TİKA’s Cultural Cooperation in Serbia Continues

Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) supported the Introduction of the Oriental Collection within Shumadia Kragujevac Historical Archive in Serbia.

The Oriental Collection, which is one of the most important Serbian archives that emerged in the Balkan lands during the Ottoman reign, consists of 200 documents and 30 books with historical, religious, administrative, and cultural content mainly in Ottoman Turkish.

TİKA supported the catalog printing and exhibition organization of the collection for both the revealing of the hidden cultural values and the strengthening of the cultural cooperation between the two countries. The exhibitions held in the city of Kragujevac and at the Ethnographic Museum in Belgrade as a part of the project attracted great attention.

Speaking at the opening of the exhibition, Writer Slavko Stepanovic stated that they have been trying to move beyond the traditional historiography and to present the documents mentioning the daily lives of people by combining them within the scope of the Shumadia Historical Archive works.

Another writer, Nenad Karamıljakovic expressed that the archive materials written in Ottoman Turkish are classified as the primary sources of Serbian history from the end of the 14th century till the beginning of the 20th century and constitute a reference point for the scientific studies regarding the reconstruction of the most important historical events and persons. Karamıljakovic also indicated that they hope that the catalog created by benefiting from 13 documents and 4 books within the collection would form a basis for stronger cooperation between the Serbian and Turkish cultural institutions.

Noting that the exhibition cracked the doors of a significant historical section open, the Manager of Kragujevac Historical Archive, Sanja Zivkovic said that they are grateful for TİKA’s support in this project.

TİKA’s Program Coordinator in Belgrade, Mehmet Mete Anaç stated that Kragujevac Historical Archive contains an invaluable treasure within itself with various archive documents and book collections and plays a critical role in the transfer of this treasure to the next generations. Anaç indicated that this project, like all other projects, sets a concrete example of the unshakable friendship between the two countries.