What is pomak turk? ?

Question

my wife is turkish . her family is pomaks her dad told me

Answer 1

Origins of Pomaks are not certain, most say they are the descendants of Kıpçak Turks, who were known for their 'blondness'. Kıpçak means blond in old Turkish. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kipchaks) Bulgaria says they are "Muslim Bulgarians" and Greeks say they are "Muslim Greeks" for obvious political reasons and I find it more likely that they are "Muslim Turks" since culturally speaking, Pomaks are close to Turks.

Edit: I don't think anywhere in my answer I readily take Pomaks under the flag of Panturanism. True, they speak their own language, as they do in Pomak villages in Turkey and yes, as I have written too, their origins are unknown. However, the language, which is something adoptable, doesn't necessarily point out your genetic origins. Bulgars migrated from Central Asia but they speak a Slavic tongue now. Finns and Magyars are in Europe but they speak an Ural-Altaic language.

It is interesting though, that you, as a Greek who, in your own words, do not represent her government, feel thoroughly uncomfortable someone saying Pomaks COULD have Turkish ancestors. Why all the fuss?

Oh and Turkey is a country with 50 different ethnicities, concern yourself with Greece first, a country that does not even allow people themselves "Turk". So there can be no question of Turkey trying to convince everyone they are ethnic Turks, we all know where we've came from and what we are.

Answer 2

The Pomaks are not by Turkish origin , they are Muslim Bulgarians.

A user above said that Greeks say that they are by Greek origin but it's not true.

We only say (and it's true) that the Pomaks who live in Greece are both Greek and European citizens because they live in Greece for so long time.

We all know (and they know) that they are Muslim Bulgarians.

But the Turkish Governments try to "name" all the Muslims who live in the Balkans (and most in Greece) Turks. Many times Pomaks had argues with them because they try to create to them a "Turkish Identity" only to control regions of Greece and of other Balkan countries.

Today of course there are in Greece people who are part of the Muslim Minority. They are Greek and European citizens, they have representatives in the Greek Parliament, they can be Mayors or Nomarchs etc etc.

But in this Muslim Minority there are citizens by Turkish origin, Pomaks (Bulgarian Muslims) and Roma.

We cannot name them all Turks only because they are Muslims !

In this way i can call my self French because i am a Christian !

Answer 3

I totally agree with TK and TB.

Answer 4

i believe that they could be ancient Thracian tribes all these 3 countries (bulgaria, turkey, greece) claim that they're part of our nation because they've been living in this area for centuries btw Pomaks helped Turks during the ottoman times and also know more than one language generally

Answer 5

You can understand the mixing of origins.

Like, when Anatolians who were colonized by Hellen colonizers turned to Orthodox religion and started associating with Hellens, it seems local populations who turned to Islam started associating with Turks.

It was natural in an era when people associated with religion more than ethnicity.

When I say Armenian many people understand Gregorien. What, do you think, happened to Orthodox Armenians? Can they be considering themselves Greek or Rum now?

Answer 6

Trocky etc., in Greece we don't hide them that they are not Greeks, it is very obvious that they are not! As it is obvious that they are not Turks! They speak a slavic language. Their origin is indeed uncertain, it has been claimed that they are the descendants of native Thraks mixed with Slavs. It is true that the language they speak is very similar to Bulgarian and they look like Slavs too. How do I know? ...I live in (Greek) Thrace!

Most of them nowadays identify themselves as something different than a Turk, and THEY ARE different.

Greek state recognises them as Muslim Greeks and that's all.The past two years other Pomaks from Bulgaria are coming to Greece and many of them are settled (for a temporary job) in Greek Thrace. Some of them are Christians, and our Pomaks began to realise what is going on, as the Pomaks of Bulgaria maintain a pure pomak identity and not a...turkish one!

They are in fact the Slavs of the Southern part of the Balkan peninsula and that could also explain the similarity of their language to the language from FYROM (acedonia) people.

So, the Pomak Turks, as you call them, are the Pomaks that became Turks after many centuries of living together with Turks and sharing the same religion. And, of course, Turkey makes anything possible to convience those people that they are Turks...

THIS IS MY OWN PERSONAL OPINION, BASED ON STUDIES AND RESEARCH THAT I'VE DONE (I don't represent my country, Greece, here).

:-)

Edit: Trocky, it's really nice "talking" with you. I just want to say that it is Turkey, which claims that Omere was turkish (!), though he was speaking the greek ionian dialect. This is not about "taking" something I'm affraid, this is about destorting history, not just looking the historical facts from one point of view.

Answer 7

i am pomak too..

Answer 8

Pomacs are muslim Bulgarians.

Pomacs Turks are 1)Pomacs mixed with Turks 2)Pomacs forced by Turks to say they are Turks (which is very often in Thrace)

You see,Pomacs and Turks are 2 different origins.Is like saying I am a Greek-German,where if you say this means,you are a Greek mixed with German

Answer 9

The are not Turks by origin. For some reason many of the Balkans Muslim populations tend to feel Turkish..

Answer 10

you are pomat.

Answer 11

Muslim Bulgarian

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomaks