
By Manal El Warraky
IRCICA Director General Mahmud Erol Kılıç gave a seminar for Turkish and Egyptian participants on manuscripts at the Embassy Residence
With this seminar, the celebration of the centenary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Turkey and Egypt in Cairo began.
During the seminar, the Arabic version of the Ottoman Turkish manuscript “Across Humans in the 13th Century” written by Mehmet Arif Pasha, the secretary of the kevali Mehmet Ali Pasha and the governor of Tekirdag in the Ottoman Empire, was presented.
IRCICA Director General, academician and former Turkish Ambassador to Jakarta, Prof. Dr. Mahmud Erol Kılıç gave a seminar on manuscripts on the occasion of the centenary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Turkey and Egypt.
Prof. Dr. Kılıç visited the 56th Cairo International Book Fair, which is one of the most important book fairs in the world.
On this occasion, a symposium was organized in which the Arabic version of the book “The Lessons of Mankind in the Thirteenth Century” which was found by Prof. Dr. Mahmud Erol Kılıç was presented. Speaking during the symposium, Prof. Dr. Kılıç gave information about the book “The Lessons of Mankind in the Thirteenth Century” written by Mehmet Arif Pasha, the clerk of Mehmet Ali Pasha and the governor of Tekirdag in the Ottoman Empire, and mentioned that the Arabic translation of the book was published at the Cairo International Book Fair this year.
He pointed out that the original copy of the work is preserved at Istanbul University. Kılıç also provided information about the Ottoman Turkish manuscript and said that the manuscripts are an important sign of the nation’s memory.
Professor Dr. Kılıç explained that they are also working closely with the Egyptian authorities on the digitization and preservation of Ottoman Turkish manuscripts, adding that this work provides direct information about the efforts of Kavalı Mehmet Ali Pasha and Mehmet Arif Pasha in spreading the Turkish language and culture in Egypt.
In his speech at the symposium, Professor Dr. Kılıç pointed out that the Süleymaniye Library in Turkey, which houses the largest collection of manuscripts in the Islamic world, is considered a counterpart to the Egyptian National Library. He said that Turkey and Egypt are among the most important countries in the field of adopting and preserving manuscripts, and that the two countries have the richest collections of Arabic manuscripts in the Islamic world.
Professor Dr. Kılıç continued by saying that this is due to the central position of the two countries in Islamic history and civilization, as they hosted many dynasties, families and civilizations throughout history, in addition to being the capitals of many countries in their time.
Therefore, both Turkey and Egypt have a unique cultural heritage and libraries full of manuscripts.
In this context, Professor Dr. Kılıç added that the number of Islamic manuscripts in the world today is estimated at more than one million and five hundred thousand manuscripts, and that these manuscripts are distributed in two thousand and five hundred different collections in one hundred and six countries, and are located in more than 100 countries and more than one thousand and three hundred cities.
In response to a question about the possibility of translating the plans in the Ottoman archives into Arabic, Prof. Dr. Mahmud Erol Kılıç explained that one of the publications of the IRCICA Center is called the Arab countries in the Ottoman documents and because of this, it recorded, for example, every street and alley in Palestine, so that the Zionist entity claimed that there is no document proving the Arabs’ ownership of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, and the Palestinians asked us for this document and we sent it to them.
In this context, the Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey in Cairo, Salih Mutlu Şen, gave a speech at the symposium and expressed his happiness at organizing such a useful symposium with the participation of Prof. Dr. Mahmud Erol Kılıç, and said that the work “Across Humans in the Thirteenth Century” is the original source for the correct understanding of the joint Egyptian-Turkish history and that the original copy of this work was brought to Cairo during the reign of King Fuad and was preserved, copied and translated into Arabic, but then forgotten and lost. He expressed his thanks to Dr. Muhammad Sarhan who translated it into Arabic.
Ambassador Salih Mutlu Şen added that he is certain that this work will receive great attention from the young generations, stressing that the celebration of the centenary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Turkey and Egypt began with this symposium in Cairo.
Ambassador Şen pointed out that Egyptian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Sherif Fathy will pay an official visit to Turkey on February 4, 2025, and that a ceremony will be held to hand over an Egyptian artifact to Turkey during this visit, adding that the visit will be a cultural event between Egypt and Turkey, and expressed his belief that this event will make great contributions to the development of relations