{{Short description|Ethnic group}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2023}} {{Infobox ethnic group| | group = | native_name = Romanlar | native_name_lang = | image = | caption = | population = 500,000–2,000,000<ref name=immigration>{{cite web <!--|format=PDF --> |url=http://rm.coe.int/CoERMPublicCommonSearchServices/DisplayDCTMContent?documentId=0900001680088ea9 |title=Roma and Travellers Team. Tools and Texts of Reference. Estimates on Roma population in European countries (excel spreadsheet) |work=rm.coe.int Council of Europe Roma and Travellers Division}}</ref> | popplace = Istanbul, East Thrace, Marmara region, Aegean Region, İzmir Province | rels = Sunni Islam, Sufism of Qadiriyya - Tariqa | related_groups = Lom people, Dom people, Abdal of Turkey | langs = Turkish as first language, in lesser case Rumelian Turkish, nearly extinct Sepečides Romani and Rumelian Romani }}{{Distinguish|Turkish Roma}}{{Romani people}} The '''Romani people in Turkey''' ({{langx|tr|Türkiye'deki Romanlar}}) are a Romani subgroup in the Republic of Türkiye. The majority are Sunni Muslims, mostly of Sufi orientation.<ref name="acikbilim.yok.gov.tr">{{Cite web |url=https://acikbilim.yok.gov.tr/bitstream/handle/20.500.12812/209305/yokAcikBilim_10317583.pdf?sequence=-1&isAllowed=y |title=Higher Education Council |access-date=5 May 2022 |archive-date=4 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220504152148/https://acikbilim.yok.gov.tr/bitstream/handle/20.500.12812/209305/yokAcikBilim_10317583.pdf?sequence=-1&isAllowed=y }}</ref> The majority speak Turkish as their first language and have adopted Turkish culture. Many have denied their Romani background over the centuries in order to become more accepted by the host population.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233471010 |via=ResearchGate|doi=10.1080/00263200701422675 |title=Turkey's Roma: Political participation and organization |year=2007 |last1=Kolukirik |first1=Suat |last2=Toktaş |first2=Şule |journal=Middle Eastern Studies |volume=43 |issue=5 |pages=761–777 |s2cid=143772218 }}</ref> They are primarily concentrated in western Turkey, particularly in East Thrace (European Turkey).

Their official name in Turkey has been '''Romanlar''' since 1996''.'' They are also called ''Şopar'' ("Gypsy kid") in Rumelian Romani dialect, and ''Manuş'' ("Human") or ''Çingene'' ("Gypsy") in Turkish, while once in Ottoman Turkish they were named ''Cingân'' ("Gypsy"), ''Kıptî'' ("Copts") and ''Mısırlı'' ("Egyptians").<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://renk-magazin.de/roma-in-der-tuerkei/|title = Mehr als nur Roman Havası - Roma in der Türkei|date = 8 April 2019}}</ref> As ''Gastarbeiter'' some Turkish Roma came to Germany and Austria and other European countries and fully assimilated in Turkish European communities.<ref>[https://www.coe.int/t/dg4/education/roma/Source/RomaniEurope_EN.pdf Romani in Europe]</ref>

There are an estimated 500,000–2,000,000 Romani people in Turkey.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/topic,4565c2253b,4677ea9b2,46ef87ab32,0.html |title=UNHCR - Document Not Found |access-date=2014-06-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010211734/http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/topic,4565c2253b,4677ea9b2,46ef87ab32,0.html |archive-date=2012-10-10 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/civilsociety/articles/eav072205.shtml|title=Roma Rights Organizations Work to Ease Prejudice in Turkey|first=Yigal|last=Schleifer|date=21 July 2005|access-date=15 December 2017|website=Eurasianet.org|archive-date=24 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224085327/http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/civilsociety/articles/eav072205.shtml}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ihf-hr.org/viewbinary/viewdocument.php?doc_id=7081 |title=Archived copy |access-date=2010-02-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090729194614/http://www.ihf-hr.org/viewbinary/viewdocument.php?doc_id=7081 |archive-date=2009-07-29 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.radikal.com.tr/haber.php?haberno=188686 |title=Radikal-çevrimiçi / Türkiye / Romanlar 'Biz de varız!' diyor |access-date=2010-03-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020044553/http://www.radikal.com.tr/haber.php?haberno=188686 |archive-date=2012-10-20 }}</ref>

