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Secret Report Of Ottoman Empire About Gypsies 07/12/2011

Atlas Tarih magazine published a secret report prepared by Said Bey, who was an ottoman turkish and french teacher in Serez Lycea, about Gypsies for Sultan Abdülhamid. There are important knowledges about Gypsies in Ottoman Empire in the report in which goverment policy of Ottoman empire about Gypsies is being discussed by Said Bey.

It's said in the report that historical name of Gypsies is Kıpti and popular name of Gypsies is Çingene (tsigani-Çıgany). Said Bey thinked in the way because the word Kıpti was used to define Gypsies besides Çingene in Ottoman official documents. The word Kıpti was used by Byzantium Empire in the form of Agupti before Ottomans. The word Kıpti spreaded among western languages and finally started to be used in the form of Gypsy in English.

"Cin-Gan" superstition which have been so popular among non-Gypsy society is also explained in the report. Said Bey evaluated the slander claiming Gypsies are direct descendance of Cin and Gan who have encest relationship and cursed by the God with those words: "This legend is out of humanity and out of Islam. We have to change this subhuman mentality." It's a terrible shame that "Cin-Gan" superstition is still alive among non-Gypsies today altough Said Bey suggested goverment to extinguish it 120 years ago.

There are also some demographic knowledges in the report. There was 35000 Gypsies in Salonica at that time according to the report. It's said that total population of Ottoman Gypsies is close to 500.000 in the report.

Said bey introduces that it was a wrong policy to classify muslim Gypsies as "Kıpti Muslim" in their idenfication cards although jewish or christian people with non-Gypsy origin were classified as only "Muslim" in their identification cards when they become Muslim.

It's claimed in the news of Atlas Tarih magazine that the report was accepted by the government and started to be used partially. Nomadic Gypsies were forced to settle in jerusalem, Kalkandelen, Drama, Salonica, Plovdiv, Lüleburgaz, Ankara in the context of new Gypsy policy planned according to the report. On the other hand, slums in where Gypsies were living in Beyoğlu and Büyükdere districts of İstanbul were forbidden to be built. Although the report was considered when the new Gypsy policy of ottoman empire was prepared, Gypsies were classified as Kıpti citizens for a long time after the report.

There is an other strange knowledge in the news that one of the first woman surgeons of Ottoman Empire named Saliha Hanım was a Gypsy from Üsküdar. She used her house as a hospital to cure patients.

Source: Atlas Tarih, December 2011