TÜRKİSTAN’DA YAHUDİ VARLIĞI VE ONLARIN SEYAHATNAMELERE YANSIMALARI
THE JEWISH PRESENCE IN TURKISTAN AND THEIR REFLECTIONS ON TRAVEL BOOKS

Summary/Abstract: Throughout history, Jews have had to migrate multiple times from their holy land, Canaan (Palestine), to other parts of the world – most of the time never being able to return. One region they settled into was Turkestan, the birthplace of Turkic-Islamic civilization. There has been a Jewish presence there for centuries. Referred to as Bukhara Jews, they never lost their identities, cultures, or beliefs despite having been influenced by other neighbouring cultures, particularly Muslim. However, they differ from Jewish diasporas in terms of their lifestyle and customs. They have lived in their own ghetto-neighbourhoods, and generally engaged in different crafts. Following the Russian invasion of Turkistan, they were given special rights and even dominated certain professions. However, with the collapse of Tsarist Russia and the birth of the Soviet Union, the Jews of Turkistan, as with other local cultures, were subjected to assimilation policies. As a result of this, and especially after the collapse of the Soviet Union, those who found the opportunity immigrated to Israel, the USA, Australia and Canada. Today, Jews continue their lives in some big cities of Turkestan – especially Bukhara, Uzbekistan. In this study, we shall explore the Jewish presence in Turkestan throughout history and their reflections in travel books.

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