==History== {{See also|Achaemenid conquest of the Indus Valley#Second Persian invasion of Greece (480-479 BCE)|India–Turkey relations#History|Classical Anatolia#Persian rule}} There are records of the presence of Romani people from AD 800 in Thrace, known in Greek as Athinganoi. At the time of the Rome–Constantinople schism of 1054, Athinganoi settled outside the Walls of Constantinople. Later in the Ottoman times, this quarter was named Sulukule, said to be the oldest Roma settlement in Europe.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://rombase.uni-graz.at/cgi-bin/art.cgi?src=data/hist/origin/byzanz.en.xml | title=Byzanz &#91;Rombase&#93; | access-date=15 July 2022 | archive-date=5 April 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220405082054/http://rombase.uni-graz.at/cgi-bin/art.cgi?src=data%2Fhist%2Forigin%2Fbyzanz.en.xml }}</ref>

With the expansion of the Ottoman Empire, Turkish speaking Muslim Romani people settled in Rumelia (southeastern Europe) under Ottoman rule. The Ottoman Turkish Historian Evliya Çelebi explains in his ''Seyahatnâme'', that Mehmed the Conqueror in 1453, took Muslim Roma from Balat, Didim and former Menteshe, as well as the irreligious Roma from Gümülcine, and settled them in Istanbul, but both groups did not get along well, and some of the Gümülcine groups returned. He also wrote, that the language of the Roma from Gümülcine have Banyan merchants roots.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://istanbultarihi.ist/472-the-gypsies-of-istanbul|title=THE GYPSIES OF ISTANBUL &#124; History of Istanbul|website=istanbultarihi.ist|access-date=Feb 19, 2023}}</ref> Ottoman Archives of the 18th century and 19th century talk about 4 clans of those called Türkmen Kıpti (Gypsy''')'''. The groups in these historical documents may be related to the contemporary Balkan groups who spoke Turkish only with few Romani words in their jargon and who are often Alevis of Bektashi Order, as a separate group of other Roma people in Rumelia. They once migrated from Anatolia and settled finally in the Balkans and Crimea.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266387780 |author1=Marushiakova |author2=Popov, Vesselin |date=2014 |title=Migrations and Identities of Central Asian 'Gypsies' |via=ResearchGate}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/355873685 |chapter=Turcoman Gypsies in the Balkans: Just a Preferred Identity or More? |first=Egemen |last=Yılgür |isbn=978-3-96939-071-9 |via=ResearchGate|title=Romani History and Culture: Festschrift in Honour of Prof. Dr. Vesselin Popov |editor-last1=Ki︠u︡Chukov |editor-first1=Khristo |editor-last2=Zakhova |editor-first2=Sofii︠a︡ |editor-last3=Dumunica |editor-first3=Ian |editor-last4=Duminica |editor-first4=Ion |year=2021 |publisher=LINCOM GmbH }}</ref> Uniquely to Ottoman history, the Muslim Roma people were given their own Sanjak at the Kırklareli Province, by the order of Suleiman the Magnificent at 1530. Until today the Turkish Roma see Thrace as their Homeland.<ref>[https://rm.coe.int/ottoman-empire-factsheets-on-romani-history/16808b193d Ottoman Empire factsheets on Romani history]</ref> The Turkish Historian Reşat Ekrem Koçu, explained that Muslim (Horahane), Eastern Orthodox (Dasikane) and Pagan Roma (Gadjikane) Groups lived in the Ottoman Empire. He also explained that the Christian Lom people who lived in Istanbul converted to Islam in the 19th century<ref name="istanbultarihi.ist">{{cite web | url=https://istanbultarihi.ist/472-the-gypsies-of-istanbul | title=THE GYPSIES OF ISTANBUL &#124; History of Istanbul }}</ref>

