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RESEARCH LIBRARY – ISLAMIC LAW

– The Library of Professor Baber Johansen (Harvard) –

1,526 titles in 1,826 volumes
Written in the following languages:
- English (40%)
- Arabic (27%)
- French (21%)
- German (10%)
List of titles available in Excel (use blue link below, please)

Baber Johansen (born 1936 in Berlin), one of the world‘s leading scholars of Islamic Law, was Professor of Islamic Religious Studies and Research Professor of Islamic Studies, Harvard Divinity School; Acting Director of the Islamic Legal Studies Program, Harvard Law School (2006-2010); Director of The Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard University (2010-2013); Faculty Associate and Executive Committee Member of The Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University; Professor for Islamic Studies at the F...
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LIFE AND WORK OF FARIS AL-SHIDYAQ

The books in this collection come from, or relate to Fāris al-Shidyāq the Lebanese Arab writer, journalist and intellectual, who became a leading figure in the Arab and Muslim Renaissance (Nahḍah) of the 19th century.

The collection was part of the working library of Dr. Geoffrey Roper (Cambridge) who has published on Fāris al-Shidyāq.
It consists of:
- An autograph manuscript written by Fāris al-Shidyāq in February/March 1868: Sirr al-layāl fī 'l-qalb wa-'l-ibdāl. [Nights' secret, on transposition and substitution.]
- 27 other books written and published by Fāris, (about half of which published between 1836 and 1891)
- 19 books written on the author and his work, and
- Approx. 90 related journal articles and off-prints

> Pdf-Flyer and list of titles available for download. (See below!)

Fāris al-Shidyāq –

Fāris al-Shidyāq was born into a Maronite family in Lebanon in 1805 or -06, and was employed as a scribe there in his youth. He acquired an early taste for books, literature and calligraphy, which persisted throughout his life. Between 1826 and the mid-1850s he was employed mainly by English Protestant Missionary organisations in Malta and England to translate and edit religious and educational books for their Arabic press – except for a period in Egypt, 1828-35, where he worked on the first newspaper in the Arab world, and ...
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HISTORY OF THE BOOK AND BOOK PRINTING IN THE MIDDLE EAST

– The Research Library of Dr. Geoffrey Roper (Cambridge) –

Approx. 900 titles, some multi-volume, in various languages, principally English, Arabic, Turkish, Persian, French, German and other European languages. They are mainly on book history with a focus on printing and publishing history in the languages and countries of the Middle East and Islam. The collection also covers the history of book printing in Arabic in other parts of the world. Mostly publications of the last 50 years, but a few are older (19th century).
Pdf-Flyer and list of titles (in Excel) available for download. (See below!) ]

Geoffrey Roper, who compiled this collection over decades, was the driving force behind four symposia on the history of printing and publishing in the languages and countries of the Middle East, held in Leipzig, Mainz, Paris, and Alexandria between 2008 and 2011. These symposia aimed to build a body of knowledge and understanding of a hitherto neglected aspect of the intellectual and social history of the Middle East. The starting point of this research project was the thesis that only when a considerable amount of dat...
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EVLIYA ÇELEBI – Collection of Sources & Working Library

Collection contains all indispensable sources and working tools related to Evliya Çelebi’s extensive opus.

This material served as Klaus Kreiser's working library for the publication of his latest book on the famous chronicler:
Evliya Çelebi: Das Reisetagebuch. Die Welt zwischen Wien und Mekka. München: C. H. Beck 2023 [Evliya Çelebi: The Travel Diary. The world between Vienna and Mecca].

