Conservation and restoration practices of manuscripts in Turkey from the 1960s to the present within the framework of contemporary conservation principles

Manuscripts are among the foremost sources of information in the realms of art and science. Covering a wide array of subjects from their times such as religion, history, philosophy, language, geography, natural sciences, and astrology, these works transmit valuable knowledge from the past to the present. Turkey possesses a rich collection of manuscripts predominantly from the Selçuk and Ottoman periods. This study examines the evolution of manuscripts from the invention of writing to the present day in its first section. It addresses how writing materials and production processes have developed over historical periods. In the second chapter, the formation of the Suleymaniye Library and the emergence of manuscript book pathology, its departments and its functioning are explained. The third section explains the measures and procedures applied for the preservation and restoration of manuscripts damaged for various reasons. It includes studies on the conditions under which damaged manuscripts are stored and the locations where restoration is undertaken, if feasible. In the conclusion section, an evaluation of the work done on the preservation and restoration of manuscripts is included. It is hoped that this thesis will offer new perspectives on the preservation and repair of manuscript Works.