The Gagavuzes are recorded in history as a Thracian tribe. Their distinctive feature? They are Turkish-speaking Christians. In Greece, the majority of them are refugees from the Hafsa province of Adrianople and from various villages in Bulgaria.

For the first time, they are identified along the shores of the western Black Sea, between Varna and the Danube, in Dobruja. Their fate and course over time coincide with the journey of Hellenism in the Balkans. During the Byzantine era, they served as the frontier guard of the northern borders of the empire.

During the years of the Ottoman invasion, they were the last population to be enslaved in the interior of the Balkans, between 1394-8. In these difficult years, it is believed that they lost the Greek language, just as the majority of the enslaved Hellenism did. On the contrary, they fervently maintained their religion, which served as the connecting link with the rest of Hellenism.

In the Russo-Turkish wars, they participated in military operations alongside the Russians, and a few years later, with enthusiasm, in the revolutionary events of Moldavia, facing the wrath of the Ottoman forces. Their villages were looted and burned, forcing them to migrate.

Most moved to Bessarabia (now Moldova - Autonomous Republic of Gagauzia), where they still live today. A large number migrated south to Northern and Eastern Thrace, in the province of Hafsa. Following the fate of the rest of Eastern Hellenism in 1924, they once again took the path of refuge.

Their settlement this time on Greek soil was permanent. Even today, they exist and strive to preserve their unique culture, a genuine Thracian culture. No one can take that away from them.