Cretan Muslim Resettlement

On leaving Crete, Muslims chose to settle on the western shores of Asia Minor, especially in Smyrna. When the exodus assumed major proportions, the Ottoman authorities directed groups of "Turco-Cretans" to other areas within the empire, such as North Africa (districts in present-day Libya) and Syria. Smaller groups settled in Thessaloniki, Rhodes and Alexandria in Egypt. Wherever they established themselves, Cretan Muslims maintained their customs and their Cretan dialect.