Top official from the holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS) in Iran’s northeastern city of Mashhad met with head of Turkish manuscript center to discuss ways for cooperation on preserving manuscripts.

Further holding cultural and media talks, head of Islamic Research Foundation Dr. Ahad Faramarz Gharamaleki, who was in Turkey to represent the holy shrine of Imam Rea at Ashura procession in Istanbul met with Dr. Ferruh Ozpilavci, head of manuscripts center in the country.

On the sidelines of the visit to the Turkish center for maintenance and preservation of manuscripts, the two sides discussed numerous issues such as digital manuscripts, manuscripts correction and macro policies of the two centers, international ties and manuscripts exchange.  

Introducing the Turkish center, Dr. Ozpilavci noted: “The Central Organization of Turkish Manuscripts is the only official facility for accessible manuscripts in the country, which came into existence after incorporation of the entire references in Süleymaniye Library in 2008”.

“The overall number of manuscripts in the center is 93,000, some 15% of which are in Persian. Almost 94% of these manuscripts have been digitized, and the digital source is accessible via 20 libraries across the country by membership”, said Dr. Ozpilavci.

Further in his visit to the country, Dr. Gharamaleki gave a live speech on Imam Hussein (AS) and the unity of the Islamic Ummah on Quds Channel of Turkey.