===Origin=== The Romani people in Turkey are of mixed ancestry. According to their own oral tradition, (but it varies in some stories), their ancestors once came from Hindustan.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/cingeneler | title=ÇİNGENELER - TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7k14sEkUW8|title = Roman Ruhu - Turkish Roma|website = YouTube | date=18 January 2012 }}</ref> The Early Romani originate from the Indian subcontinent,<ref>{{cite book |last = Hancock |first = Ian F. |year = 2005 |orig-date=2002 |title = We are the Romani People |publisher = Univ of Hertfordshire Press |isbn = 978-1-902806-19-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MG0ahVw-kdwC&pg=PA70 |page=70 | postscript =: 'While a nine century removal from India has diluted Indian biological connection to the extent that for some Romani groups, it may be hardly representative today, Sarren (1976:72) concluded that we still remain together, genetically, Asian rather than European'}}</ref><ref name="IsabelMendizabal">{{cite journal| doi = 10.1016/j.cub.2012.10.039|first=Isabel|last=Mendizabal|title=Reconstructing the Population History of European Romani from Genome-wide Data|journal=Current Biology|date=6 December 2012|volume=22| issue = 24|pages=2342–2349|pmid=23219723|bibcode=2012CBio...22.2342M |doi-access=free|hdl=10230/25348|hdl-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Comas">{{cite news|author=Sindya N. Bhanoo|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/11/science/genomic-study-traces-roma-to-northern-india.html?_r=0|title=Genomic Study Traces Roma to Northern India|newspaper=The New York Times|date=11 December 2012}}</ref><ref>''Current Biology''.</ref><ref name="google1">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AS61CgAAQBAJ&q=Roma+Rajasthan+Punjab&pg=PA50 |title=Flamenco on the Global Stage: Historical, Critical and Theoretical Perspectives |author1=K. Meira Goldberg |author2=Ninotchka Devorah Bennahum |author3=Michelle Heffner Hayes |page=50 |date= 2015-10-06|publisher=McFarland |access-date=2016-05-21|isbn=978-0-7864-9470-5 }}</ref><ref name="google2">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/roughguidetoworl00simo |url-access=registration |quote=Roma Rajastan Penjab. |title=World Music: Africa, Europe and the Middle East |publisher=Rough Guides |author1=Simon Broughton |author2=Mark Ellingham |author3=Richard Trillo |page=[https://archive.org/details/roughguidetoworl00simo/page/147 147] |access-date=2016-05-21|isbn=978-1-85828-635-8 |year=1999 }}</ref> especially from Rohri in the Sukkur District of Sindh.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.dawn.com/news/211876/hyderabad-gypsies-hail-from-sindh-claims-dr-kazi | title=HYDERABAD: Gypsies hail from Sindh, claims Dr Kazi | date=25 September 2006 }}</ref> The linguistic evidence has indisputably shown that the roots of the Romani language lie in Central India: The language has grammatical characteristics of Indian languages and shares with them a big part of the basic lexicon, for example, body parts or daily routines.<ref name="mluvnice">{{Citation | last1 = Šebková | first1 = Hana | last2 = Žlnayová | first2 = Edita | year = 1998 | url = http://rss.archives.ceu.hu/archive/00001112/01/118.pdf | title = Nástin mluvnice slovenské romštiny (pro pedagogické účely) | place = Ústí nad Labem | publisher = Pedagogická fakulta Univerzity J. E. Purkyně v Ústí nad Labem | page = 4 | isbn = 978-80-7044-205-0 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304024041/http://rss.archives.ceu.hu/archive/00001112/01/118.pdf | archive-date = 2016-03-04 }}</ref> More precisely, Romani shares the basic lexicon with Sanskrit and Prakrit.<ref name="hub1995">{{cite journal|first=Milena|last=Hübschmannová|title=Romaňi čhib – romština: Několik základních informací o romském jazyku|journal=Bulletin Muzea Romské Kultury|issue=4/1995|year= 1995 |place=Brno|quote=Zatímco romská lexika je bližší hindštině, marvárštině, pandžábštině atd., v gramatické sféře nacházíme mnoho shod s východoindickým jazykem, s bengálštinou.}}</ref> In February 2016, during the International Roma Conference, the Indian Minister of External Affairs stated that the people of the Roma community were "children of India". The conference ended with a recommendation to the Government of India to recognize the Roma community, spread across 30 countries, as a part of the Indian diaspora.<ref name="diaspora">{{cite web|title=Can Romas be part of Indian diaspora?|website=Khaleejtimes.com|url=http://www.khaleejtimes.com/international/india/can-romas-be-part-of-indian-diaspora|date=29 February 2016|access-date=4 March 2016}}</ref>

