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used to have a huge Christian minority and 
used to have a huge Muslim minority. After tensions reached an all time high, Muslims had to leave
and Christians shad to leave I’ve often talked about the
refugees from but what about the refugees from ?
Before I start I need to address something.
According to Greek sources, the Cretan Turks were considered to be Greeks who converted to Islam with a minority of ethnic Turks that lived amongst them.
According to Turkish sources it’s the opposite.
You can research yourself.
According to Greek sources, the Cretan Turks were considered to be Greeks who converted to Islam with a minority of ethnic Turks that lived amongst them.
According to Turkish sources it’s the opposite.
You can research yourself.
Conversion / immigration began around 1669 and by the 18th century it is estimated around a 30% to 47% of the island of Crete was Muslim.
Again whether they were majority Turkish Muslims or Greek Muslims or a mix of both is up for debate.
Again whether they were majority Turkish Muslims or Greek Muslims or a mix of both is up for debate.
Tensions between the Christian and Muslims populations of Crete began in the 18th century during the war of independence. The populations which had lived together in relative peace fell victim to the rise of Greek VS Turk rhetoric and the 2 populations began fighting
Now this wasn’t a sudden bloody war. It was sporadic. The communities still worked together and lived together but as usual, there were extremists on both sides who no longer saw a komsu but an enemy. Many people were caught in the middle
The Cretan Turks began to leave in the 19th century and all left during the population exchange of 1922.
As the Greek refugees from Asia Minor (Turkey) had to relocate to Greece, the Turkish refugees from Crete had to relocate to Turkey (some went to Egypt, Lebanon and Syria)
As the Greek refugees from Asia Minor (Turkey) had to relocate to Greece, the Turkish refugees from Crete had to relocate to Turkey (some went to Egypt, Lebanon and Syria)
Many Cretan Turks in the Aegean region of Turkey, Syria and Lebanon still speak their dialect of Greek.
In fact there was a story about Syrian refugees who fled to Greece during the war and went to Crete because their family was originally Cretan Turks
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/stories-44242621
In fact there was a story about Syrian refugees who fled to Greece during the war and went to Crete because their family was originally Cretan Turks
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/stories-44242621
The Greek refugees from Asia Minor and the Cretan Turks (as well as other Greek Muslims) were all victims of a very cruel agreement by governments that uprooted people from their homes and left generational trauma for future generations to deal with