Items as per flyer & pdf list. (Also available in Excel)

Evliya Çelebi –

Evliya Çelebi (1611 - c. 1683) is the most important travel writer, chronicler and polyhistor of the Islamic early modern era. For almost two hundred years he has occupied Ottoman, historical and philological research in many disciplines. This collection includes mainly first editions, scholarly partial editions, translations and a complete facsimile edition, as well as an almost complete collection of monographs. In addition, there are extensive collective works (such as the so-called Evliya Çelebi Atlas) and indispensabl...
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HISTORIC PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHS with focus on Maghreb, Egypt and Sudan

Taken by Zangaki, Bonfils, Neurdein, among others
between c. 1890 and c. 1910
Package of original photos and digital files

Zangaki, Bonfils, Neurdein, among others –

Ninety portraits and groups photographs of artisans, merchants, farmers, Bedouins, women, children and families in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Sudan, Turkey and Syria. 37 of the photographs were taken by Zangaki, Bonfils, Zarrigues, Soler, Liotard, Bougault, Lehnert & Landrock, Maure, Neurdein, and Kuhn. The collection is conservationally processed for archival purposes and is stored in PAT material (photographic activity tested): - Original photos mounted on carton (acid-free, unbuffered, PAT) - Each photo in ...
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Research Library on Islamic Law and History (approx. 1800 titles)

of the late Professor Rudolph "Ruud" Peters, Emeritus of Islamic Law, University of Amsterdam

Ruud Peters (1943-2022) was one of the world’s leading scholars in Islamic Law. His working library reflects the distinct research areas of its compiler in a unique way: From the history of Jihad, to Egyptian history in Ottoman and Khedival times to Islamic Law which was his main field of research over a period of 40 years.

The library consists of three main subject areas and counts a total of c. 1800 titles: 1. Islamic Law: c. 640 titles, 46% Arabic, 33% English, 7% Turkish, 15% other languages 2. Islamic Studies: c. 500 titles, 22% Arabic, 42% English, 25% Dutch, 8% German 3. Islamic History: c. 660 titles, 31% Arabic, 48% English, 9% Dutch, 6% German A complete list of titles for each subject area is available in Excel format. »»» Please use the link above!...
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Scholarly Library on Islamic Art – Focus on Miniature Painting

Approx. 600 titles.

This very focussed working library is being put up for sale in its entirety. Main subjects covered are: - History of Islamic Arts, Architecture and Material Culture - Influences on Islamic Art - Painting and Calligraphy - Miniature Painting - Handbooks, Dictionaries - Exhibition Catalogues - Geographic areas: Middle East, Iran, India, Central and East Asia The collection of books consists of almost 600 mostly hard cover volumes mainly written in English and German. Many exhibition catalogues and other richly illustrated bo...
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Reference Library Oriental Carpets & Rugs

457 items published between 1891 and 2015

This beautiful and rich reference library on Oriental carpets and rugs consists of a total of 457 items of which 60% are monographs and 40% exhibition and auction catalogues. The books were published between 1891 and 2015 – the majority written in English and German, and a few in other European languages. - The library is now up for sale in its entirety. Besides many handbooks and monographs the collection contains important exhibition and auction catalogues. The majority of books are richly illustrated (full colour as wel...
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Book Collection: Historical Photography of the Middle East

33 items

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Collection of Armenian Books

153 titles printed in Istanbul, Cairo, Beirut, Jerusalem, Alexandria, Aleppo, Yerevan, Edschmiadzin, Tblisi, Venice, Paris, Vienna, Sofia, Bucarest, Anvers, Marseille, Colombes (Seine), New York, Boston, and Buenos Aires.

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Collection of Armenian Books

70 items printed in Aleppo, Alexandria, Boston, Cairo, Cambridge, Istanbul, Jerusalem, Paris, Smyrna, Tblissi, Thessaloniki, Venice, Vienna, and Yerevan between 1851 and 1952.

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Three Series of Military Maps Middle East, North Africa & West Asia

A total of 158 rare and out of print military maps from US and Russian sources covering the Near and Middle East, dating from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.