===Genetic=== Genetic findings in 2012 suggest the Early Romani originated in Indian subcontinent.<ref name="IsabelMendizabal" /><ref name="Comas" /><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.livescience.com/40652-facts-about-roma-romani-gypsies.html|title=5 Intriguing Facts About the Roma|work=Live Science|date=23 October 2013}}</ref> Another genetic study shows that Turkish Roma are related to the Changar tribe from Pakistan of Punjab.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://mdpi-res.com/d_attachment/genes/genes-13-00532/article_deploy/genes-13-00532-v2.pdf?version=1647586726 |doi=10.3390/genes13030532 |doi-access=free |title=Are Roma People Descended from the Punjab Region of Pakistan: A Y-Chromosomal Perspective |year=2022 |last1=Adnan |first1=Atif |last2=Rakha |first2=Allah |last3=Lazim |first3=Hayder |last4=Nazir |first4=Shahid |last5=Al-Qahtani |first5=Wedad Saeed |last6=Abdullah Alwaili |first6=Maha |last7=Hadi |first7=Sibte |last8=Wang |first8=Chuan-Chao |journal=Genes |volume=13 |issue=3 |page=532 |pmid=35328085 |pmc=8951058 }}</ref> While the Early Romani people traces back to the Indian subcontinent,<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319414885 |via=ResearchGate|doi=10.1186/s12863-017-0547-x |title=Refining the South Asian Origin of the Romani people |year=2017 |last1=Melegh |first1=Bela I. |last2=Banfai |first2=Zsolt |last3=Hadzsiev |first3=Kinga |last4=Miseta |first4=Attila |last5=Melegh |first5=Bela |journal=BMC Genetics |volume=18 |issue=1 |page=82 |pmid=28859608 |pmc=5580230 |doi-access=free }}</ref> gene flow from the Ottoman Turks spilled over and established a higher frequency of the Y-haplogroups ''J and E3b'' in Balkan Roma Groups.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bánfai |first1=Zsolt |last2=Melegh |first2=Béla I. |last3=Sümegi |first3=Katalin |last4=Hadzsiev |first4=Kinga |last5=Miseta |first5=Attila |last6=Kásler |first6=Miklós |last7=Melegh |first7=Béla |title=Revealing the Genetic Impact of the Ottoman Occupation on Ethnic Groups of East-Central Europe and on the Roma Population of the Area |journal=Frontiers in Genetics |date=13 June 2019 |volume=10 |article-number=558 |doi=10.3389/fgene.2019.00558 |pmid=31263480 |pmc=6585392 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Greeks and South Slavs DNA also influenced the Balkans Roma people.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282042290 |via=ResearchGate|doi=10.1038/ejhg.2015.201 |title=Origins, admixture and founder lineages in European Roma |year=2016 |last1=Martínez-Cruz |first1=Begoña |last2=Mendizabal |first2=Isabel |last3=Harmant |first3=Christine |last4=De Pablo |first4=Rosario |last5=Ioana |first5=Mihai |last6=Angelicheva |first6=Dora |last7=Kouvatsi |first7=Anastasia |last8=Makukh |first8=Halyna |last9=Netea |first9=Mihai G. |last10=Pamjav |first10=Horolma |last11=Zalán |first11=Andrea |last12=Tournev |first12=Ivailo |last13=Marushiakova |first13=Elena |last14=Popov |first14=Vesselin |last15=Bertranpetit |first15=Jaume |last16=Kalaydjieva |first16=Luba |last17=Quintana-Murci |first17=Lluis |last18=Comas |first18=David |journal=European Journal of Human Genetics |volume=24 |issue=6 |pages=937–943 |pmid=26374132 |pmc=4867443 }}</ref> The genetics of peoples of the Caucasus also influenced the genetics of Roma people.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327564906 |via=ResearchGate|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0202890 |doi-access=free |title=Revealing the impact of the Caucasus region on the genetic legacy of Romani people from genome-wide data |year=2018 |last1=Bánfai |first1=Zsolt |last2=Ádám |first2=Valerián |last3=Pöstyéni |first3=Etelka |last4=Büki |first4=Gergely |last5=Czakó |first5=Márta |last6=Miseta |first6=Attila |last7=Melegh |first7=Béla |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=13 |issue=9 |article-number=e0202890 |pmid=30199533 |pmc=6130880 |bibcode=2018PLoSO..1302890B }}</ref>

=== Migration to Turkey === During the Population exchange between Greece and Turkey in 1923, different Muslim Roma groups from Greece such as the Sepetčides (Basketmakers)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.romarchive.eu/en/terms/sepecides-sevlengere-roma/|title = Sepečides / Sevlengere Roma}}</ref> or the Tütünčides (tobacco workers)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.researchgate.net/figure/The-Roma-tobacco-workers-who-live-in-Ortakoey-Besiktas-with-leftist-intellectuals-of-1960s_fig2_286766087|title=The Roma tobacco workers who live in Ortaköy/Beşiktaş with leftist... &#124; Download Scientific Diagram|access-date=Feb 19, 2023}}</ref> moved to Turkey, and were called ''Mübadil Romanlar''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://kronos34.news/tr/98-yillik-acinin-belgeseli-mubadil-romanlar//|title = Unutulan Mübadil Romanlar: 'Toprağın kovduğu insanlar'|date = 7 February 2021}}</ref> Some Roma who were tobacco laborers from Greece became active members in the Communist Party of Turkey (historical).<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/286766087 |via=ResearchGate|doi=10.3828/rs.2015.7 |title=Ethnicity, class and politicisation: Immigrant Roma tobacco workers in Turkey |year=2015 |last1=Yilgür |first1=Egemen |journal=Romani Studies |volume=25 |issue=2 |pages=167–196 |s2cid=146293564 }}</ref>

