Afro-Turks. Afro Turks are people of Zanj (Bantu) descent in Turkey.
Like the Afro-Abkhazians, they trace their origin to the Ottoman slave trade. History[edit] Beginning several centuries ago, a number of Africans, usually via Zanzibar as Zanj and from places such as Niger, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Kenya and Sudan,[1] came to the Ottoman Empire settled by the Dalaman, Menderes and Gediz valleys, Manavgat, and Çukurova. African quarters of 19th-century İzmir, including Sabırtaşı, Dolapkuyu, Tamaşalık, İkiçeşmelik, and Ballıkuyu, are mentioned in contemporary records.[2] Some came from Crete following the population exchange between Greece and Turkey in 1923.
Today[edit] Areas with significant populations are in the Aegean Region, especially İzmir, Aydın, and Muğla. Notable Afro-Turks[edit] Arts Sports Literature Mustafa Olpak, writer and activistMine Söğüt, writer and columnist Politics Military See also[edit] Notes[edit] ^ Jump up to: a b c "Turks with African ancestors want their existence to be felt". Ahmet Ali Çelikten. Ahmet Ali Çelikten,[1][2][3] also known as Arap Ahmet Ali[2] or İzmirli Ahmet Ali[1] (born İzmirli Alioğlu Ahmed; 1883–1969), was an Ottoman aviator who may have been the first black military pilot in aviation history[4] and was one of only two black pilots in World War I (the other being Eugene Jacques Bullard).
His grandmother came from Bornu (now in Nigeria) to the Ottoman Empire as a slave.[4][5] Biography[edit] Ahmet born in 1883 in İzmir[6] to his mother Zenciye Emine Hanım and father Ali Bey, of African Turkish descent.[7] He aimed to become a naval sailor and entered the Naval Technical School named Haddehâne Mektebi (literally "School of the Blooming Mill") in 1904.[7] In 1908, he graduated from school as a First Lieutenant (Mülâzım-ı evvel).[7] And then he went to aviation courses in the Naval Flight School (Deniz Tayyare Mektebi) that was formed on 25 June 1914 at Yeşilköy.[1] He was then a member of the Ottoman Air Force. He died in 1969. Afro Iranian. Afro-Iranians (also known as African Iranians) (Persian: ایرانیان آفریقاییتبار) are people of Black African descent residing in Iran.
Most Afro-Iranians are concentrated in Hormozagan, Sistan and Baluchestan and Khuzestan.[1] History[edit] The Indian Ocean slave trade was multi-directional and changed over time. To meet the demand for menial labor, black slaves captured by Arab slave traders were sold in cumulatively large numbers over the centuries to the Persian Gulf, Egypt, Arabia, India, the Far East, the Indian Ocean islands, Ethiopia, and Somalia.[2] Notable Afro-Iranians[edit] See also[edit] Further reading[edit] Mirzai, B. References[edit] Jump up ^ Mirzai, Behnaz. External links[edit] Afro-Iranian Lives (a documentary film by: Behnaz Mirzai)