Fertek is a neighbourhood of the city of Niğde in the Niğde Province, Turkey.Mahalle , Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 1 March 2023. Its population is 9,287 (2022). Before the 2013 reorganisation, it was a town (belde).Law No. 6360, Official Gazette, 6 December 2012 . It has a history going back to the 3rd century, starting with the settlement of Karamanlides. The town went through Byzantine, Seljuk, and Ottoman histories.
History In Turkish, Arabic, and Persian, the word "Rum" refers to Rome and the Romans. Thus, the Greeks living in Fertek were referred to as Rum, by the Turks. Rum also implies the continuity of the ancient Roman Empire in the Byzantine millennium, as well as meaning "Romans of Asia Minor". However, the Greeks living in Fertek referred to themselves as "Karamanlides, meaning Greeks of Karaman. Karamanlides. Thus, in this article, the Greek Orthodox community, or Rum, is referred to as Karamanlides.
Early history There is no strong evidence as to when exactly was Fertek settled. From the existence of the "underground city", the beginnings are traced to 3rd and 4th centuries, when the town started as an underground city like the ones in Capadocia to the north. Due to the similarities of the Capadocia settlements, it is assumed that the origins of Fertek is around the same period with the settlement of Karamanlides. Historical structures present clues for other settlements: the Omer Aga Mosque was built in 1669, which indicates that Muslims settled long before that. The main church was built in 1835, thus there must have been a large congregation to have a need and build the church. However, there are no known records indicating any settlements between the early periods, and the 19th century. It is assumed that the Karamanlides who were living in the Capaddocia, subject to persecution of the "aga", ran away to come and settle in Fertek.Fertek (Fertakaina) Tarihine bir bakış 1/Tarih/milliyet blog
Although the name of Fertek has remained unchanged since the Roman and Byzantine periods, it has been called by 8 different variations. During Byzantine period, the name of the town was Fertakaina, Fertaki, or Fertakion. Other names used were Fertekina, Fertaina, Fertikköy, and Bartakina. Among these names, Fertekina and Bartakina are the names given to Fertek by the villagers living in the area. The name Fertakaina is seen in religious sources and educational books. Subsequent to the exchange of Karamanlides and Turkish populations in 1923, the village was officially renamed as Aydınyurt. However, the town kept its original name Fertek; even in official records Fertek was used. Aydinyurt never gained acceptance. It is not known exactly where the name Fertek comes from; there are no reliable sources nor documents referring to its origins. There has been some local hearsay and efforts of etymology to define the source, however none are believed to be conclusive nor definitive.
Since the Byzantine and Ottoman periods, settlements in Fertek are in three regions referred to as the Upper, Lower and Middle regions. Recently a new region has been added mostly by outsiders moving into Fertek, which is around the historic bath.
Departure of The Karamanlides The harmony of the Karamanlides and the locals living together changed when Greeks invaded western Turkey in 1919. Karamanlides celebrated the invasion and frequently expressed that they would soon join their ancestors. The bells of the church in Fertek rang till late hours of the night as part of the celebration. As the counter-offensive by Turks in Sakarya battle ended with Turkish victory, the celebrations ended in Fertek.
After the Independence war and declaration of the Republic of Turkey, Greek population in Turkey was exchanged with the Turkish population in Greece in 1924 Exchange of Greek and Turkish Populations. As a result, the Karamanlides population left Fertek for Greece through the bath (hamam) road in a very sad heart-breaking manner, many crying and against their wishes. Conversely, Turks from the Greek villages of Zelegosdi in Kastoria were moved and settled in Fertek – in fact, the area that they settled is referred to as the "migrant" district.
Descendants of the Karamanlides who left Fertek, occasionally come and visit, where the locals are always pleased to host and meet those who had connections to Fertek.
Regiment in preparation for the Independence War Fertek sent a Regiment to Battle of Sakarya. The captain of this regiment was housed in the current residence of Enver Koc. The bath (hamam) was the training camp and sleeping quarters for the Regiment. After the completing their training in Fertek, the Regiment left for the Sakarya battlefield through the road from (bath) hamam towards the town of Bor, as the people of Fertek cried and prayed for them, knowing many would not return. Several years later, the Karamanlides would leave Fertek taking the same road with the same sadness. It is not known when the regiment reached the battlefield, nor their whereabouts thereafter.