Turkish-speaking Muslim Roma migrated in waves from Bulgaria to Turkey over the years between 1878 - 1989, together with many Turks and Pomaks.<ref>{{cite book| url = https://www.academia.edu/1763100| title = (PDF) Маева, М. Българските турци-преселници в Р Турция (култура и идентичност). 2005. Bulgarian Turks - Emigrants in Turkey (Culture and Identity). София: IMIR. {{!}} Mila Maeva - Academia.edu| last1 = Maeva| first1 = Mila| date = 3 July 2012}}</ref> Many Turkish-speaking tribes known for their pipe-and-drum bands, who were descendants of the '''Turcoman Gypsies''' went to Istanbul following the Bulgarian Declaration of Independence.<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://www.academia.edu/60846761 | title=Turcoman Gypsies in the Balkans: Just a Preferred Identity or More? | journal=Romani History and Culture Festschrift in Honour of Prof. Dr. Veselin Popov / Hristo Kyuchukov, Sofiya Zahova, Ian Duminica | date=January 2021 | last1=Yılgür | first1=Egemen }}</ref>

In the early 1950s, Muslim Roma from Bulgaria came to Turkey and settled in Çanakkale and its surroundings.<ref>{{cite journal|year=2012|volume=10 |url=https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/canakkalearastirmalari/issue/4000/52828|journal=Çanakkale Araştırmaları Türk Yıllığı|title=Çingene Sorunu ve 1950-1951 Yıllarında Bulgaristan'dan Çanakkale'ye Göçler|author=Mithat Atabay|issue=13}}</ref>

In the period from 1953 to 1968, Muslim Roma and Turks from Yugoslavia emigrated to Turkey.<ref>[https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2012/rajkovic_nikolina.pdf Central European University Thesis]</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/324421699 |doi=10.1177/0265691418757391 |title=Emigration and Policy in Yugoslavia: Dynamics and Constraints within the Process of Muslim Emigration to Turkey during the 1950s |year=2018 |last1=Pezo |first1=Edvin |journal=European History Quarterly |volume=48 |issue=2 |pages=283–313 |s2cid=149846476 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

==Demographics== The majority of the Romani people in Turkey live in East Thrace, Marmara region and Aegean Region. Cities with a high percentage of Romani people is Istanbul.<ref name="istanbultarihi.ist"/>

The number of Roma people, according to estimates as of 2010, is around 500 thousand people, their number in some provinces of Turkey (ordered by their share of the total population) has been estimated:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ayorum.com/haber_oku.asp?haber=1905 |title= Türkiye'de hangi ilde kaç çingene var? |publisher= ayorum.com |date= 13 March 2010 |accessdate= 20 March 2026 |language= tr }}</ref>

{{Columns-list|colwidth=25em| * Edirne – 50 300 (12,88%) * Tekirdağ – 27 700 (3,47%) * Eskişehir – 20 000 (2,62%) * Kırklareli – 6 000 (2,17%) * Muğla – 12 550 (1,54%) * Balıkesir – 14 500 (1,26%) * Çanakkale – 5 800 (1,18%) * İzmir – 45 000 (1,14%) * Bursa – 26 570 (1,02%) * Erzurum – 7 400 (0,96%) * Erzincan – 2 000 (0,94%) * Kayseri – 3 000 (0,32%) * Hatay – 1 400 (0,09%) }}

===Istanbul Province=== [[File:İstanbul Çingeneleri ve Oranları.png|thumb|250px|Share of Gypsies in Istanbul Province, by district.]]

Studies by various gypsy organizations in 2019 show that around 480,000 Gypsies live in Istanbul Province. Their share of the total population in 20 out of 39 districts where they have a higher share is as follows:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://calistay.ibb.istanbul/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/IstanbulRomanCalistayi_Dijital.pdf |title=İstanbul Roman Çalıştayı |publisher= calistay.ibb.istanbul |date= 14 December 2019 |accessdate= 7 November 2025 |language= tr }}</ref>

{{Columns-list|colwidth=35em| * Çatalca – 30,30% * Arnavutköy – 8,10% * Gaziosmanpaşa – 7,80% * Fatih – 7,60% * Ataşehir – 6,40% * Büyükçekmece – 6,20% * Esenyurt – 5,20% * Beyoğlu – 4,50% * Avcılar – 4,25% * Şişli – 4,10% * Küçükçekmece – 3,95% * Silivri – 3,80% * Bayrampaşa – 3,60% * Beylikdüzü – 3,10% * Zeytinburnu – 3,05% * Üsküdar – 2,70% * Esenler – 2,68% * Ümraniye – 2,26% * Sultangazi – 1,91% * Kağıthane – 1,75% }}