(1) ONC - OPERATIONAL NAVIGATION CHART NORTH AFRICA, WEST & CENTRAL ASIA 1:1,000,000 Covering: The Balkans, Black Sea, Caucasus, Central Asia, Maghreb, Mashreq, Arabian Peninsula, Pakistan, West Africa, Sudan, Somalia. ONC is the standard worldwide small-scale aeronautical chart series which contains cartographic data with an aeronautical overprint depicting obstructions, aerodromes, special use airspace, navigational aides, Maximum Elevation Figures (MEFs), and related data. Set of 39 Maps (2) TPC - TACTICAL PILOTAGE ...
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Three Series of Military Maps Middle East, North Africa & West Asia

A total of 158 rare and out of print military maps from US and Russian sources covering the Near and Middle East, dating from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.

(1) ONC - OPERATIONAL NAVIGATION CHART NORTH AFRICA, WEST & CENTRAL ASIA 1:1,000,000 Covering: The Balkans, Black Sea, Caucasus, Central Asia, Maghreb, Mashreq, Arabian Peninsula, Pakistan, West Africa, Sudan, Somalia. ONC is the standard worldwide small-scale aeronautical chart series which contains cartographic data with an aeronautical overprint depicting obstructions, aerodromes, special use airspace, navigational aides, Maximum Elevation Figures (MEFs), and related data. Set of 39 Maps (2) TPC - TACTICAL PILOTAGE ...
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Bahriye-i Bahr-i Siyah (Naval Chart of the Black Sea)

Printed from four copper plates.
Total size: c. 65 x c. 95 cm.
Kostantiniyye [Istanbul], 1137 [1724/25]

Ibrahim Müteferrika –

This map, unlike his books, is apparently not mentioned in the probate inventory of Müteferrika’s possessions at his death in 1747 (Sabev 2007). According to Toderini (1787), who acquired a copy, probably in the 1770s, the engravers were Ahmed of Crimea and Migridiz of Galata (an Armenian, according to Babinger 1919), and the plate was prepared, scrutinised and improved by the ablest geographers, before being printed by Müteferrika. According to Lüdeke (1789), it was priced originally (together with two other maps) at around...
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aš-Šifāʾ bi-taʿrīf al-Muṣṭafā

Richly illuminated manuscript in Arabic
Collated and commented text.
Reference to well-known commentaries in the margins
(mostly ʿAlī al-Qārī)
315 leaves at 17 lines
18.3 x 12 cm, paper binding

al-Qāḍī Abū l-Faḍl ʿIyāḍ –

https://franklin.library.upenn.edu/catalog/FRANKLIN_9951487543503681...
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Dalāʾil al-khayrāt wa shawāriq al-anwār fī dhikr aṣ-ṣalāt ʿala an-Nabī al-mukhtār Waymarks of beneficence and light in remembrance of the blessings of the Prophet

Illuminated manuscript in Arabic and Ottoman Turkish Elegant nasḫī with rich Illumination. Manuscript from an Ottoman-Turkish context.
36 leaves at 19 lines
16 x 10 cm
Beautiful Ottoman-style leather binding with flap and decorative stamps

Muḥammad al-Jazūlī aš-Šadhīlī died 869 H. [1465 AD] –

as well as here:...
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Tashrīḥ al-aflāk (Anatomy of the celestial spheres) including Sharḥ Tashrīḥ al-aflāk (Commentary on Tashrīḥ al-aflāk)

Manuscript in Arabic
Copied by Muhammad bin Fazlullah Sharîf
1072 H (1656 AD)
186pp., c. 11 x c. 19 cm.
Simple leather cover

Muḥammad ibn Ḥusayn Bahāʾ al-Dīn al-ʿĀmilī (1547–1621) –

Muḥammad ibn Ḥusayn Bahāʾ al-Dīn al-ʿĀmilī (ca. 1547–1621), also known as Shaykh Bahāʾī, was one of the most respected Imāmī (Twelver Shīʿī) Ṣafavid theologians during the reign of Shah ʿAbbās I (1581–1629) was probably the last scholar in the chain of universal and encyclopedic scholars that Islamic civilization was still producing as late as the 16th century. A major figure in the cultural revival of Safavid Iran, he wrote numerous works on astronomy, mathematics, and religious sciences and was one of the very few in the I...
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Talisman Booklet with Petitionary Sufi Prayers

