I'm Egyptian and Circassian on my dad's side from my grandpa, but unfortunately everyone from that side of my family passed away when I was very young, so I never really got the chance to learn anything about Circassian culture, language, or much really.

I know we're of Kabardian origin. I've been wanting to reconnect with that part of my background and thought I'd start here :)

My family name is written جركس (Jarkas?) in the Ottoman Arabic/Circassian spelling that I have from my family. There's also a Toppouzada right before that

I'm familiar with the Arabic/Egyptian pronunciation we've used, but I don't actually know how it would have been pronounced in Circassian, or whether the spelling tells me anything about where my family might have originated.

If anyone knows anything about جركس, I'd love to hear it, pronunciation, meaning, dialect, regional association, anything.

And honestly, if anyone here just wants to tell me things about Circassian culture/history/language that you think someone who grew up disconnected from it should know, I'd love that too.

I feel like I missed out on a whole part of my family history and don't really know where to start. Thanks!