Tell me you're not fascinated by the history of the Tatars: the heirs of Genghis Khan, the Golden Horde that conquered western Asia in the 13th century and invaded Russia, establishing the Khanate of Kazan, the Khanate of Crimea, and the Khanate of Astrakhan,
They are now scattered across Russia and Central Asia, in the Republic of Tatarstan, in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, in the Crimean Peninsula, in Astrakhan, in Siberia.
There are 7 million speakers of Tatar languages, which belong to the Kipchak family. They are related to Turkish, but not mutually intelligible.
English:
I have a big sausage.
Turkish:
Büyük bir sosisim var
Tatar:
Menem zur kazilik.
Penis, by the way, is
kutak.
Tatars are mostly Muslim, so it will be circumcized.
Some famous people of Tatar ancestry include actor Charles Bronson, dancer Rudolph Nureyev, and Olympic weightlifter Ruslan Nurudinov. My friend Yuri claims to be a descendant of Genghis Khan, but his grandfather is Kazakh, not Tatar.
When Russia annexed the Republic of Crimea in 2014, its draconian anti-gay laws went into effect. Crimean Tatars were already being subjected to discrimination by the Russian and Ukrainian majority, so many gay Tatars fled the country, to Turkey, Britain, and the United States.
There are about 7,000 Tatars in the United States
Yes, tartar sauce is named after them: it comes from the French
sauce tartare
But not steak tartare (raw hamburger); that was originally called
steack à l'Americaine, served with tartar sauce; thus steak tartar.
I suggest asking your Tatar date out for Chinese instead.
"My friend Yuri claims to be a descendant of Genghis Khan," As does everyone.
ReplyDeleteWe know Nureyev was uncut.
Also, tartar sauce is named for the Tatars, but it's doubtful they had anything to do with it, since a main ingredient is mayonnaise, which is, of course, French,