Frances Trix is Professor of Linguistics and Anthropology at Indiana University. She has published numerous books and edited collections, including Albanians in Michigan (2001) and The Sufi Journey of Baba Rexheb (2009).
A beautifully written, lively, detailed discussion of the history of Balkan migrants in Istanbul. It is thorough, well documented, has a historical and contemporary perspective, and people in the story come out as real people. There is no such book like it on the topic.
Esra zyrek, Associate Professor and Chair for Contemporary Turkish Studies at the European Institute, London School of Economics
Gracefully and very accessibly written, highly scholarly, ethically and personally engaged without sentimentalizing its subject.
Margaret Mills, Professor Emerita, Ohio State University
The arrival in Istanbul of a train of Rumeli Turk refugees from the war in the Balkans, 1878
URBAN MUSLIM
MIGRANTS IN
ISTANBUL
Identity and Trauma Among Balkan Immigrants
F RANCES T RIX
Published in 2017 by
I.B.Tauris & Co. Ltd
London New York
www.ibtauris.com
Copyright 2017 Frances Trix
The right of Frances Trix to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or any part thereof, may not be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Every attempt has been made to gain permission for the use of the images in this book. Any omissions will be rectified in future editions.
References to websites were correct at the time of writing.
Library of Modern Turkey 24
ISBN: 978 1 78453 609 1
eISBN: 978 1 78672 108 2
ePDF: 978 1 78673 108 1
A full CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
A full CIP record is available from the Library of Congress
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: available
This book is dedicated to my son, Ramsay Ilyas Trix, who accompanied me to weekly meetings with Muslim migrants throughout his childhood, with long stays in Turkey and Kosova;
And to my father, Herbert Phelps Trix (19212003), who stood by me in my study of different languages and peoples in Detroit, the Balkans, and the Middle East.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Frontispiece. The arrival in Istanbul of a train of Rumeli Turk refugees from the war in the Balkans, 1878 (P. Boude, Russes & turcs d'orient, 1878).
Map of forced exile and death of Muslims from the 191213 Balkan Wars (Justin McCarthy, 2010).
Hacer Abla and Hidayet Hanm at the gathering for elders (F. Trix).
Purple tulips (F. Trix).
Sultan Read stepping into the carriage after prayer in Salonika, 1911.
Thousands praying with the Sultan on the battlefield of Kosovo, 1911.
Map of the Ottoman Empire in the Balkans before the First Balkan War, 1911 (Kelley L. Ross, PhD, Freisian.com).
Map of the Ottoman Empire in the Balkans after the First Balkan War, 1912 (Kelley L. Ross, PhD, Freisian.com).
Ottoman map of losses in black in Rumeli in the Balkan Wars.
Famous Ottoman stone bridge of Skopje and city, 1918.
Mukaddes Hanm surrounded by her students in Turkey.
Re-enactment migrants at Sirkeci Station, Istanbul (Kosova Prizrenliler Kltr ve Yardmlama Dernei, Bir Kofer bir Sandk, 2009).
Mosaic of Christ in Kariye Mosque/Chora Church.
Sleymaniye Mosque (photo by John T. Walbridge).
Map of Istanbul.
Vardar Association members with young boys on day of circumcision (photo by Vardarllar Dernei).
Hidayet Hanm with ekerpare (F. Trix).
Musicians playing at the dernek on Saturday afternoon as people sing (F. Trix).
Women's group in dernek with Muala Hanm, head of womens group, and Suna Hanm of dernek staff (F. Trix).
Dernek women putting out new clothing for poor children during Ramadan (F. Trix).
Women in dernek with mevlid chanters (F. Trix).
Preparations at dernek for 40-day mevlid for Hacer Abla (F. Trix).
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
There are so many people in Istanbul and the Balkans whose assistance made this book possible. First and foremost I recognize the people of the Rumeli Trkleri Kltr ve Dayanma Dernei, whose hospitality and generosity with their time and experience was essential. These included, among many others: Necati Aydnolu, Hidayet Ilimsever, Muhterem Tahtaileyen, Mukaddes Atl, Emel Saliholu, Vecihe Emirolu, Zerrin Vardar, Suna Kocaimamolu, and Mualla Eri, the president of the women's group. I also met with and interviewed people from other Balkan migrant associations, including the Prizrenliler, the Kosovallar, the Gostivarllar, and the Pritineliler. I am especially grateful to Ismail zkl of the Prizrenller for his assistance early on in my research and Niyazi Bey of the Pritineliler. I especially acknowledge Hidayet Ilimsever for her special kindness and patience in working with me on Turkish embroidery. Her knowledge of Balkan customs is truly remarkable.
There are also Turkish scholars whose work I built on. Yldrm Aanolu, of the Ottoman National Archives, an expert in history of migration from the Balkans, was a guiding light in my work. For my research in Istanbul, I had a Fulbright Research Fellowship. I gratefully acknowledge the Fulbright Scholarship Organization, the Turkish Fulbright Committee, and Sabanc University for sponsoring me. Professor Leyla Neyzi of Sabanc University, one of the finest anthropologists I know, was also a model to me when I was in Turkey, and I regularly use her work in my classes. I also thank Dr. Erdem ipa, now of the University of Michigan, who first mentioned to me, in 2004, the location of the Prizren migrant association in Istanbul.
I stayed an extra half-year to be in Istanbul for a second Ramadan. For this time I had an appointment at ISAM, the Islamic Research Center in Balarba. I acknowledge the support of Dr. Nuri Tnaz, Dr. Aydn Topalolu, and Hilal Kazan.
In the Balkans I met with people in Skopje and Gostivar in Macedonia and in Prishtine and Prizren in Kosova. Here I gratefully acknowledge Suzana Musli, Ilhami Emin, and Prof. Hivzi Islami of the Kosova Academy of Sciences and Arts.
In writing up my research I was most fortunate to be awarded a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship at the Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC, 201213. I also had a sabbatical from Indiana University for which I am grateful. I received a College Arts & Humanities Institute Research travel grant from Indiana University to do some final work in Skopje.
Behind this was the patience of my husband, Prof. John Walbridge, who came to Turkey, also on a Fulbright, and has seen this project from its early days in Istanbul through to the end. There was also the longstanding support of my son Ramsay, who called me daily during my long weeks and months of writing.
