Türkiye Archives and Libraries

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Turkey

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 Turkey
Gayret Mahallesi 95. Street No:3
06170 Yenimahalle/ANKARA, Turkey

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

• Information and documents related to the genealogy research are not available in our archive. You can get information from the General Directorate of Population and Citizenship Affairs of the Ministry of Interior or the civil registry office you are affiliated with.
• Documents related to local history can be done.
• Resettlement records can be provided if the following information is given: Where did your family came to Turkey? In what year your family arrived to Turkey? What are the names of the family members? Whos 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 Turkey
İmrahor Street
Sadabad, Kagithane
Istanbul, Turkey

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

• Information and documents related to the genealogy research are not available in our archive. You can get information from the General Directorate of Population and Citizenship Affairs of the Ministry of Interior or the civil registry office you are affiliated with.
• Documents related to local history can be done.
• Resettlement records can be provided if the following information is given: Where did your family came to Turkey? In what year your family arrived to Turkey? What are the names of the family members? Whos 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
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
Hazine Article: Red Crescent Archives (Turkey)

• 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.]

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• Cadastral Department Archives [Tapu ve Kadastro Umum Mudurlugu Arşivi], in Ankara and Istanbul

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• Armenian Apostolic Patriarchate, Istanbul

• Armenian Catholic Archbishopric, Istanbul

Libraries

• Sulaymaniye Library in Istanbul

• Seat of the Mufti [Müftülük], in Istanbul

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• KOC University Library Digital Collections

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• Princeton Digital Library of Islamic Manuscripts

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Museums

Google list of Museums in Turkey