Turks in Saudi Arabia

Ethnic group

Turks in Saudi Arabia

A group of Turkish pilgrims at Jabal Thawr to perform umrah

Total population

Turkish Arabian minority (i.e. Ottoman descendants only):
150,000 (1993 est.)[1]
Modern-day Turkish immigrants:
120,000-200,000[2][3][4]

Regions with significant populations
Riyadh, Jeddah, Mecca
Languages

* Turkish
* Arabic

Religion
Sunni Islam
Related ethnic groups
Turkish diaspora
Part of a series of articles on

Turkish people

People

* List of Turkish people

Population

Traditional Areas of Turkish Settlement

Turkish majorities:

* Turkey
* Northern Cyprus

* Turkish minorities in the Balkans:

* Bosnia
* Bulgaria
* Croatia
* Greece
* Kosovo
* Montenegro
* North Macedonia
* Romania
* Serbia

* Turkish minorities in the Caucasus:

* Azerbaijan
* Georgia (Abkhazia and Meskhetia)

* Turkish minorities in the Levant:

* Iraq
* Israel
* Jordan
* Lebanon
* Syria

* Turkish minorities in North Africa:

* Algeria
* Egypt
* Libya
* Tunisia

* Other Turkish minorities:

* Hungary
* Saudi Arabia
* Yemen

* Modern Turkish diasporas

* Turkish diasporas in Europe:

* Austria
* Belgium
* Denmark
* Finland
* France
* Germany
* Ireland
* Italy
* Liechtenstein
* Netherlands
* Norway
* Poland
* Russia
* Spain
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* Ukraine
* United Kingdom

* Turkish diasporas in the Americas:

* Canada
* Mexico
* United States

* Turkish diasporas in Central Asia:

* Kazakhstan
* Kyrgyzstan
* Turkmenistan
* Uzbekistan

* Turkish diasporas in Oceania:

* Australia
* New Zealand

* Other Turkish diasporas:

* Japan
* Kuwait
* Pakistan
* Qatar
* South Africa
* United Arab Emirates

History

* Prehistory of Anatolia
* Prehistory of Eastern Thrace
* Classical Anatolia
* Byzantine Anatolia
* The Seljuqs
* Anatolian beyliks
* Ottoman Empire
* Republic of Turkey

Culture

* Architecture
* Art
* Carpets
* Cinema
* Cuisine
* Culture of the Ottoman Empire
* Dance
* Festivals
* Folklore
* Literature
* Miniature
* Music
* Nazar boncuğu
* Public holidays
* Shadow plays
* Sports
* Theatre

Languages

* Turkish
* Cypriot Turkish
* Ottoman Turkish
* Karamanli Turkish
* Old Anatolian Turkish
* Oghuz

* Turkic & Altaic

Religion

* Atatürk's Reforms
* Secularism
* Freedom of religion
* Presidency of Religious Affairs

* Islam (Mosques)
* Christianity
* Judaism
* Bahá'í Faith

* v
* t
* e

Turks in Saudi Arabia also referred to as Turkish Saudi Arabians, Saudi Arabian Turks or Saudi Turks (Turkish: Suudi Arabistan Türkleri, Arabic: الأتراك في السعودية) refers to ethnic Turkish people living in Saudi Arabia. The majority of Arabian Turks descend from Ottoman settlers who arrived in the region during the Ottoman rule of Arabia. Most Ottoman Turkish descendants in Saudi Arabia trace their roots to Anatolia; however, some ethnic Turks also came from the Balkans, Cyprus, the Levant, North Africa and other regions which had significant Turkish communities. In addition to Ottoman settlement policies, Turkish pilgrims to Mecca and Medina often settled down in the area permanently.

There has also been modern migration to Saudi Arabia from the Republic of Turkey as well as other modern nation-states which were once part of the Ottoman Empire.

## History

[edit]

### Ottoman Turkish migration

[edit]

Turks have had a presence in the western Arabian peninsula for hundreds of years, culminating in the Ottoman conquest of the Hejaz in 1517. After the Great Arab Revolt and the decline of the Ottoman Empire, a Turkish minority remained in the newly founded Saudi Kingdom.

### Modern Turkish migration

[edit]

Starting in the 1970s, economic relations between Turkey and Saudi Arabia grew.[5] In 1977, there was 6,500 Turks in Saudi Arabia, 5,000 of which were officially reported workers.[6][7][8][9]

Emigration of Turkish workers to Saudi Arabia[10][11]

Year  | Population
1961–1973 | 4
1974–1980 | 26,739
1981–2023 | 986,754
1991–1995 | 150,654
2000-2023 | 925,789

## Business

[edit]

As per argaam, Turkish nationals workers were around 25,000 people, which represents around 0.20% of total population. There are some 8,100 Turkish-operated hairdresser shops, 4,200 restaurants, and 2,900 furniture stores in Saudi Arabia.[12]

## Politics

[edit]

