Türkiye Archives and Libraries

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Türkiye

Archives and Libraries

• Archives collect and preserve original documents of organizations such as churches or governments. Libraries generally collect published sources such as books, maps, and microfilm.
• If you plan to visit a repository, contact them and ask for information about their collection, hours, services, and fees. Ask if they require you to have a reader’s ticket (a paper indicating you are a responsible researcher) to view the records, and ask how to obtain one.
• Although the records you need may be in an archive or library, the FamilySearch Library may have microfilmed and/or digitized copies of them.

Archives

The Republic Archive Compound (BCA)
Directorate of State Archives of the Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye
Gayret Mahallesi 95. Street No:3
06170 Yenimahalle/ANKARA, Türkiye

Telephone: +90 (312) 307 9000 (Ankara Central)
Fax: (0312) 315 10 00
Email: dab@devletarsivleri.gov.tr
Website

*Information and documents related to the genealogy research are not available in this archive. For more information, contact the General Directorate of Population and Citizenship Affairs of the Ministry of Interior or the civil registry office with which you are affiliated.

*Documents related to local history can be done.

*Resettlement records can be provided if the following information is given: Where is the family's origin before immigrating to Türkiye? What year did the family arrive in Türkiye? What are some of the family members' names? Who was the head of the family at the time of arrival?

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The Ottoman Archives Complex
Ottoman Archives of the Prime Minister’s Office (BOA)
Directorate of State Archives of the Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye
İmrahor Street
Sadabad, Kagithane
Istanbul, Türkiye

Telephone: +90 (212) 314 9000 (İstanbul Central)
Fax: (0212) 314 90 01
Email: dab@devletarsivleri.gov.tr
Website

*Information and documents related to the genealogy research are not available in this archive. For more information, contact the General Directorate of Population and Citizenship Affairs of the Ministry of Interior or the civil registry office with which you are affiliated.

*Documents related to local history can be done.

*Resettlement records can be provided if the following information is given: Where is the family's origin before immigrating to Türkiye? What year did the family arrive in Türkiye? What are some of the family members' names? Who was the head of the family at the time of arrival?

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Archive and Library of the Topkapı Palace Museum
T.C. Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı Topkapı Sarayı Müzesi Müdürlüğü
Sultanahmet, Fatih/İSTANBUL

Telephone: +90 212 512 04 80
Fax: +90 212 528 59 91
Email: topkapisarayimuzesi@kulturturizm.gov.tr
Website
Hazine Article: Topkapı Palace Museum Archive and Library

*The Archive and Library of the Topkapı Palace Museum (Topkapı Sarayı Müzesi) contain some of the most important documents and manuscripts pertaining to Ottoman and Islamic history. The Library (TSMK) and Archive (TSMA) are both located on the grounds of Topkapı Palace in the Sultanahmet district of Istanbul.

* With few exceptions, the archival collection of the Topkapı Palace Museum contains the only extant official records of the Ottoman dynasty for the first two hundred years of its existence. As the archive of the Ottoman dynasty, the collection provides the best material for researchers concerned with the activities of the royal family, as well as the functioning of the palace and central state administration.

*With approximately 153,000 loose papers and 10,775 registers, TSMA is the largest Ottoman archive after the Ottoman Archives of the Prime Minister’s Office (BOA). Researchers should note that the defters (registers) of the palace archive are digitally available at BOA.

*The majority of the registers include finance records such as salary registers of palace officials, inventories of the Imperial Treasury, and surveys of religious endowments (evkaf) established by one of the royal family members.

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Red Crescent Archives
Arşiv Yönetimi Bölümü
Türk Kızılayı Caddesi No:6
Etimesgut – ANKARA, Türkiye

Telephone: +90 (312) 293 64 26
Fax: +90 (312) 293 64 36
Email: handeu@kizilay.org.tr
Hazine Article: Red Crescent Archives (Türkiye)

*The Turkish Red Crescent (Kızılay, formerly Hilâl-i Ahmer) is a charity organization founded during the late Ottoman period on the model of the Red Cross societies. Its activities in the areas of medicine, care for prisoners of war, and other social services, particularly during the World War I period and the early years of the Turkish Republic.

*In addition to offering a glimpse at late Ottoman medical institutions, social historians of the Ottoman Empire will also be drawn to documentation regarding Ottoman prisoners of war, which includes letters about and by Ottoman soldiers. The Red Crescent boasts over 300,000 POW cards from all sides of the conflict containing the names and origins of prisoners, their place of capture, and sometimes other biographical or health information. The collection also contain letters and requests from prisoners of war during the conflict. In this regard, researchers of other regions such as Europe or South Asia will find these archives useful as the Red Crescent was the intermediary between the Allies and Allied prisoners held in Ottoman territories.]

