Rediscovering Forgotten Heritage: The Cultural and Historical
“These manuscripts are not just historical documents; they are living narratives
Significance of Ottoman Turkish Manuscripts in the US.
that connect us to our past and cultural heritage.”
By Oya Bain
Hidden within the archives of some of the most prestigious libraries in the United States lies an invaluable cultural treasure—thousands of Ottoman Turkish manuscripts, waiting to be rediscovered. These documents, spanning centuries, offer a window into the rich literary, historical, and linguistic heritage of Türkiye. Yet, for decades, they remained largely unexplored by Turkish scholars.
Enter Prof Özkan Daşdemir, a professor at Erzincan Binali Yıldırım University, whose passion for Turkish folk literature and Ottoman Turkish historical writings has taken him across continents in search of forgotten narratives. His research focuses on the transformation of religious narratives into Turkish folk tales and the evolution of folklore over time. But his most recent work delves into a fascinating and under-examined subject: the thousands of Turkish-language manuscripts housed in US institutions, particularly the Special Collections at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Library.
In this interview, Prof Daşdemir takes us on a journey into the world of lost Ottoman Turkish manuscripts, shedding light on their historical significance, their journey to American archives, and the potential they hold for Turkish academia. He also discusses the challenges of conducting this research abroad, the role of digital preservation, and his vision for bringing these long-forgotten pieces of history back into scholarly discourse.
Please introduce yourself to our readers and provide information on your
background and academic standing.
I am a professor at Erzincan Binali Yildirim University. My primary research is on transformation of religious narratives into Turkish folk tales and other aspects of such folk tales over time. I do research in Turkish folk literature and folklore. I have published twelve books and written many articles in various journals and magazines.
What makes you interested in Ottoman Turkish historical writings? How did
these get into US libraries?
Due to my specialty, my interest extends into literature written in Ottoman Turkish.
Currently, I am researching the Turkish language works written in Arabic script between the 13th and 20th centuries from their aspect of language, literary, and cultural value. We see that tens of thousands of hand written documents (manuscripts) were produced during those centuries. In the last hundred years, Turkish researchers have studied these manuscripts from many angles to bring them to light. Still, there are large numbers of unknown papers waiting to be discovered. In the US, approximately 4000 manuscripts are available in universities and unique collections of museums. These documents are found primarily at the UCLA, McGill, Toronto, Princeton, Michigan, Harvard, Massachusetts, and Yale universities and their respective museums. These manuscripts were obtained through sales and donations. Until recently, in Türkiye, there was not much interest in these documents. The UCLA Library Special Collection # 896 has 2,500 Turkish manuscripts. If we add the ones in the Islamic Manuscript Collection #897, we have around 3,000 documents.
The late Fahri Bilge owned the entire set of documents in Collection #896. They were part of his 12,000-piece estate, which his inheritors sold 60 years ago.
Fahri Bilge has worked as the director of the Turkish Agricultural Bank in various locations in Anatolia. He dedicated his life and riches to collecting historical manuscripts and printed (Basma) books.
How did you come to the US? What is your experience in the US doing this
research?
The document “The North American Collection of Islamic Manuscripts” (1977) by Thomas Josiah Martin contains valuable information on Turkish-language manuscripts in the US.
When I learned that thousands of such manuscripts that reflect our history and culture are found in the United States, but nothing is known about them, I was very excited. So I became involved and contacted Molly Haigh, who oversees special collections at UCLA Library. After 45 days of communications, I managed to obtain digital copies of a selection of such manuscripts. I have been publishing my findings on these manuscripts since 2022. Until now, I have come out with four books of fables. “Husnu Sah and Selvinaz” is the first time this fable entered the repertoire of Turkish tales and stories. The others are “Koroglu,” “Kerem and Asli,” and “Hursit and Mahmiri” tales. During this period, I also wrote articles such as “Nasreddin Hoca Anecdotes,” “Fortune Tellings from Ear Ringings,” “The Legend of the Stone Doll,” and jingles and rhymes.
