninsula had become almost entirely depopulated.
This depopulation resulted in an emptying of houses and entire communities, and a vast amount of farmland and orchards were abandoned. Most acutely, there were 125,000 dönüms of citrus orchards in the north, most left behind by the Greek Cypriots, that would give produce in the autumn of 1974. As a stopgap measure, the Turkish government announced on 9 September 1974 that 5,000 seasonal workers would be sent from Turkey to help with the harvest. These workers were sent in from citrus-producing regions of Turkey such as Antalya and Mersin, and around half returned to Turkey at the end of the agricultural season.
In the meantime, the Turkish Cypriot authorities launched a largely unsuccessful campaign to persuade Turkish Cypriots abroad to return to their homeland. İsmet Kotak, the Minister for Public Works and Resettlement, was tasked with managing the campaign. He organised ads in Turkish newspapers with invitations to Turkish Cypriots in Turkey, and travelled to Turkey in 1975 to personally launch a plea on Turkish television. There was very limited response to this as many Turkish Cypriots had already fully settled and integrated in Turkey. Turkish Cypriots in the UK and Australia were also targeted, but only around 600–700 families ended up resettling from the UK.
According to Hatay, the first group of such settlers arrived on the island in February 1975; heavy settlement continued until 1977. These farmers originated from various regions of Turkey, including the Black Sea Region (Trabzon, Çarşamba, Samsun), the Mediterranean Region (Antalya, Adana, Mersin) and the Central Anatolia Region (Konya). In February 1975, the number of "workers" from Turkey in the island was 910.
The policy of settling farmers was conducted along the lines of the Agricultural Workforce Agreement signed by the Turkish Federated State of Cyprus (TFSC) and Turkey in 1975. The agreement was strongly supported by the administration of Rauf Denktaş. For instance, during its ratification process in the Turkish Cypriot Assembly, Raşit Ahmet Raşit, an MP, pleaded that the population transfer should not be rushed as there were cultural differences between Turkey and Cyprus, to which Denktaş had retorted "We need a population of 200,000 as soon as possible!". The consulates of the TFSC in Turkey were actively involved in organizing the transfer of this population; announcements through the radio and muhtars in villages called upon farmers interested in moving to Cyprus to apply to the consulates. Many farmers who moved to Cyprus were from parts of Turkey with harsh living conditions or had to be displaced. This was the case with the village of Kayalar, where people from the Turkish Black Sea district of Çarşamba were moved. These people were displaced due to the flooding of their village by a dam that was built, and were given a choice between moving to Cyprus and other regions in Turkey; some chose Cyprus. Christos Ioannides argued that these people had no political motivations for this choice; interviews with some have indicated that some did not know the location of Cyprus before moving there.
Recent media