During the 2017 Turkish constitutional referendum, more than 8,000 Turkish expats from Saudi Arabia cast votes whether Turkey should abolish its parliamentary system and become a presidential republic.[13] 58.34% of the Turkish expatriates in Saudi Arabia opted for "No", while 41.66% voted for "Yes". The yes vote was concentrated in Jeddah and the Western Region, while in Riyadh no was the dominant choice. The no vote was significantly higher compared to votes of several European Turkish expat communities.[14]

## Notable people

[edit]

* Kamal Adham, businessman
* Iffat Al-Thunayan, princess and the most prominent wife of King Faisal
* children:
* Princess Sara, activist for women and children welfare
* Prince Mohammed, businessman
* Princess Latifa
* Prince Saud, served as Saudi Arabia's foreign minister from 1975 to 2015
* Prince Abdul Rahman, military officer and businessman
* Prince Bandar, military officer
* Prince Turki, chairman of King Faisal Foundation's Center for Research and Islamic Studies
* Princess Lolowah, prominent activist for women's education
* Princess Haifa
* grandchildren:
* Amr bin Mohammed Al Saud, businessman
* Reem Al Faisal, photographer
* Faisal bin Turki Al Faisal Al Saud
* Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal, racing driver and businessman
* Reema bint Bandar Al Saud, Saudi Arabian ambassador to the United States
* Khalid bin Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud, Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the United Kingdom
* Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud, president of the Saudi Arabian Federation for Electronic and Intellectual Sports (SAFEIS) and the Arab eSports Federation
* Fatima Al-Banawi, is a Saudi Arabian filmmaker and actress
* Omar Basaad, music producer
* Muhammad Khashoggi, medical doctor
* children:
* Adnan Khashoggi, businessman
* Samira Khashoggi, author and the owner and editor-in chief of Alsharkiah magazine
* Soheir Khashoggi, novelist
* grandchildren
* Dodi Fayed, film producer
* Emad Khashoggi, businessman and the head of COGEMAD
* Jamal Khashoggi, general manager and editor-in-chief of Al-Arab News Channel
* Nabila Khashoggi, businesswoman, actress, and philanthropist

## See also

[edit]

* Saudi Arabia portal
* Turkey portal

* Saudi Arabia – Turkey relations
* Turkish minorities in the former Ottoman Empire
* Turks in the Arab world
* Arabs in Turkey

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Akar, Metin (1993), "Fas Arapçasında Osmanlı Türkçesinden Alınmış Kelimeler", Türklük Araştırmaları Dergisi, 7: 94–95
2. ^ Harzig, Juteau & Schmitt 2006, 67
3. ^ Koslowski 2004, 41.
4. ^ Karpat 2004, 12.
5. ^ Fuller 2008, 125.
6. ^ Hale 1981, 249.
7. ^ Sirageldin 2003, 236.
8. ^ Jung & Piccoli 2001, 140.
9. ^ Unan 2009, 43.
10. ^ Papademetriou & Martin 1991, 120.
11. ^ Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 1997, 165.
12. ^ Ergener 2002, 76.
13. ^ "More than 1 million Turkish expats vote in charter referendum - Turkey News". Hürriyet Daily News. 10 April 2017. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
14. ^ "Referendum divides Turkish expats". Saudigazette. 2017-04-18. Retrieved 2021-03-01.

## Bibliography

[edit]

* Ergener, Reşit (2002), About Turkey: Geography, Economy, Politics, Religion, and Culture, Pilgrims Process, ISBN 0-9710609-6-7.
* Fuller, Graham E. (2008), The new Turkish republic: Turkey as a pivotal state in the Muslim world, US Institute of Peace Press, ISBN 978-1-60127-019-1.
* Hale, William M. (1981), The Political and Economic Development of modern Turkey, Taylor & Francis, ISBN 0-7099-0014-7.
* Harzig, Christiane; Juteau, Danielle; Schmitt, Irina (2006), The Social Construction of Diversity: Recasting the Master Narrative of Industrial Nations, Berghahn Books, ISBN 1-57181-376-4.
* Jung, Dietrich; Piccoli, Wolfango (2001), Turkey at the Crossroads: Ottoman Legacies and a Greater Middle East, Zed Books, ISBN 1-85649-867-0.
* Karpat, Kemal H. (2004), Studies on Turkish Politics and Society: Selected Articles and Essays:Volume 94 of Social, economic, and political studies of the Middle East, BRILL, ISBN 90-04-13322-4.
* Koslowski, Rey (2004), Intnl Migration and Globalization Domestic Politics, Taylor & Francis, ISBN 0-203-48837-7.
* Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (1997), Trends in International Migration: Continuous Reporting System on Migration: Annual Report 1996, OECD Publishing, ISBN 92-64-15508-2.
* Papademetriou, Demetrios G.; Martin, Philip L. (1991), The Unsettled Relationship: Labor Migration and Economic Development, Greenwood Publishing Group, ISBN 0-313-25463-X.
* Sirageldin, Ismail Abdel-Hamid (2003), Human Capital: Population Economics in the Middle East, American University in Cairo Press, ISBN 977-424-711-6.
* Unan, Elif (2009), MICROECONOMIC DETERMINANTS OF TURKISH WORKERS REMITTANCES: SURVEY RESULTS FOR FRANCE-TURKEY (PDF), Galatasaray University

