The Turkish alevis

The Alevi comprise a specific ethnic group in Turkey of especial interest. In presenting a case study of an Alevi community in Ankara that arose out of internal urban migration, the present paper delineates the way in which the Alevis have moved away from constituting a counterculture during the period of the Ottoman period to comprising a working class subculture of great organizational and political potential in contemporary Turkey. The paper also describes the ethnic markedness of the Alevi community and the problems that arise out of this markedness.