1st Istanbul International Geography Congress Proceedings Book
Jewish populations in Kırklareli from the past to the present
Aydın Cidan, Kaan KapanThe widespread of the Jewish diaspora across many states in various geographies has attracted the attention of many researchers. Our main subject is the Jewish population that has been living in Kırklareli since the Ottoman Era. It is not known when exactly the Jewish community of Kırklareli was founded, but published materials and other studies indicate that the earliest mention in writing was in the Polish traveler Simeon’s journal in 1608. In our study, the rise and fall of the Jewish population is examined together with the information we gathered about the Jewish population from the Ottoman Era to the early Republic and from the early Republic to the contemporary period, including the sociological, political, and economic factors related to these vicissitudes. In this study, correspondence is examined for information on both the Jewish community and Kırklareli more broadly, and interviews were performed with individuals who could contribute to our study.