* v
* t
* e

Immigration to Saudi Arabia

From Asia|

* Bangladeshis
* Filipinos
* Indians
* Indonesians
* Iraqis
* Koreans
* Lebanese
* Nepalis
* Pakistanis
* Syrians
* Turks

From elsewhere|

* Americans
* Australians

See also|

* Kafala system
* Human trafficking
* Demographics
* Foreign workers

* v
* t
* e

Demographics of Saudi Arabia

Religions|

* Islam
* Sunni
* Shia
* Ahmadiyya
* Christianity
* Catholicism
* Eastern Orthodoxy
* Oriental Orthodoxy
* Protestantism
* Jews
* Hinduism
* Buddhism

Ethnic groups|

* Arabs
* Bedoon
* Bedouin
* Rashaida

Immigrants and expatriates|

* v
* t
* e

Immigration to Saudi Arabia

From Asia|

* Bangladeshis
* Filipinos
* Indians
* Indonesians
* Iraqis
* Koreans
* Lebanese
* Nepalis
* Pakistanis
* Syrians
* Turks

From elsewhere|

* Americans
* Australians

See also|

* Kafala system
* Human trafficking
* Demographics
* Foreign workers

Related|

* Youth

* v
* t
* e

Turkish people by country

Traditional areas of
Turkish settlement|

| Turkish majorities:|

Turkey (Muhacirs), Northern Cyprus (Turkish Cypriot diaspora, Mainland Turks)

|

Turkish minorities
in the Balkans:|

* Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Bulgaria
* Croatia
* Greece
* Crete
* Dodecanese
* Western Thrace
* Kosovo
* North Macedonia
* Montenegro
* Romania
* Serbia

Turkish minorities
in the Caucasus:|

* Azerbaijan
* Georgia
* Abkhazia
* Meskhetia

Turkish minorities
in the Levant:|

* Iraq
* Turkmeneli
* Israel
* Jews
* Jordan
* Lebanon
* Palestine
* Syria
* Turkmen Mountain

Turkish minorities
in North Africa:|

* Algeria
* Kouloughlis
* Egypt
* Libya
* Tunisia

Other regions|

* Saudi Arabia
* Yemen

Diaspora in Africa|

South Africa

Diaspora in Europe|

* Austria
* Belgium
* Czech Republic
* Denmark
* Finland
* France
* Germany
* Berlin
* Hungary
* Ireland
* Italy
* Liechtenstein
* Netherlands
* Norway
* Poland
* Portugal
* Spain
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* United Kingdom
* London

Diaspora in North America|

* Canada
* Mexico
* United States
* South Carolina

Diaspora in the Persian Gulf|

* Kuwait
* Qatar
* United Arab Emirates

Diaspora in Oceania|

* Australia
* New Zealand

Diaspora in South America|

* Argentina
* Brazil
* Venezuela

Diaspora in South Asia|

* Afghanistan
* India
* Pakistan

Diaspora in East Asia|

* China
* Japan

Diaspora in Post-Soviet States|

* Azerbaijan
* Kazakhstan
* Kyrgyzstan
* Russia
* Turkmenistan
* Ukraine
* Uzbekistan

Turkophobia|

* Persecution of Muslims during Ottoman contraction
* Exodus of Muslims from Serbia (1862)
* Kirkuk Massacre of 1924
* 1944 Deportation of the Meskhetian Turks
* Gavurbağı massacre
* Exodus of Turks from Bulgaria (1950-1951)
* 1956–1989 Assimilation of Bulgarian Turks
* 1959 Kirkuk massacre
* Bloody Christmas (1963)
* Akritas plan
* Afrikaanderwijk riots
* Revival Process
* Tochni massacre
* Maratha, Santalaris and Aloda massacre
* Turkish diplomats assassinated by Armenian militant organisations
* Assassination of Taha Carım
* Assassination of Orhan Gündüz
* Assassination of Erkut Akbay
* Assassination of Galip Balkar
* 1983 Orly Airport attack
* 1989 Fergana massacre
* 1990 Komotini events
* 1991 Altun Kupri massacre
* 1993 Solingen arson attack
* National Socialist Underground murders
* Murder of Enver Şimşek
* 2004 Cologne bombing
* Banya Bashi Mosque clashes
* Iraqi Turkmen genocide

See also|

* Turkish communities and minorities in the former Ottoman Empire
* Turkish population
* Turks in Europe
* Turks in the Arab world
* Kouloughlis
* Turks in the Balkans
* Turks in the former Soviet Union
* Turkish diaspora

Portals:

* Turkey
* Saudi Arabia

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