==Culture== The Turkified Romani speak Turkish as there first language and assimilated fully in Turkish culture and are cultural Muslims, based on Sunni Islam in the Hanafi school, and practise religious male circumcision,<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://www.academia.edu/15014473 | title="Ucundan Azıcık"la Atılan Sağlam Temel: Türkiye'de Sünnet Ritüeli ve Erkeklik İlişkisi | journal=Masculinities: A Journal of Identity and Culture | date=January 2015 | last1=Barutcu | first1=Atilla }}</ref> engagements and weddings on a grand scale. Burying the foreskin after circumcision in a cemetery near or the garden of a mosque is a tradition amongst the Muslim Roma. A foreskin is looked as unclean, and the tradition of a ''Kirve'' (the godfather who pays for the celebrations) is taken by Alevism-Bektashism.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.turkeyculturaltour.com/tr/turkiye/61/cultural-heritages-of-turkey/circumcision-in-turkey.html | title=Circumcision in Turkey - Turkey Cultural Tour }}</ref> The Roma bands and their special music in 9/8 beat and songs are particularly well known in Turkey. The majority deny their Romani origins and describe themselves as Turks and are proud to adhere to the motto "How happy is the one who says I am a Turk".<ref>{{cite journal | doi=10.4000/ejts.822 | title=Assimilation of the Muslim communities in the first decade of the Turkish Republic (1923-1934) | journal=European Journal of Turkish Studies. Social Sciences on Contemporary Turkey | date=11 January 2008 | last1=Ülker | first1=Erol | volume=36 | doi-access=free }}</ref> They see themselves as Turks and have the same cultural similarities with Turks, and no similarities with Christian Roma from Europe.<ref>{{cite web|website=errc.org|access-date=19 February 2023|url=http://www.errc.org/uploads/upload_en/file/03/37/m00000337.pdf|title=A Study of Research Literature Regarding Turkish Gypsies and the Question of Gypsy Identity}}</ref> Belly dance, performed by women and men. In Edirne, they hold the Kakava festival every year.<ref>Elena Marushiakova, Veselin Popov (2001) "Gypsies in the Ottoman Empire", {{ISBN|1902806026}}''University of Hertfordshire Press'' *Original: Елена Марушиакова, Веселин Попов (2000) "Циганите в Османската империя". Литавра, София (''Litavra'' Publishers, Sofia).{{in lang|bg}}</ref>

Conservative Romani groups are, among others, the long-established Tekkekapılı, Kağıtçılar (Papermakers), the semi-nomadic Bandırmalı, (named after Bandırma, but their ancestors once came from Greece around 1923), who all live in Selamsız Romani-quarter in Üsküdar. The Kağıtçılar, in particular, have their own dialect that is not understood by other Roma groups in their neighborhood.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.uskudaristanbul.com/firmadetay.asp?id=2894|title=Home|first=Profcat Interactive|last=Media|website=Üsküdar İstanbul|access-date=Feb 19, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.uskudaristanbul.com/firmadetay.asp?id=2895|title=Home|first=Profcat Interactive|last=Media|website=Üsküdar İstanbul|access-date=Feb 19, 2023}}</ref> Turkish-speaking Roma from Turkey distance themselves from other non-Turkish Roma groups, especially from Christian Roma, they call them ''Yabancı'' (foreigners), while Christian Roma regard them simple as Turks (term for Muslims), because they have no Romanipen.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H7kFngEACAAJ | title=Gypsy Stigma and Exclusion in Turkey, 1970: The Social Dynamics of Exclusionary Violence | isbn=978-1-137-38661-8 | last1=Ozatesler | first1=G. | last2=Özate?Ler | first2=Gül | date=11 February 2014 | publisher=Palgrave Macmillan US }}</ref>

==Legal status== In modern Turkey, Muslim Romani do not have the legal status of an ethnic minority because they are traditionally adherents of the Islamic faith, adherents of which, regardless of ethnicity or race, are considered part of the ethnic majority in Turkey. This goes as far back as the Treaty of Lausanne (1923), in which Section III "Protection of Minorities" puts an emphasis on non-Muslim minorities.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wwi.lib.byu.edu/index.php/Treaty_of_Lausanne|title=Treaty of Lausanne - World War I Document Archive|website=Lib.byu.edu|access-date=15 December 2017}}</ref>

==In popular culture== A Turkish Romani settlement outside Istanbul appears in the 1957 James Bond novel ''From Russia with Love'', and its 1963 film adaptation.

A group of Turkish Romani appears in the 16th century Ottoman Constantinople of the video game ''Assassin's Creed: Revelations''.

A Turkish TV series made between 2004 and 2007 called ''Cennet Mahallesi'' is based on Istanbulite Romans.

