Pamukkale University (PAU) Rector Prof. Dr. Mahmud Güngör welcomed the team of the internationally supported project titled “Mapping Ottoman Jerusalem” to his office, accompanied by Prof. Dr. Yasemin Beyazıt, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (İTBF).

 

The project is supported by the Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA), an international research institution under the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). It is conducted under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Cengiz Tomar (IRCICA) and led by Prof. Dr. Yasemin Avcı, a faculty member at Pamukkale University. Initiated in May 2025, the project is expected to be completed within two years.

 

The project team, supported by Dean Prof. Dr. Yasemin Beyazıt, includes PAU faculty members Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kamuran Şimşek, Dr. Rauf Belge, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Alaattin Dolu from Kastamonu University as researchers. Additionally, PAU doctoral students Mihriban Uçar and Yunus Emre Akyol are participating in the project as scholarship holders.

 

Project coordinator Prof. Dr. Yasemin Avcı has been involved in several international research projects on Ottoman Jerusalem since her doctoral studies, including those supported by the European Research Council (such as Open Jerusalem, https://www.openjerusalem.org/). Her doctoral students Mihriban Uçar and Yunus Emre Akyol are also writing their dissertations on Ottoman Jerusalem. They previously took part as scholarship holders in another project titled “Imperial Norms in Jerusalem: Public Space and Social Identity”, supported under TÜBİTAK’s 1001 Scientific and Technological Research Support Program, which was recently completed under Prof. Avcı's leadership.

 

Ottoman Land Registries of Jerusalem to Be Used in Academic Research for the First Time

The new project supported by IRCICA will transform the frequently cited Ottoman land registries of Jerusalem into a rigorous academic study for the first time. In the initial phase, 12,000 Ottoman-era handwritten title deeds from the late 19th century will be digitized. In the second phase, the names of property owners and the locations of their properties in Jerusalem will be visualized using newly generated digital maps.

 

Expected Outcome: Identifying Muslim Property Rights in Jerusalem

Ottoman-era Jerusalem will be visualized for the first time using large-scale maps, with Muslim places of worship, charitable foundations, commercial buildings, marketplaces, and residences marked through digital historical mapping tools. As Ottoman deeds are still legally valid today in property disputes, the project is expected to produce effective evidence against Israel’s ongoing denial of Muslim property rights in Jerusalem through various pretexts.

 

This groundbreaking effort is seen as a significant step toward addressing longstanding injustices in Jerusalem. Upon completion, the project is expected to strongly affirm that Muslims are the city’s indigenous population with deep historical roots.

 

Rector Güngör: “This unique project will make a significant contribution to both academia and the international community.”

Rector Prof. Dr. Mahmud Güngör congratulated the project team for their meaningful academic initiative contributing to the Palestinian cause and wished them continued success. He expressed his firm belief that this original work, which will document and map Ottoman Jerusalem, will provide significant contributions both to the academic field and to international public discourse.