Hello

[Acar]

hello Everyone. I am from İstanbul and i am Turkish. I want to talk you and share ideas in this forum.

[Siggie]

Hi. Be sure to read the forum rules which are posted in the Announcements forum.

Thanks.

[One-Way]

This isn't gonna be pretty.

Hello.

[skhara]

There seem to be a lot of "curious Turks" on this site.

This site is like a 'turk-magnet'.

[One-Way]

Bi-curious Turks!

[Acar]

racialism is not needed. although you look us as an enemy, we are one of your best friend in many long times ago.

[winoman]

I don't think you can accuratly ever claim that Turks were Armenians best friend ever - but perhaps you can say that our people lived side by side and together without a great deal of friction for some time and did share many cultural things and did interact and such - however this was all done under an unequal caste system where the Armenian was always vuneralbe to exploitation and abuse and such things also occured and began to occur with much more regularity after Kurds and other non-Anatolian Turkics were intentionally settled into traditional Armenian areas to ensure that Armenians could be kept underfoot etc

[Acar]

throughout history, all nations have changed traditionals, language, religion of conquered nations.( For example america which was conquered by england using english language now). But turks have not do this. Turks set free all nations. This is the proving of this that if we were barbarian, you could speak in turkish and you could be muslim. What do you say?

[Soysauce]

Welcome.

[winoman]

Turks set free all nations.

? This position is so patently absurd and contrary to reality that I don't even know where to begin....

I will certainly give the Ottomans credit for realizing that if they attempted to take away the Armenians (and other peoples of the Empire) religion they would have had to slaughter everyone and would have no farmers, tradesmen and craftsmen and no Empire but barren wastes...they also realized that to alliow the Armenian Patriarchy was to give the Armenians somethign that was denied them under the Byzantine - but this was doen to curry favor and to apease the population - and it worked - and was a good thing overall as well - but it was a political move - nothing more. However it is clear that to be anyone - to hold any power - to have any say - and to truly be a citizen - etc - in the Ottoman Empire - one had to be Muslim - and this is why so many converted - particualry in the balkans where the people were less used to foriegn political rule then the Armenians had been - the Armenains just dealt with who ever - a la the Who - "here comes the new boss...same as the old boss..." etc - so Armenians - long known as the loyal Millyet - as they had never rebelled and always supported the Ottomans when called too - were generally left to run their own affairs much more then the Slavs, Arabs, Greeks and others - who experienced greater day to day repression. However don't be fooled to think that in being non-Muslim that they were in any way "free" or were any more then second class citizens - at best.

This is the proving of this that if we were barbarian, you could speak in turkish and you could be muslim. What do you say?

Turks were not babarians per se - at least the Ottomans were not in the traditional sense - though quite a few of the Turkic tribes of the Empirse were awfly as we say - simple - and very "country" as it were - even the Ottoman's made jokes at their expense along these lines.

A great many Armenians - particularly in Western and Souther Anatolia did indee speak Turkish - some at the expense of knowing Armenian. Additionally a number did become Muslim - as this is where avenues for social advancement and ability to becaome - as you say - "free" (reletively spe3aking) did lie - however there were instances of forced conversions - or at least pressure to convert - but the Armenians resisted this far more vigorously then most.