==Sufism== Many Turkish Roma, are members of the Hindiler Tekkesi, a Qadiriyya-tariqa, founded in 1738 by the Indian Muslim Sheykh Seyfullah Efendi El Hindi in Selamsız.<ref name="acikbilim.yok.gov.tr"/>

==Groups of Turkish Romanlar== ===Yerli and Çerge generic term === The majority of the Romani people in Turkey live in Eastern Thrace, mostly in the Kırklareli Province, they are divided into two main groups, the sedentary Yerli and the semi-nomadic Çerge. There are several subgroups of both, named after their old professions which they once practiced or which they still do in part, as example: the Sepetçiler (Basketmaker's), Çiçekçi (Flower seller), Cambazı (Horse trader), Ayıcılar (Bear-leader's), Demirci (Blacksmith), Çiçekçi (Flower seller), Sünnetçi (Circumciser), Subaşı (Water carrier), Kuyumcu (Goldsmith), Kalaycı (Tinsmith), Şarkıcı (Singer), Müzisyen (Musician), Elekçiler (Sieve maker's), Bohçacı (Bundler), Arabacı (Coachman), Katırcıları (Muleteer's), etc. However, mostly all of the different Romani groups today are Working poor in a wide variety of jobs. The Yerli and the Çerge, live together in the Mahalla, but they don't like each other. The Yerli speak only Turkish as their mother tongue, while the Çerge speak Turkish and Rumelian Romani.<ref>[https://humstatic.uchicago.edu/slavic/archived/papers/Friedman-OldestBalkRmiw-BDankoff.pdf The Earliest Text in Balkan (Rumelian) Romani: A Passage from Evliya Çelebi's Seyahatnamesi]</ref> Although both groups are Muslims, the Yerli look down on the Çerge, and consider them savage, uncivilized and keep their distance from them. Interestingly, the Yerli call themselves Romanlar, while they call the Çerge ''Çingeneler''. The Yerli consider the Çerge to have once come from the Balkans to Eastern Thrace.<ref>[https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/751137 Kırklarelinde yaşayan yerli Romanların sosyal kimlik algıları ile ilgili saha araştırması]</ref>

===Sepetçi subgroup=== Since Ottoman Empire, the Muslim basket weavers Romanlar were very respected alongside Roma musicians. Because those Romani people, who became Muslims after the conquest of Istanbul at 1453, set up the mehter band of the Ottoman military band and the best and richest basket makers of Istanbul came from Sulukule. The Basketmakers' Kiosk was also built in their honor, where the basket makers guild was based.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://educalingo.com/de/dic-tr/sepetcilik|title =Sepetçilik - Definition und Synonyme von sepetçilik im Wörterbuch Türkisch}}</ref> In East Thrace, the European part of turkey, in the Kırklareli Province, they are the Sepetçi Romanlar (Basket-weaver Roma), who are still doing their old job today and The Sepetçi Association was established in the Vize district of Kırklareli.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ogunhaber.com/amp/yerel/vizede-sepetci-romanlari-dernegi-acilisina-ilgi-264065h.html|title=Vize'de Sepetçi Romanları Derneği açılışına ilgi|language=Turkish}}</ref> Also in In Keşan, a special cooperative was established by Sepetçi women.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Keşan Sepetçi Kadın Girişimi Üretim ve İşletme Kooperatifi ile ilgili tüm haberleri ve son dakika gelişmeleri|url=https://edirnesonhaber.com/haberleri/kesan-sepetci-kadin-girisimi-uretim-ve-isletme-kooperatifi/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211224143353/https://edirnesonhaber.com/haberleri/kesan-sepetci-kadin-girisimi-uretim-ve-isletme-kooperatifi/|archive-date=24 December 2021|access-date=18 January 2022|website=Edirnesonhaber.com}}</ref> At Evreşe in Gelibolu they are a Group of Sepečides whose Nomad Ancestor's once came from Thessaloniki/Selanik in Greece, still weave Baskets.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/yasam/sepetciler-ata-meslegini-devam-ettirme-cabasinda/906224|title = Sepetçiler ata mesleğini devam ettirme çabasında|language=Turkish}}</ref> In other parts in Turkey, live descendants of the Sepečides, especially in İzmir, who once came from Thessaloniki/Selanik in Greece in 1923, some of them still speak Sepečides Romani but the majority speak Turkish.<ref name="rombase">{{Cite web |url=http://rombase.uni-graz.at/cd/data/ethn/groupsat/data/sepecides.en.pdf |title=Data on ethnic groups |access-date=17 June 2022 |archive-date=2 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211202193940/http://rombase.uni-graz.at/cd/data/ethn/groupsat/data/sepecides.en.pdf }}</ref>

