Polish Village In Istanbul - Adampol/Polonezkoy

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When most Polish people think about Polish cities outside of Poland, they think about Chicago first. But a few people know that in Istanbul there is a village that was founded by Polish people in 1842. They have Polish culture and legacy in Adampol. When you enter the village, you see Polish marks everywhere. For example even the name of one street is 'Adam Mickiewicz'.

Those days many Polish people were going to immigration center which is located in Paris. Prince Adam Czartoryski thought he can set up an immigration center for Poles in Turkey, to regroup outside of Poland. For this purpose he sent Michal Czajkowski as a representative to Istanbul. He purchased the forest area where Adampol is located now. A future settlement was established on this spot. At the beginning there were not many people in the village. Adampol was inhabited by only 12 people but by the time there were 220 Poles were living in this village at the peak of its population. By the time Adampol was developed and expanded by Poles and many Polish people migrated here after 1848 revolutions and the Crimean War in 1853. But after Polish independence in 1918, many polish people who lived in Adampol went back to Poland and the remaining inhabitants took Turkish citizenship in 1938. At the present time around 1000 people live in Polonezkoy. And only 40 polish people can speak polish language.

I was born in Beykoz/Istanbul and I didnt know that Adampol is a polish village. When I moved to Poland and after I visited Turkish embassy in Warsaw, I saw a book about Adampol there. While I was waiting there, I read couple of pages then I was surprised. I shared the story with my polish friends and last summer I visited Adampol with my Polish friend. You should see this beautiful village as well.