Manuscript in Arabic, Calligraphy from the Maghreb

75 leaves, 9.5 x 11 cm
bound in leather, with flap and in an ornate leather case

Al-Shaykh bin Dammam, 1265 H. [1848 AD] –

...
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İlm-i cifir - The Science of Evocation (Spirit Conjuring). A unique manuscript, author's copy by Niyazi Dede, the Sheikh of the Mevlevi Monastery in Salonika, written in 1260 H. [1844 AD]

Manuscript in Ottoman Turkish
154 pages, 21 x 13 cm.
Cardboard cover with leather spine.

Niyazi Dede –

Two other small works are included in the manuscript: 1. A complete copy of Dîvânçe (Little Divan of 28 poems) by La'lî Mehmed Fenâî Efendi (998 - 1112 H / 1590 - 1700 AD) Only 4 copies are known in Istanbul libraries. 2. A translation of the introduction of the History of aṭ-Ṭabarī; (839 - 923 H. /1435 - 1517 AD). Occultism (from Latin occultus 'hidden', 'concealed', 'secret') is a vague collective term for a wide variety of phenomena, practices and ideological system...
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Kitab-ı İlm-i Remîl (The Book of Geomancy)

Manuscript in Ottoman Turkish
5 parts in one volume,
79 + 76 + 12 + 77 + 40 leaves,
21 x 15 cm.

İzmirîzâde Ahmed Efendi (Pseudonym), • 1192 [1778] –

Geomancy (Ancient Greek γῆ, earth, and μαντεία, divination or prophecy) from the earth is a form of clairvoyance using markings and patterns in earth or sand. It is thought to have originated in North Africa. In the twelfth century, geomancy reached Europe through Latin translations of Arabic works and became a popular method of divination during the Renaissance. It was common practice in the Ottoman Empire to write about subjects such as the occult under a pseudonym. Geomancy became known in Europe in the 12th century throu...
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Dala’il al-Khayrat (Waymarks of beneficence and light in remembrance of the blessings of the Prophet)

Manuscript in Ottoman Turkish
by Hafiz Mahmud Imâmü’s-Saray-i Hazret-i Esma Sultan. On behalf of Nevreste Hanim, court lady of Esma Sultan, daughter of Sultan Abdulhamid I. Istanbul, c. 1184-1192 [1770-1778]
265 leaves, 19 x 15 cm,
original leather binding.

Muhammad Sulaiman al-Jazuli ash-Shadhili, • died 869 [1465] –

The Dala’il al-Khayrat is the first major book in Islamic history which compiled litanies of peace and blessings upon Muhammad. It is also the most popular and most universally acclaimed collection of litanies asking God to bless him. Among some Sunni religious orders, most notably the Shadhili-Jazuli order, its recitation is a daily practice. In others however, its recitation is a purely voluntary daily practice. The work begins with the ninety nine names of God, and then the a collection of over one hundred names of Muhamm...
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Muwaṣṣil aṭ-ṭullāb ilā qawāʿid al-iʿrāb (A Student's Guide to Grammatical Analysis)

Manuscript in Arabic
Copied by Mehmed bin el hac Yusuf bin Ahmed Fasuhzade, 1269 [1852/53] ; 1270 [1853/54],
126 pp., 21 x 16 cm.