Salt Research
Bankalar Caddesi 11
Karaköy 34420
Istanbul
Turkey
Telephone: +902123342200
Email: salt.research@saltonline.org
Website
Household and Families Collection - Private and professional documents of families who lived in Istanbul around the turn of the 20th century

• Salt Research is a joint project between Kadir Has University and the Istanbul Encyclopedia Archive to document life during the Ottoman Empire and later Turkish Republic. The Households and Families collection contains many records which can be valuable for genealogical research

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Endangered Archives: Türkiye

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LAND REGISTRY ARCHIVE INFORMATION SYSTEM (TARBİS)
General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre
Dikmen Street No: 14
06100 Ministries / ANKARAT
Türkiye

Telephone: +90 312 413 60 00
Email: forforeigners@tkgm.gov.tr
Website

Church Archives

Armenian Apostolic Patriarchate, Istanbul
Patriarchal Church of Our Lady
Sevgi Sk., Muhsine Hatun
34130 Fatih/İstanbul, Türkiye

Email: aybaddivan@gmail.com
Website
Facebook

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Armenian Catholic Archbishopric, Istanbul
Atif Yilmaz Cad. No:17 34435
Beyoglu/Istanbul
Türkiye

Phone: +90 212 244 12 58
Email: info@armcatistanbul.org
Website

Libraries

Arab Genealogy Books Online
Website
Open access collection of Arabic genealogy books that have been digitized and can be browsed by country/region. Books contain valuable information about tribal histories and family lineages.

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• KOC University Library Digital Collections

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• Princeton Digital Library of Islamic Manuscripts

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National Library of Türkiye
Emek Mah. Wilhelm Thomsen Cad. No: 4
06490 Çankaya / ANKARA, Türkiye

Telephone: +90 (312) 470 83 83 - 470 82 08
Fax : +90 (312) 470 54 71
Email: mkbilgi@ktb.gov.tr
Website
Digital Catalog

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ISAM - Center for Islamic Studies
İslâm Araştırmaları Merkezi Kütüphanesi (İSAM)
İcadiye Bağlarbaşı Caddesi, No: 40
34662 Üsküdar / İstanbul
Türkiye

Telephone: (0216) 474 08 50
Fax: (0216) 474 08 74
Email: kuthane@isam.org.tr
Website
Search Page Select "Türkiye Kütüphaneleri VT" (Türkiye Libraries).

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Süleymaniye Library (Süleymaniye Kütüphanesi)
Süleymaniye Yazma Eser Kütüphanesi
Ayşe Kadın Hamam Sok. No:35
Fatih, İstanbul, Türkiye

Telephone: 212 520 64 60
Hazine Article: Süleymaniye Library

*Süleymaniye Library is the largest manuscript library in Türkiye and preserves one of the world’s most extensive collections of Islamic manuscripts. Since its establishment in 1918, the library’s vast collection of manuscripts has made it one of the most important centers for researchers working on all periods and regions of the Islamic world.

*The library is located within the Süleymaniye Mosque complex in the Fatih district of Istanbul.

*It is a treasure trove not just for Ottomanists, but also for researchers working on all periods of Islamic history both within the Ottoman Empire and beyond.

*Biographical dictionaries for the Ottoman period are on the shelves along with other classic reference works on the Ottoman period (mostly in Turkish).

*Islamic marriage records from several mosques may have been deposited here.

*Manuscripts range in copy date from the eleventh century to the twentieth century, with the majority produced in the seventeenth to the early nineteenth centuries.

{{Block indent|*Researchers can access a partial electronic catalog of Süleymaniye Library’s materials through the [Türkiye Kütüphaneleri Veri Tabanı at ISAM.}}

Museums

Google list of Museums in Türkiye

Record Offices

Republic of Türkiye Presidency of Religious Affairs
Istanbul Mufti Office
Demirtas Mh. Fatwa Yokusu Sk. No: 36
Süleymaniye - Fatih / İSTANBUL
Türkiye

Phone: 0 (212) 512 23 20
Fax: 0 (212) 512 32 52
E-Mail: istanbul@diyanet.gov.tr ​​KEP : istanbulmuftulugu@hs03.kep.tr
Website

• The office oregisters Muslim marriages.