===Ayjides subgroup=== The Ayjides or Ayıcı are former bear-leaders who held tame bears until the 1990s.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.romarchive.eu/en/terms/ayjides/ | title=Ayjides }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.dailysabah.com/life/environment/et-tu-brutus-last-dancing-bear-in-turkey-dies-in-shelter | title=Et tu, 'Brütüs': Last dancing bear in Turkey dies in shelter | website=Daily Sabah | date=27 November 2021 }}</ref>

==Romani heritage== Through the World Romani Congress and contact with other Romani groups of different countries, the interest in their own Romani heritage and language was awakened among the Romanlar in Turkey.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.dailysabah.com/turkey/2016/05/03/roma-living-in-turkeys-southern-mersin-province-publish-first-roma-turkish-dictionary | title=Roma living in Turkey's southern Mersin province publish first Roma-Turkish dictionary | website=Daily Sabah | date=3 May 2016 }}</ref><ref>[https://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/1252683/index.pdf A case study of gypsy/Roma identity construction in Edirne]</ref> Only a few Romanlar in East Thrace use Sedentary Rumelian Romani dialect at Home together,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://romani.humanities.manchester.ac.uk/interactive/sampler/tr902.html|title=Rumelian Sedentary: Dialect Sampler, Romani Dialects Interactive - ROMANI Project Manchester|access-date=12 December 2021|archive-date=16 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221016110010/https://romani.humanities.manchester.ac.uk/interactive/sampler/tr902.html}}</ref> also the Sepečides Romani language in İzmir are nearly lost.<ref name=rombase/>

== Gallery == <gallery mode="packed" heights="100px" widths="100px"> Smyrne Group of Gypsy.jpg|Postcard of a Muslim Romani Men with his 8 Wives and 10 Children, in front of their tent in Smyrna (today İzmir) in 1903 Samsunlu bir ayı oynatıcısı.jpg|A dancing bear around 1970 in Samsun. His holder beats the frame drum Def. Romanlar (Istanbul).JPG|Romani in Istanbul in 2008 Kakava2015 (25).JPG|Kakava celebration at Edirne in 2015 File:Kakava2015 (23).JPG|Romani men of Turkey Children Ortakoy 1563.jpg|Children in Ortaköy in Istanbul, 2000 </gallery>

== Notable Turkish people of Romani heritage ==

*Mustafa Kandıralı (1930 – 2020), clarinetist *Selim Sesler (1957 – 2014), clarinet virtuoso *Kibariye (b. 1960), Arabesque-pop singer<ref>{{cite web|url=http://arsiv.sabah.com.tr/2006/10/15/gny/mag106-20061015-200.html|title=SABAH - 15/10/2006 - Anamı ağlattılar 'pis çingene' dediler|website=arsiv.sabah.com.tr}}</ref> *Ankaralı Turgut (1963 – 2024), musician *Rafet el Roman (b. 1968), singer<ref>{{cite book|last=Buchanan|first=Donna Anne|title=Balkan popular culture and the Ottoman ecumene: music, image, and regional political discourse|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E6FYiC_XjgoC&pg=PA318|access-date=July 18, 2010|date=October 2007|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-0-8108-6021-6|page=318}}</ref> *Sibel Can (b. 1970), singer and actress *Hüsnü Şenlendirici (b. 1976), musician *Özcan Purçu (b. 1977), politician *Cemal Bekle (b. 1978), politician<ref>{{Cite web|title=AK Partili Bekle’den 'Roman' açıklamaları... Artık ben buradayım diyebiliyorlar|url=https://www.gundemebakis.com/ak-partili-bekleden-roman-aciklamalari-artik-ben-buradayim-diyebiliyorlar|date=2025-11-06|access-date=2026-03-20|website=gundemebakis.com|language=tr}}</ref> *Didem (b. 1986), belly dancer, model and singer<ref>{{Cite web|title=Didem Kınalı kimdir?|url=https://www.haberturk.com/didem-kinali-kimdir-didem-kinali-kac-yasinda-nereli-2341726-magazin|access-date=2021-08-07|website=hthayat.haberturk.com|language=tr}}</ref>

==See also== {{Portal|Turkey}} * Minorities in Turkey * Abdal of Turkey * Muslim Roma * Turkish Roma

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons category-inline|Romani people in Turkey}} * [http://www.coe.int/t/e/human_rights/ecri/1%2Decri/2%2Dcountry%2Dby%2Dcountry_approach/turkey/turkey_cbc_3.asp#P371_56422 Council of Europe, report about the Roma in Turkey] *[https://minorityrights.org/minorities/roma-19/ Roma - Minority Rights Group]

{{Demographics of Turkey}} {{Romani diaspora}} {{Asia topic |Romani people in}} {{Europe topic |Romani people in}} {{Authority control}}

Category:Romani in Turkey