Kouloughlis
Kouloughlis, also spelled Koulouglis, Cologhlis and Qulaughlis was a term used during the Ottoman period to designate the mixed offspring of Turkish men and local North African women, situated in the western and central coastal regions in the Barbary coast. Whilst the terminology was commonly used in Ottoman Algeria, Ottoman Libya, and Ottoman Tunisia, it was not used in Ottoman Egypt. These Ottoman Turks were all necessarily of Turkish nationality, but many came from the Balkan countries, Circassia, Bosnia and Greece, along with ethnicities of Eastern Europe, which were the striking force of the Ottoman armies.
Today, the descendants of the Kouloughlis have largely integrated into their local societies after independence, however, they still maintain some of their cultural traditions ; they also continue to practice the Hanafi school of Islam, and uphold their Turkish origin surnames.
Migration to North Africa
According to the Turco-Libyan historian :tr:Orhan Koloğlu|Orhan Koloğlu, throughout the 300 years of Ottoman rule in the Maghreb and more generally North Africa, the Ottoman administration ensured that Turkish soldiers from the Ocak, rather than the Janissaries, formed at least 5% of the regions population. Turkish-speaking Anatolians were considered to be the ideal migrants to ensure the Turkification of the region. Furthermore, the authorities placed a ban on Turkish speakers from using the Arabic language; this allowed the Turkish language to remain the prestigious language of the region till the nineteenth century. Koloğlu has estimated that approximately 1 million Ottoman soldiers from Anatolia migrated to the Cezayir Eyalet, the Tunus Eyalet, and the Eyālet-i Trâblus Gârp, usually departing from the port of Izmir.Turkish women in North Africa
Although the term "köleoğlu" implied the term "son of", the Turkish population in North Africa was not solely made up of men. Indeed, Turkish-speaking Anatolian women also migrated to the region. Moreover, the offspring of Turkish men and North African women would have included females too. Up until the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, upper-class women in Algeria, Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia were mostly of Turkish origin. This Turkish elite held a deep kinship for the Ottoman state, which increased further during the Italo-Turkish War in favour of the Ottoman state.Legacy
Religion
The majority of Turkish-speaking Ottoman Muslims adhered to the Hanafi school of Islam, in contrast to the majority of the North African subjects, who followed the Maliki school. Today the Hanafi school is still followed by the descendants of Turkish families who remain in the region. Traditionally, their mosques are in the Ottoman architectural style and are particularly identifiable from their Turkish-style octagonal minarets.Language
Words and expressions from the Turkish language, to varying degrees, are still used in most varieties of the Maghrebi derjas and spoken Arabic in North Africa and the Middle East. For example, in Algeria an estimated 634 Turkish words are still used today in Algerian Arabic. Approximately 800 to 1,500 Turkish loanwords are still used in Egypt, in Egyptian Arabic, and between 200 and 500 in Libya and Tunisia, respectively in Libyan and Tunisian Arabic. Turkish loanwords have also been influential in countries which were never conquered by the Ottomans, such as in Morocco, in Moroccan Arabic. Furthermore, the Turks also introduced words from the Persian language to the region, which were originally borrowed for the Ottoman Turkish language.The majority of Turkish loanwords in Arabic are used for private life, law and government, and the military.
Food
Ottoman rule left a profound influence on the cuisine of North Africa, the Middle East, and the Balkans. Hence, even today, many dishes produced in different countries throughout these regions are derived from the same name, usually a variation of a Turkish word.| Turkish origin word | Maghrebi or Egyptian Arabic | Countries using the word |
| baklava | baqlawa, baqlewa | Algeria, Egypt, Tunisia, Libya |
| boza | büza, buza | Algeria, Egypt, Tunisia |
| börek | brik | Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia |
| bulgur | burgul, borghol | Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia |
| çevirme | sawurma/sawirma/shawarma | Egypt, Libya, Tunisia |
| dondurma | dandurma, dundurma | Egypt |
| kavurma | qawurma, qawirma | Algeria, Egypt |
| köfte | kufta/kofta | Egypt, Tunisia |
| pastırma | bastirma | Algeria, Egypt, Libya |
| sucuk | sujuq, sugu' | Egypt |
| turşu | torshi | Algeria, Egypt, Tunisia |