Our opportunity to do research at the UCLA Library, Special Collections Section, in the US is due to the efforts and hard work of Dr Kaya Ozel, a professor at Sivas Republic University. Dr Ozel is the coresearcher for our Turkish manuscripts studies. Previously, Dr Ozel held academic positions in France, Estonia, and Serbia and is experienced in educational research abroad. When I shared the news about the Turkish Manuscript Collections in the US with Dr Kaya, he was instrumental in obtaining the required invitation letter. We are in Los Angeles with our families. We find our stay in LA and the educational opportunity for our children to learn English very valuable.
Please give us detailed info on these writings.
In the UCLA Library, Special Collections Section, Turkish manuscripts are divided into two main groups: In the #896 group, Turkish manuscripts are in book form. We find them in the #897 group as documents. The entire collection covers a rich and varied work of Turkish language manuscripts over 600 years. These rare and valuable documents include many topics on the Turkish language, history, literature, art, philosophy, and religion.
Histories of Turkish cities, tax and registry books, court records, legislative decrees, conquest records, letters of historical interest, edicts, personal correspondence, and notes, translations, annotations, Koranic interpretations, poetry collections (Divan), collection of biographies, religious leaders’ statements, Turkish dictionaries, spiritual, mystical and ethical works, music books, miniatures, little known narratives, stories, war documents, legends, folktales, fables, medical records, folk medicine, folk beliefs, folk culture, future predictions, religion-based folk cultural samples, folk poetry, riddles, and rhymes are among the many subjects covered.
How do you plan to use them in a book? In an academic conference?
Manuscripts need to be organized within the standards of libraries, which is a long process.
As a start in the libraries, we will present the documents in a visible form, and make such a list that they will attract the interest of the scholars. Turkish scholars will find in these manuscripts a very rich source for hundreds of new studies, in the form of books, articles, and dissertations. Our histroical riches will come out to light. I foresee a comprehensive book to include the list of the findings. Presentations at academic conferences in Türkiye and abroad will bring additonal intrest to these findings.
Can you tell us how these historical writings stand relative to the extensive
Ottoman archives in Türkiye?
In the Manuscript Libraries which are under the Directortae of the Turkish Manuscripts Instiution, there are approximately 175,000 documents.The documents present at the UCLA Library constitute about 2% of the total. This is a significant number. For example it is nearly impossible to find 3,000 manuscripts in individual Turkish city libraries.
Is there international interest in these writings?
These manuscripts, which are an important part of our national history and culture, are also a part of world cultural inheritance. Our present research here in the US promotes and brings recognition to these manuscipts in the Turkish American commuity, which makes us very happy.
What other country has similar documents? Are there efforts to bring them back to Türkiye?
Similar manuscipts are found in the national libraries and universities of countries like England, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Bosnia, Russia, and Georgia. However none of the collections are rich as the Special Collection of the UCLA Library. It is imposiible to bring such documents physically to Türkiye. A well catalogued list of digital documents will be a good substitute for the researchers.
Please tell us about the funding for your research.
TUBITAK funded our US research. Dr Taha Tuna Kaya’s grant was for 12 months, and mine was for 6 months. Our US grants are currently finished, and our back-at-home incomes have been significantly reduced because of the US grants. Our spouses took no pay leave from their work to maintain family unity. The cost of living and rent are very high in Los Angeles, which puts us in a problematic position. We are searching for ways to get resources. We think our country’s and community’s support as part of cultural politics is critical to bringing our cultural riches into daylight.
Thank you, Dr Ozkan, for your valuable time for this interview. ■
Oya Bain is a retired biochemist from Georgetown University Hospital. She has been a long-standing activist in the
Turkish community, both in cultural and political affairs. She has served and still does on the boards of many Turkish American organizations.
She believes in strong ties between Türkiye and the US and strives to promote Turkish history and culture at every chance.
