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[Anastasios]

Seeing that she is still not checking in here, I will continue answering for her

I think her grandfather was an officer in WWI (or was it your great grandfather in one of the earlier wars, Ania?) who went to Turkey and took back a Turkish bride who converted to be Orthodox. So Ania is mostly Russian but Turkish, too It would have been more impressive if her whole family had converted en masse but I think it's great that her ancestor was able to marry a Turkish woman and win one more soul for Christ Where I'm from, we call that "missionary dating." lol

anastasios

[OrthodoxyOrDeath]

That is very interesting. Thanks Anastasios - I think that would be her great-grandfather, unless she's in her 60's.

[bogoliubtsy]

Answering for Ania:

It was the Crimean War.

[Tessa]

that many Turks are actually Greeks, just like most Italians in South Italy are.

Hahaha I always heard the joke that most Italians in Southern Italy were actually a hybrid of something else-and NOT Greek, explaining their often curly hair. Just don't say that one out loud LOL.

My good friend from Sparti, a Greek with blonde hair and green eyes, who probably lived with the ridicule of being the "fair" one growing up, boastfully used to explain to me that the TRUE Greeks (many from Sparti) were actually fair haired and skinned and the rest of the popultion what we consider "Greek looking" look actually more like Turks. She could be wrong, but it does makes sense considering all the places that were a part of that Ottoman yoke (including the Serbian lands) have such a varied looking people-from blonde and blue eyed to dark hair and skinned just like Indians from Rajastan.

LOLOL

Tessa

[Gregory]

I'm just curious, actually fascinated, that she is Turkish and Orthodox. When did her family convert? Where they persecuted? ect.

What a great thing! Glory to God for all things.

OOD,

Why is this a great thing if you don't believe she is Orthodox anyway?

Gregory

[ania]

Ok, since my ancestry seems to be so fascinating to so many people, here goes...
I only mentioned something about being part Turkish (which I have on many occasions before) when someone was bashing Turks. I'm not particulary more attached to that part of my ancestry than say, my German greatgrandmother on my mom's side, by it still bothers me when people make generalizations, partially because due to my Russian background people often assume that I can drink like a fish and should like cold since "it's always cold there". I also say it because when I do or say something mean around my Serbian friends, they just say it's the Turkish coming out...
As far as my Turkish Great-Great-Grandmother.... A rather adventurous forefather of mine went to fight in the Crimean wars, scored himself some medals of honor, in the process somehow made it to Ankara, & married himself a Turkish wife, which he then took off with to his native city of Saratov, & had babies with, etc. & I'm not 60... 23 tomorrow.... I happen to be the almost youngest of the almost young of the youngest of the youngest for well... 5 generations now of a family that has lots & lots of kinds (4 minumum), so I have cousins older than my parents & great grand nephews older than me.

[Natasha]

I don't know why people are so shocked by all this...all of these ancient lands have so much history and conflict, I think it would actually be close to impossible to find someone who is truly 100% Russian, or 100% Greek etc..I believe that I read that the old Slavs were very tall, fair, and blonde..now where did all these short, dark-haired Russians come from? It reminds me of the phrase that goes something like "scratch a Russian and you will find a Tatar..."

My father was tall, but he had very high, kind of slanted eyes, so hmmmm...I wonder....