An online-only lecture about the Literature of the Karamanlides will be presented in Greek by Achladi Evangelia, on Thursday, 30 June 2022, at 7 pm, as a part of the Greek History and Culture Seminars, offered by the Greek Community of Melbourne.

Karamanlidika literature (texts written in Turkish language with Greek characters/alphabet) was directed towards the turcophone orthodox population of Asia Minor. The printed karamanlidika literature covers a period from the beginning of the 18th until the beginning of the 20th century. The karamanlidika prints, being a cultural product of the Ottoman period, were affected by the political developments in the Ottoman society such as the Tanzimat Reforms, the Europeanisation and secularisation movements, as well as the educational-proselytising missionary activities of American and British missions.

In the beginning the karamanlidika literature focused on the religious and moral education of the turcophone orthodox Christians but gradually we see the appearance of secular works (dictionaries, practical guides, etc). Especially in the second half of the 19th century, the number of secular books increases with the publications of literature, mainly translations of European romance, and popular books relating to general education or everyday life.

Furthermore, at the end of the 19th century Armenian-Persian popular epic poems were published, as were studies of local Asia Minor history written by scholars of Cappadocian origin. This talk presents the characteristics of the different periods of karamanlidika production, the main publishers and printing houses as well as their interaction with other kinds of literature within the Ottoman society.

Since 2012 Achladi Evangelia is the Library and Culture Coordinator of the Cultural Center of Greece in Istanbul (Sismanogleio Megaro-General Consulate of Greece in Istanbul). Her research interests lie in the Ottoman history the of 20th century (social and educational history of the Greek Orthodox communities), karamanlidika literature, Asia Minor dialects as well as in language-contact issues.

Some of her published studies are: “The Greek Press from 1784 up until Today: historical and theoretical Approaches”, (2005), “Smyrna: Forgotten City?”, (2006), “Encyclopaedia of the Greek press 1784-1974”, Institution of Modern Greek Studies ( 2008), “Young Turks and Ottoman Greeks in Smyrna. The Greek Boycott (1908-1911)”, Kebikeç (2008), “The language question in Smyrna in the first two decades of the 20th century”, Δελτίο της Καθ’Ημάς Ανατολής (2011), “The Karamanlidika periodical AKTIS (1913-1915)”, (2014), Karamanlı Rum Ortodoks Bir Askerin Seferberlik Hatıraları, Çanakkale ve Doğu Cepheleri, 1915-1919, (2017), Stelios Theodosiadis, Autobiography of a Mechanician from Macri and Livisi (2021), Lycia in 19th and 20th century (Macri-Livisi-Tarsanas), (2021).

When: Thursday 30 June 2022, 7 pm
Online Platforms: Facebook and Youtube
**This seminar will be delivered in GREEK