Oghuz branch
Turkish Cypriots
The Turkish-speaking community of Cyprus, whose presence on the island dates from the Ottoman conquest of 1570–1571.
Kıbrıslı Türkler / Kıbrıs Türkleri
Turkish Cypriots are one of the two main communities of Cyprus. Their presence on the island dates from the Ottoman conquest of 1570–1571, after which settlers from Anatolia were brought to Cyprus; over the following centuries they lived in towns and villages across the island alongside Greek Cypriots. Their speech, Cypriot Turkish, belongs to the Oghuz branch and has distinctive local features.
Cyprus came under British administration in 1878 and became an independent republic on 16 August 1960, under a constitution that provided for power-sharing between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities. After intercommunal violence in 1963–1964, the UN Security Council established the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) in March 1964. The island has been divided since 1974, and UN-facilitated talks on its future continue.
Bicommunal initiatives — among them the Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage, created under a UN-facilitated agreement of 2008 — work on the conservation of monuments of both communities across the island. Many Turkish Cypriots also live in Türkiye, the United Kingdom and Australia.
- Language
- Cypriot Turkish, an Oghuz variety of Turkish with distinctive local features
- Branch
- Oghuz
- Homeland
- The island of Cyprus
- Also living in
- Türkiye, the United Kingdom, Australia and wider diaspora
Key dates
1570–1571
Ottoman conquest of Cyprus; settlers from Anatolia are brought to the island.
1878
Under the Cyprus Convention, the island passes to British administration.
16 August 1960
Cyprus becomes independent, with a constitution providing for power-sharing between the two communities.
March 1964
Following intercommunal violence, UN Security Council Resolution 186 establishes the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus.
1974 onward
The island is divided; UN-facilitated talks between the two communities continue.
Heritage
- Ottoman monuments of Nicosia, including the Selimiye Mosque (the former Cathedral of Saint Sophia, converted in 1570) and the Büyük Han caravanserai (1572)
- Cypriot Turkish speech, folk song and dance
- Hellim (halloumi), a cheese-making tradition shared across the island
Sources
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Cyprus”
- R. C. Jennings, Christians and Muslims in Ottoman Cyprus and the Mediterranean World, 1571–1640 (New York University Press, 1993)
- United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), unficyp.unmissions.org