The Anatolian Bulgarians or Bulgarians of Asia Minor were Eastern Orthodox Bulgarians who settled in Ottoman-rulednorthwesternAnatolia, possibly in the 18th century, and remained there until 1914. The main area of settlement lay to the south of the Sea of Marmara between Çanakkale, Balıkesir and Bursa The existence of Bulgarian villages in Anatolia was noted by western travellers such as the Italian Dr Salvatori, the Frenchman J.M. Tancoigne and the BritonGeorge Keppel. Tancoigne describes his experience in Kız-Dervent as follows: The Bulgarian presence in northwestern Anatolia was studied in more detail by the ethnographerVasil Kanchov who visited the area in the late 19th century. According to his data, there were 20 Bulgarian villages in Anatolia, for each of which he provided the number of Bulgarian houses. In Kız-Dervent, there were 400 Bulgarian houses, in Kocabunar — 350, in Söüt — 60, in Kubaş — 100, in Toybelen — 50, in Yeniköy — 150, in Mandır — 150, in Alacabair — 50, in Killik — 50, in Simavla — 40, in Hacıpaunköy — 80, in Manata — 100, in Bayramiç — 30, in Stengelköy — 60, in Çataltaş — 70, in Urumçe — 40, as well as an unknown number in Çaltik, Trama and Mata. The 1897 research of L. Iv. Dorosiev, partially based on data by his brother Yakim, a tailor in Balıkesir, lists 16 Bulgarian-inhabited villages, as follows: Kocabunar — 245 houses with 1,485 people, Söüt — 65 houses with 440 people, Novo selo — 65 houses with 425 people, Killik — 35 houses with 212 people, Toybelen — 125 houses with 712 people, Alacabair — 55 houses with 308 people, Taşkesi — 35 houses with 252 people, Mandır — 145 houses with 940 people, Hacıpaunköy — 60 houses with 344 people, Üren — 15 houses with 95 people, Kubaş — 20 houses with 115 people, Stengelköy — 55 houses with 312 people, Çataltepe — 80 houses, Urumçe — 45 houses, Yeniköy — 35 houses, as well as 50 houses in the town of Gönen. This makes a total of around 6,720 people. After the Liberation of Bulgaria, many Anatolian Bulgarians returned to their native land, with some settling in Yagnilo and Dobroplodno, Varna Province, Svirachi, Oreshino, Byalopolyane, Ivaylovgrad in Haskovo Province exchanging their property with that of Turks from Bulgaria. In 1914, following the Balkan Wars, the vast majority of the Anatolian Bulgarians were deported to Bulgaria, leaving their property behind. According to Index Anatolicus near Mihalich, there is also Bulgarlar village.