Current trends As with urbanization of many settlements in Turkey, Fertek is on the same trend. The life cycle started as a settlement around the 3rd century as a village. Then Fertek was designated as a township, later became a village again, then a town; now Fertek is a district of Nigde. The Turkish community learned, farming, wine making, raki producing and many other skills from the Karamanlides. But the greatest inheritance of the Turkish community from the Karamanlides were the culture and education. For many years, Fertek produced its own food through farming and vegetation, and was able sustain the needs of its community. As the population could no longer meet its economic needs, they started sending their youngsters to the big cities for higher education. As the number of the educated class increased, they started taking jobs in bigger cities, thus started population departure, and the decline of farming, wine and raki production in Fertek. Due to its proximity to Nigde, great weather, and greenery, new settlers are coming to Fertek. Also, some who had departed earlier are returning to Fertek as they retire. The new population increased the demand for housing, roads, and other amenities that are needed to sustain a community. The fields used for farming and vineyards used to make raki that fed generations are no longer farmed, only to become backyards for the new houses built on them., The paths that donkeys went on turned into highways. Eventually, Fertek has transformed from a "producing" community into a "consuming" one.
Geography Fertek is almost merged with Niğde, the distance between Fertek and Niğde city center is being about . The town is situated at the eastern slopes of the mountains with an altitude of about .
Fertek is a charming town in the middle of the Anatolian steppe, displaying shades of green through its vineyards and gardens. It's like an oasis in the middle of the desert that appeared as a mirage in front of Yusuf, Kerem and Majnun. It is a beautiful residential area surrounded by fruit orchards and vineyards. Many claim that its climate and water rejuvenate people living there. A town that lived through the Roman and Byzantine eras, gave examples of civilized life in the Seljuk-Ottoman era, and preserved its existence until today with its historical artifacts from those periods. It is a town that exposes history with its houses, streets, bridges, bath, church, which is being used as a mosque, holy water, school, fountains, and underground city that bear the characteristics of Byzantine architecture.
Fertek is one of the Cappadocia settlements located in the Niğde plateau leaning on the Melendiz Mountains, between the Taurus Mountains, and Aladağlar. It resembles other settlements in the Cappadocia region. As was the case in Cappadocia, the settlement in Fertek started with small, independent houses carved into the rocks interconnected by tunnels, in the early ages. Over time, as civilization developed, houses were built above ground, and old underground houses transformed to be used as cellars. Today, traces of these old rock-cut houses as cellars are still visible.
Population We have the following limited information as estimates collected from old records:
SourceYearTotal PopulationChristiansMuslimsKonya Records19th century1980 with 500 householdsKonya Records19th century (township)2968 with 947 household18952500120013001905400015002500census20111020census20179000 In 1872, based on the Nevahi edict of the Ottoman Empire, Fertek became a township, which included 9 villages all together of which the major ones were: Adırmusun, (Koyunlu), Delmisun (Hançerli), İlisun (Küçükköy) and Fesleğen and records were kept as such.
Special privileges were extended to Karamanlides living in Turkey after the Greek Revolt of 1829, followed by the Tanzimat Edict in 1839, and the Reform Edict in 1856. After these, Grekization of the Christian subjects in Turkey started.
Education Today, Fertek is known to have high concentration of college educated people, which is rare for that part of the country. Perhaps, as a result of this, Fertek was renamed Aydin Yurt, (Intellectual Town) in 1923. The known origins of education in Fertek, goes back to first half of the 19th century. Although the exact dates are not known, neighborhood schools were established, most likely before 1852. We assume that the Karamanlides community had educational facilities long before Muslims had their own; we base this upon the high-level knowledge and skills Karamanlides demonstrated. These schools were located next to the mosque and inside the church. Perhaps having its own school early in the 20th century contributed for Fertek community thrive for a higher level of education more so than other regions in the area. The need and desire for higher education evolved to be a significant part of the Fertek culture during the Republican period. Today, it is a fairly well known that Fertek has produced many physicians, pharmacists, judges, prosecutors, lawyers, enough teachers to meet the needs of all Niğde schools, dozens of governors, district mayors, officers, non-commissioned officers, engineers, and administrators. Fertek takes a pride in providing such resources to the country.
Cuisine
As Fertek leaves behind its heritage of culinary culture through the modernizations of our times, it is reminiscent in the minds of many, how the smells of tandoori bread, and "halka" with its oily (pamuk yagi – cotton oil) and milky bread, used to spread from house to house. In addition to these tandoor breads, kavut made with plain, meaty and pastrami and mixed with grape molasses, baked beans made in pots, stuffed meat made in pots, kelles, dücük soup, gicika, mumbar, bossulus, stuffed sugar pare, roasted sugar pare with walnuts, molasses halva, and molasses continue today, albeit in decline. Another important product made in Fertek was wine. Grapes were crushed in large containers manually to make wine, especially for the ceremonies at the church, and to be consumed by the general public. Also, during the fall season, every house made their own processed meat products (sucuk, pastirma), similar to sausage and bacon. The importance of this is obvious in their saying, "may God not leave any house without sucuk and pastirma".
Karamanlides life