HMML Global Operations: Turkey
Turkey
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Region
Asia -
Country
Turkey -
Cities
‘Ain Wardo (Gülgöze), Diyarbakır, Enhil, Istanbul, Mardin, and Midyat -
Repositories
Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul; Chaldean Cathedral (Mardin); Church of the Forty Martyrs (Mardin); Meryem Ana Kilisesi (Diyarbakır); Dayr Za‘farān (Mardin); Mor Gabriel Monastery (Midyat); Mor Abrohom Monastery (Midyat); Mor Barṣawmo Library (Midyat); and other church and monastic collections -
Languages
Persian, Italian, Kurdish, Turkish Garshuni, Armenian, Neo-Aramaic, Armeno-Turkish, Arabic Garshuni, French, Syriac, Arabic, Greek, Turkish, English, and Kurdish Garshuni -
Project Dates
2005–2014
Asia Minor, where the modern country of Turkey is located, once had thriving Christian communities. Centuries of conflict and persecution have greatly reduced them. HMML worked with the Armenian Patriarchate in Istanbul to digitize the only manuscripts still in church hands after the upheavals of the early 20th century. In 2009, HMML began its work in southeast Turkey as part of its comprehensive effort to digitize all of the Syriac manuscripts in the Tur ‘Abdin, the “mountain of the servants [of God].” Historically, this has been one of the main centers of Syriac Christianity, home of ancient Syriac communities with manuscripts of premier significance. This includes important collections at the Monastery of Dayr al-Za‘faran, the Church of the Forty Martyrs, and the Monastery of Dayro d-Mor Gabriel, which contain manuscripts that moved between monasteries and demonstrate the historic networks of monastic book exchange in the Tur ‘Abdin. The oldest manuscript in HMML's collection is from the Meryem Ana Kilisesi (Diyarbakir), an illustrated gospel book dating to the 6th century. This extensive work in the Tur ‘Abdin has ensured that these threatened resources are available to the Syriac Christian diaspora and scholars around the globe.
