The social and cultural life of Ahiska Turks in Turkey (Instance of Erzincan province Üzümlü district)

Ahıska Turkishness, which is a precious part of Turkish culture, is over two thousand years Ahıska Turks has been knowing as a homeland the Ahıska region. As it is located on an important transit route, it has been naturally interacted with different Turkish and other ethnic groups and cultures. However, the claims of a mixed society, which is also part of the ethnic assimilation efforts of these Russians and Georgians, contradict the history of the Ahiska Turkish society with its substantial and spiritual cultural values. Ahıska Turks have experienced many exiles and migrations. Although the geographies they lived due to exile and migration have changed, they have not compromised their own culture. Even leaving cultural heritage to the geographies they go to; they have expanded their culture by making use of the geographies they live in. They learned the languages of the states they belong but they did not allow destruction in their language structures. This study, which examines the social and cultural lives of the Ahıska Turks, was carried out in the Uzumlu district of Erzincan. This study consists of 3 main chapters. In the first chapter, the historical migrations that the people of Ahiska lived until the town of Uzumlu are explained. In the second chapter, social life of Ahiska people in Uzumlu district; In chapter third, their cultural life is examined. Interview, observation and Ahıskalı from the data obtained by document analysis, technical compatibility problems despite living in the district of Uzumlu Turkey, they have accepted Turkey as their homeland; it has been concluded that although they have been exiled and exiled many times, they have been able to reach their traditions until today. Keywords: Ahiska Turks, Migration, Social Life, Cultural Life, Uzumlu