Gomidas Institute Lecture in London: Rediscovering Bardizag

[ardakilic]

Seems like were both right 2 categories of Laz in Turkey one is indigenous the other moved to Turkey escaping Russian expension .

I think this could be more true: Lazuri people live in a region between Giresun to Abhazia called Lazistan. So when a part of Lazistan was invaded by Russia, people who live in invaded part escaped into the interior parts of Anatolia.

[bell-the-cat]

Laz people is distinct ethnical and indigenous people of Anatolia. They are different from Georgian Muslims, Hemshins and Megrels.

It is estimated about 100 000 Lazuri (they call themselves as Lazuri) people live in Turkey, predominantly in Lazistan (Artvin, Trebizond and Rize). The name Lazistan is banned in 1926 but Laz people try to protect their language and culture. Their language can be considered close to Greek and also in Lazistan there are Muslim Greeks though very few.

The Laz were originally natives from north-west Georgia and Abkhazia, and migrated into their present homeland (NE Turkey) during the early Byzantine period, where they partially converted to Christianity. Artvin, historically, is not a Laz town - it was Georgian and Armenian. I believe the Laz alphabet is technically illegal in Turkey and a dictionery of the language was banned recently, after being allowed to be on sale for several years.

The "Laz Armenians" mentioned in the talk are almost certainly Hemshinli. During the Ottoman period, "Laz" was a name used for anyone from the northeastern coast of Turkey, regardless of whether they were ethnic Laz or not.