Turkey's IRCICA to restore and digitize Mali manuscripts

The Istanbul-based Research Center for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA), which celebrates its 47th foundation anniversary this year, has signed a collaboration agreement with the government of Mali in efforts to protect the Islamic cultural heritage in Mali. Associate Professor Halit Eren, the General Director of IRCICA, went to Mali as a guest of Ramatulaya Dialo, Mali`s Culture Minister, and conducted official contacts with the government.

Following his visit to President İbrahim Aboubacar Keita at the Presidential Palace, Eren paid a visit to the Ahmed Baba Cultural Center in Timbuktu, the oldest cultural hubs of Mali, and examined the manuscripts protected in the cultural center. Mali's ministers of Provinces, Culture, Higher Education, Economy and Tourism as well as the general secretary of Mali's President attended the dinner given by President Aboubacar in the honor of Associate Professor Eren. During the feast, the officials talked about concrete steps to take in order to protect Mali's cultural heritage and the actions that are planned to be taken by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Following the organization, Dialo and Eren came together once again to sign an agreement to protect the Islamic cultural heritage in Mali.

Offering insights to the agreement, Associate Professor Eren said: "We will collaborate with the government of Mali to restore 370,000 manuscripts that were in possession of prominent families of Mali and cultural institutions and taken to Bomoko, the capital, from Timbuktu during the war. We will also assist the process of transferring these manuscripts to the digital platform. In addition to these, we will establish a 'book hospital' in Mali for the restoration of the manuscripts. We will also contribute to the project that aims to bring all manuscripts together under one roof. Moreover, IRCICA will hold workshops, meetings and symposiums on Mali's Islamic History in Mali." Eren also visited the Prime Minister of Mali and the Minister of Foreign Affairs during the last day of his stay. Eren's last stop in Mali was to the Turkish Embassay, and he returned to Turkey following his meeting with Turkey's ambassador to Mali, Hikmet R. Şekeroğlu.