First Lady Erdoğan inaugurates Valide Sultans Manuscripts Exhibition

First Lady Emine Erdoğan attended the opening ceremony of the Valide Sultans Manuscripts Exhibition at the Rami Library in Istanbul.

Stating that Rami Library, which was converted from a barracks a year ago, has become a center of culture and gathering today, Mrs. Erdoğan said that re-establishing the connection of buildings that are witnesses of their age with life and reinforcing their place in social memory is of great importance in terms of cultural continuity.

"THE MANUSCRIPTS ARE INDICATORS OF OUR CIVILIZATION THAT RULED ACROSS DIFFERENT GEOGRAPHIES"

Underlining that the East was like a light illuminating the path of wisdom and all humanity with its knowledge, First Lady Erdoğan said: "The capitals of knowledge such as Khorasan, Samarkand, Bukhara, Baghdad, Damascus, Tabriz gave birth and raised many scholars for hundreds of years. The manuscripts, some of which we witness today on the occasion of this exhibition, are indicators of our deep-rooted history and our civilization that ruled across different geographies for centuries. In our understanding, knowledge is more precious than gold and sharper than sword."

Noting that as the heirs of states that ruled at the crossroads of East and West for six centuries, we are obliged to transfer the accumulated knowledge of humanity to the future, Mrs. Erdoğan said: "From this point of view, I attach great importance to the events that highlight the efforts of pioneering figures in our history, such as the Ottoman valide sultans, to preserve our knowledge and culture. As we enter a new century in our Republic, we dream of becoming a plane tree that maintains its ties with its ancient past, shapes the future, and has deep roots and branches reaching to the sky. I sincerely hope that the activities that will bring together the ancient knowledge in manuscripts with contemporary researchers will become more widespread in the Century of Türkiye."

"The complexes such as mosques, madrasahs, baths and bazaars, which are central places for people in various parts of life, have maintained their functionality for centuries and continue to inspire today's architecture. In addition to these works, it is also admirable that they have compiled valuable manuscripts that carry science and art to the present day. From Islamic sciences to philosophy, from mysticism to history and geography, from optics, mathematics and medicine, countless manuscripts, each page of which is a jewel, have survived to the present day thanks to the valide sultans," First Lady Erdoğan said.

Noting that Nurbanu Sultan, Turhan Sultan, Bezmialem Valide Sultan and Pertevniyal Valide Sultan donated their personal libraries to their complexes, which attract attention with their richness, Mrs. Erdoğan said: "They are engraved in our memories with the relics of civilization that they patronized and put into the service of the public."