| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| Languages | |
| Religion | |
| Sunni Islam |
| Part ofa series of articles on |
| Turkish people |
|---|
 |
Traditional Areas of Turkish Settlement Turkish majorities: Turkish minorities in the Balkans: Turkish minorities in the Caucasus:
Turkish minorities in the Levant: Turkish minorities in North Africa: Other Turkish minorities:
Turkish diasporas in the Americas: Turkish diasporas in Central Asia: Turkish diasporas in Oceania: Other Turkish diasporas: |
TheTurks in Libya, also commonly referred to asLibyan Turks,Turco-Libyans, andTurkish-Libyans (Arabic: كراغلة) are the ethnicTurks who live inLibya.
DuringOttoman rule in Libya (1551–1912), Turkish settlers began to migrate to the region from across the empire. A significant number of Turks intermarried with the native population, and the male offspring of these marriages were referred to asKouloughlis.
When theOttoman Empire conqueredLibya in 1551 theTurks began migrating to the region mostly fromAnatolia, including merchants and families. In addition, many Turkish soldiers marriedLibyan women and their children were known as the "Kouloughlis" (also referred to as the "Cologhla", "Qulaughli" and "Cologhli").[1]
Today there are still Libyans who regard their ethnicity asTurkish, or acknowledge their descent from Turkish soldiers who settled in the area during the Ottoman rule.[2] Indeed, many families in Libya can trace their origins through their surnames. It is very common for families to have surnames that belong to the region ofTurkey that their ancestors migrated from; for example, Tokatlı, Eskişehirli, Muğlalı, and İzmirli are very common surnames.[3][4]
BeforeWorld War II, the Kouloughlis were estimated at 35,000, of which 30,000 along the Tripolitanian coast.[1]
The distribution of theTurk-Berbers, according to the 1936 census:
| Administrative division | Turk-Berbers (1936 census)[5] | % of Libya's total population[5] |
|---|---|---|
| Province of Misurata | 24,820 | 11.6% |
| Province of Tripoli | 5,848 | 1.7% |
| Libyan Sahara | 3,341 | 6.9% |
| Province of Derna | 730 | 1.8% |
| Province of Benghazi | 323 | 0.3% |
| Libya, Total | 35,062 | 4.7% |
Initially, modern Turkish labour migration has traditionally been toEuropean countries within the context of bilateral agreements; however, a significant wave of migration also occurred in oil-rich nations like Libya and Saudi Arabia.[6][7][8]
During Abd al-Salam Jallud's visit toTurkey in January 1975, a ‘breakthrough collaboration agreement’ was signed which involved sending 10,000 skilled Turkish workers to Libya, in order to expand the country's oil-rich economy.[9] This agreement also included a Libyan commitment to supply crude oil to Turkey ‘at preferential rates’ and to establish a Turkish–Libyan Bank. By August 1975, Libya announced its desire ‘to absorb up to 100,000 Turkish workers annually’.[9]
The Libyan–Turkish economic ties increased significantly with the number of Turkish construction companies operating in Libya in 1978–81 rising from 2 to 60, and by 1984, to 150.[10] Moreover, in 1984, the number of Turkish "guest workers" in Libya increased to 120,000.[10]
There is a significant Turkish community living in the north-west of Libya. For example, many Turks settled inMisrata during the reign ofAbdul Hamid II in the nineteenth century.[11][12]
In 1971 the population of Turks with roots from the island ofCrete alone numbered 100,000.[13] In 2014, Ali Hammuda, who served as the Minister of Foundations and Religious Affairs of Libya, claimed that the Turkish minority forms 15% of Libya's total population.[14] More recent estimates in 2019 suggest that the total Turkish population in Libya is around 1.4 million,[15] or that more than one in four Libyans (i.e. 25% of the country's population) have Turkish ancestry.[16][17]
The city ofMisrata is considered to be the "main center of the Turkish-origin community in Libya";[18] in total, the Turks form approximately two-thirds (est.270,000[19]) of Misrata's 400,000 inhabitants.[19][20] There is also a thriving Turkish population inTripoli.[21] Turkish communities have also been formed in more remote areas of the country, such as the Turkish neighborhood of Hay al-Atrak, in the town ofAwbari.[22]
There is a significant Libyan-Turkish community living inTurkey where they are still referred to as "Libyan Turks".[15]
As a result of four centuries ofOttoman rule in Libya, the Turks left some of their cultural imprints in the region, particularly their language, food, and costumes.[23] In addition, some of the mosques and castles they built remain intact.[24]
In cities where there are significant Turkish communities, theTurkish language has traditionally thrived; however, today Turkish is more prevalent with the elderly whilst the younger generations speakArabic.[23] Even so, many words of Turkish origin have enteredLibyan Arabic, especially in the old city of Tripoli.[23]
TheOttomanTurks brought with them the teaching of theHanafi School ofIslam during theOttoman rule of Libya which still survives among the Turkish descended families today. Examples of Ottoman-Turkish mosques include:
.jpg)
 | This sectionmay containoriginal research. this list of so-called "notable Turks" contains people or may or may not have some distant Turkish origin Pleaseimprove it byverifying the claims made and addinginline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed.(August 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Bugun2 was invoked but never defined (see thehelp page).AA2 was invoked but never defined (see thehelp page).Tastekin2 was invoked but never defined (see thehelp page).Almeno un libico su quattro in Libia ha origini turche...
La Turchia peraltro può vantare in Livia una numerosa comunità dei "Koroglu" (i libici di discendenza turca) che conterrebbe ben 1,4 milioni di individui, concentrati soprattutto a Misurata, la "città-Stato" situata circa 180 chilometri a est di Tripoli: praticamente meno un libico su quattro in Libia ha origini turche.
... Misurata (centro principale della comunità di origine turca in Libia e città-chiave nella determinazione dei nuovi equilibri di potere nel Paese)
Chi conosce appena la situazione demografica di quella parte di Libia sa che Misurata con i suoi 270.000 abitanti (su 400.000) di origine turca e tuttora turcofoni non perderà mai il sostegno di Ankara e non cesserà un attimo di resistere, con o senza Sarraj.