Ottoman Turkish Language Study

Dotted with ancient cities of antiquity, the Aegean region of Turkey invokes a sense of regionality that extends beyond administrative borders. My work revolves around the social worlds that have developed around these sites in their afterlives. I specifically focus on Ephesus, an ancient city, which is part of this widely dispersed Mediterranean landscape of prominent ruins. I draw on the disciplines of anthropology, archaeology, and history to understand the contemporary moment in the life of this ancient site and the networks of people, practices, and institutions which converge there. The Ottoman Empire, which does not strike one as a crucial actor in terms of classical antiquity, remains essential to this project. I propose that piecing together the missing Ottoman past through an archival study will help me understand the networks that crisscross Ephesus and provide insights into the production of the region across time.

My project, which brings together ethnography and archival work, requires a good reading knowledge of Ottoman Turkish. Thanks to the language grant by the Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies, I attended the Intensive Ottoman and Turkish Summer School in Cunda. In the six weeks I spent there, not only did I advance my reading skills of Ottoman Turkish but also developed skills in Karamanlidika, a heritage language associated with the Greek-Rum population of Anatolia. This intensive school has provided me with the skillset that will enable me to conduct a study in the Ottoman Archives of the Prime Minister’s Office, essential for my research. I feel lucky to be a part of the Ottoman language school in Cunda, which has been home to inspiring scholars of Ottoman history for many years now.