The Turks in Egypt, also referred to as Egyptian Turks, Turkish-Egyptians and Turco-Egyptians[1] (Arabic: أتراك مصر Turkish: Mısır Türkleri) are Egyptian citizens of partial or full Turkish ancestry, who are the descendants of settlers that arrived in the region during the rule of several Turkic dynasties, including: the Tulunid (868–905), Ikhshidid (935–969), Mamluk (1250–1517), and Ottoman (1517–1867 and 1867–1914) eras.
[2] In 1833 one estimate claimed that the Turkish population in Egypt was 30,000;[3] however, in 1835, the Missionary Herald newspaper claimed that the population [of Ottoman Egypt] is of a mixed character, the great mass being Arabic language speaking Muslims, and a minority of Turkish speakers who belonged to the Ottoman ruling-class.
[4] Similarly, in 1840, The Saturday Magazine series claimed that Egypt's population was only about two million and a half, the majority of whom are of Arabic speaking masses and Ottoman ruling class.
Only the masses, the country folk, were quite simply Egyptian in the first place, and possibly Arabs secondarily.
[9] According to an article by Gamal Nkrumah in the Egyptian Al-Ahram Weekly, estimates regarding the population of the Turkish minority vary considerably, ranging from 100,000 to 1,500,000.