World libraries: Turkey sends its ancient manuscripts to St. Petersburg

The branch of the Oriental Manuscripts Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg and the National Library of Turkey have agreed to exchange their ancient manuscripts, said the head of the branch of the Russian institute Irina Popova.  

“We have signed a cooperation agreement which provides exchange of materials between our library and the National Library of Turkey, branch of Konya. The Turkish party takes an interest in our materials on Islam. Russia, in its turn, has been involved in the study of Turkic languages. Cooperation with Turkey is a kind of a bridge between our cultures, holdings need to be open to all researchers”, she said.

The head of the institute clarified that the document meant only familiarization with materials. “We preserve all rights to our manuscripts”, she stressed.

Irina Popova announced that the Turkish partner has already provided catalogues which enable to choose necessary manuscripts.