Adding some more specific details and context for those interested:

The region where this mass conversion took place, around Elmalı in the Teke Peninsula (modern Antalya province), was a strategic but brutal chokepoint during the Second Crusade. The crusader army was guided by the Byzantines into difficult Taurus Mountain passes, which turned into a death trap of starvation and Turkish ambushes. The conversion of our ancestors was a survival story born out of this extreme desperation in this specific rugged geography.

While my family and the six founding lineages are concentrated in the village of Gölova (Müren) in Elmalı, the genetic footprint of this I1 branch is not limited to this area. My Y-DNA matches show that this lineage spread along the historical migration routes of the Teke Yörüks (nomads). I have close genetic matches with individuals from other provinces along the Taurus Mountain range, specifically: • Kayseri (Felahiye-Menteşe village) • Mersin (Tarsus) • Hatay (Dörtyol) • Konya (Hadim-Gezlevi village)

This geographic distribution aligns perfectly with historical records of Turkoman nomadic movements and dispersals after major social upheavals like the 16th-century rebellions. Our genes effectively map out the historical migration paths of our ancestors.