Khālid b.ʿAbdullāh al-Azharī, • born c. 838 [1434/35] –

Zayn al-Dīn Khālid b.ʿAbdullāh b. Abī Bakr al-Jirjī (or al-Jirjāwī) al-Waqqād al-Azharī was a prolific Egyptian scholar of his time and the author of widely used textbooks and commentaries, especially in the field of grammar. Al-Azharī was born in Jirjā (Upper Egypt) around 838 [1434/35]. While he was still an infant, his parents brought him with them to Cairo. Later he worked as a lamplighter (waqqād) in a mosque, where he began to develop an interest in learning and scholarship. The most prominent feature of the al-Azhari&...
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Five Commentaries on Poems

Manuscript in Persian and Ottoman Turkish
16 + 6; 38 + 6; 16 + 3; 14; 21 pages
18.5 x 12 cm.

Urfî-i Shirazî, • 963 - 999 [1556 - 1591] –

1st page: Handwritten ex libris of Hüseyin ibn Ahmet Ali Kuşîzade, grandson of the famous astronomer Alā' ad-Dīn ʿAlī ibn Muhammad al-Qūshjī, born 805 [1403] in Samarqand; died 878 [1474] in Istanbul), in the service of Sultan Mehmed II. 2nd page: Dibace (Introduction) with various marginal notes and seals. 1st commentary: written by Abdülkadir Ömer el Bağdadi, dated 1001 [1592] , 16 pp. [6 pages vacat] 2nd commentary: written by Abdülkadir Ömer el Bağdadi, dated 1001 [1592] , 38 pp. [6 pages vacat] 3rd commentary: writ...
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‘CAMERA STUDIES IN IRAQ‘ (1925)

73 photogravures taken in Basra, Baghdad, Babylon, Ctesiphon, and Mosul
Size: 31.5 x 25 cm
Package of original photos and digital files
1925

A. Kerim, Hasso Bros. –

Beautifully made photo book on Iraq from the 1920s in very good condition. 73 well preserved sepia photogravure images on 50 plates, providing a very good insight of Iraq between its shaping of its borders in 1920 and its independence from Britain in 1932; clean and crisp copy; cover: crocodile imitatation board with gilded letters. Slightly worn on the outside. Our bibliographic and archival services for libraries and museums: For cataloguing and digital availability the album is offered with an electronic inventory in Ex...
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’ALGERIE ET TUNISIE’ (1886)

Travel account with unknown views of Algeria and Tunisia
Size: 33 x 25 cm
Package of original photos and digital files
1886

Stunning and very well preserved travel account from a 1886 tour through Algeria and Tunisia. All photographs taken by the anonymous traveller himself who seemed to have a natural talent for good composition. Although he covers some of the generally known subjects he also gives new insights in lesser known subjects. Thus he covers the city of Tunis from different angles, presents some early pictures of Sidi-bou-Said and took several insightful pictures of local life. All photographs are meticulously glued on dark paper board...
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TRIPOLIS/LIBYA: Sabratha, Leptis Magna, Zliten, Tegrinna, Yafran

Album with 98 b/w Photos by Anonymous Photographer ("G.S.W.")
Size: 30 x 30 cm
Package of original photos and digital files
c. 1937

Fine Album of a private trip to Libya with 98 well preserved photos giving rare insights of that time in Libya covering architecture, street and village scenes and portraits, including references to Italian Faschism. Our service for libraries and museums: For cataloguing and digital availability the album is offered with an electronic inventory in Excel and/or pdf format and a digital reproduction of each photograph in high resolution (c. 2 MB each). These services are included in the price....
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MEKKA IN 1885: 63 Portrait Photographs from the Holy City

From Christiaan Snouck-Hurgronje’s “Bilder-Atlas zu Mekka”
Package of original photos and digital files

Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje (1857-1936) –

Following his PhD with de Goeje in Leiden and further studies with Nöldecke in Strasbourg Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje (1857-1936) went on an extended research trip to Jiddah and Mecca during the years 1884 and 1885. He converted to Islam during his stay and lived in the Holy City of Mecca from February until August 1885. Snouck Hurgronje was the first European photographer in Mecca and the second photographer ever after the Egyptian Mohammed Sadiq Bey. Upon return to the Netherlands he became lecturer at Leiden University....
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Large Collection of Oriental Photographs

With Focus on Islamic Architecture & Daily Life in the Late 19th & Early 20th Centuries
Package of original photos and digital files

This unusual collection of Oriental Photography (late 19th and early 20th centuries) with focus on Islamic Architecture and Daily Life is being put up for sale in its entirety. Subjects covered are amongst others: - Market scenes, workshops, street kitchens, hunting, water wells, bedouin tents, transport by boat and by camel - Urban structures, mosques, markets, harbours, houses, palaces, ornament, the Suez Canal The Regional focus is on the Maghreb countries, Egypt, Bilad al-Sham and Istanbul. Besides more than 250 singl...
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JOURNEY TO THE HOLY LAND IN 1928: Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nablus

Album (36 x 25 cm) with 109 vintage photographs,
17 large vintage printouts of the time (28 x 38.4 cm)
mounted on thick card board (48 x 63.5 cm)
Package of original photos and digital files
1928

This well-preserved album from 1928 shows a Heiliglandfahrt, 9. - 29. April 1928 of a German travel group, presumably from Stuttgart. In addition to well-known sights and interiors, the album contains a large number of rare street scenes and snapshots of city and country life as well as monuments. The album comes with a large folder containing additional 17 large prints (28 x 38.5 cm from a Stuttgart studio), some of which are of pictures from the album and others of other photographs from the region. These prints appe...
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Travels in Syria and the Holy Land

First Edition 1822

Published by John Murray, Albemarle Street, London
xxvi, 668 pp., 27.5 x 22.5 cm
Printed by William Nicol, Successor to W. Bulmer & Co. Cleveland-row.
Restored half-leather binding using original cover.

John Lewis Burckhardt (1784 – 1817) –

Maps and illustrations as listed on page „Directions for Placing the Plates“: 1. Portrait of Burckhardt in his Arab Bernous, sketched at Cairo Feb. 1817 by H. Salt, Esq. 2. Map to accompany the travels of J. L. Burckhardt in Syria and the Holy Land. (foldout) 3. Map of the Haouran and adjoining districts constructed from the Observations and Drawings of J. L. Burckhardt. (foldout) 4. Valley of the Orontes near the Ancient Apameia. 5. Plan of the Ruins of Djerash. 6. Plan of the Ruins of Amman or Philadelphia. 7. Plan of the...
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Qur’anic Verse from the Kiswah, the Cloth that Covers the Kaaba in the Holy City of Mecca

Produced in Egypt, this piece of Kiswah dates back to the 1920s and was a present to a German scientist.
Size: 71 x 37 cm

Verse 255 (Ayat al-Kursi) from Sura 2, al-Baqara: „He knoweth (all) that is before them and (all) that is behind them, while they cannot compass it in knowledge.“ Every year during the Hajj, the old Kiswah is removed on the 9th day of Dhu al-Hijjah, cut into small pieces, and given to visiting Muslim pilgrims, dignitaries and organizations. In the early 19th century Muhammad Ali of Egypt ordered the expenses for making the Kiswah to be met by his state treasury. Since then, Dar Al-Khoronfosh a workshop in the Gamaleya dis...
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History of the Tatars

Lot of 5 Books Published in Kazan during the 1920s Printed in Cyrillic & Arabic Script

The five books originate from the 1920s just before Soviet authorities introduced Latin script for the Tatar language. During the early years of the Soviet Union secular schools had started using Cyrillic script and Tatar religious schools continued to use Arabic script. All books are bound in red half-leather with their original covers inside....
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Ottoman Travel Reports

Printed between 1863 and 1919

Lot of 15 travel reports written by Ottoman travellers and printed between 1863 and 1919. Reports include travels to Middle Eastern regions like Yemen, Sudan, Egypt, Syria, Anatolia, Algeria but also to several European countries like France, England, Germany as well as to China, India, and Africa....
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