The Netherlands Institute in Turkey (NIT) houses the photographic archive of Prof. Machiel Kiel, a pioneering scholar of Ottoman architecture in the Balkans. Known for his decades-long dedication to documenting and researching the architectural legacy of the Ottoman Empire in Southeastern Europe, Kiel’s work offers a vital record of Ottoman monuments, many of which have since been destroyed or significantly altered.
Vidin, Pazvantoglu M. [XXXII-27-1975]; Bulgaria. Machiel Kiel Photographic Archive, Netherlands Institute in Turkey.
The Machiel Kiel Photographic Archive consists of thousands of images taken or collected by Kiel during his fieldwork from the 1960s to the 1990s. These photographs capture mosques, bridges, mausoleums, dervish lodges, and other structures across the Balkans and Turkish Thrace. Invaluable for historians, architects, and scholars of Islamic art, the archive has been digitized and made available online by the NIT.
Who Is Machiel Kiel?
Born in Wormerveer, the Netherlands, in 1938, Prof. Machiel Kiel is widely recognized as one of the foremost experts on Ottoman-era architecture in the Balkans. He completed his PhD at the University of Amsterdam in 1983 with a dissertation on Bulgarian ecclesiastical architecture and mural painting during the Ottoman period.
Machiel Kiel with a local imam in Pljevlje, Montenegro. Photo by Gerard de Vries. Pljevlje [XXXVI-35-c1967]. Machiel Kiel Photographic Archive, Netherlands Institute in Turkey.
Kiel embarked on his first research trip to the Balkans in 1959 and went on extensive travels through North Africa, Turkey, and Iran. Between 1969 and 1990, he conducted fieldwork that brought to light forgotten or neglected Ottoman monuments throughout Southeastern Europe. He also carried out archival research in Istanbul, Ankara, and Sofia from the late 1970s through the 1990s.
Over the course of his career, Kiel served as a visiting scholar or faculty member at institutions such as Harvard, the Moscow State University, the University of Munich, Paris’ École des Hautes Études, and Utrecht University. He also worked with UNESCO as an advisor on heritage preservation in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
He served as the director of the Netherlands Institute in Turkey between 2003 and 2005 and he continues his academic work as an affiliated senior researcher at NIT. His research has focused on the socio-cultural history of the Ottoman Balkans, contributing significantly to the understanding of the region’s architectural and demographic history.
Tepelene, Ottoman bridge [1967]; Albania. Machiel Kiel Photographic Archive, Netherlands Institute in Turkey.
A Life’s Work in Numbers
Prof. Kiel has authored nearly 200 academic studies and encyclopedia entries, many for the Turkish-Islamic Encyclopedia (TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi), focusing heavily on Balkan cities. The Center for Islamic Studies (İSAM) will soon publish a book dedicated to Machiel Kiel where his contributions to the Turkish-Islamic Encyclopedia (TDV İslam Ansiklopedisi) throughout the years will be appear together with corresponding images from the Machiel Kiel Photographic Archive.
His notable works include:
- Art and Society of Bulgaria in the Turkish Period (1985)
- Ottoman Architecture in Albania: 1385–1912 (1990)
- Birgi: An Old Turkish Cultural Centre in Western Anatolia (2013)
- Ost-Lokris in türkischer und neugriechischer Zeit (1460–1981) (co-authored with Friedrich Sauerwein, 1994)
Szigetvar, Ali Pasa church turned mosque C. [L01-10-1970] Hungary. Machiel Kiel Photographic Archive, Netherlands Institute in Turkey.
The Significance of the Archive
Kiel’s photographs not only document buildings but also serve as irreplaceable records of cultural memory. Many of the monuments he photographed no longer exist or have been altered beyond recognition. His efforts in the field, paired with archival research into Ottoman building practices, patronage, and socio-economic conditions, provide a unique insight into the built environment of the Ottoman Balkans.
The digitized images can be found at the Machiel Kiel Photographic Archive [https://www.nit-istanbul.org/kielarchive/index.php#]. For access and inquiries, please contact NIT at nit@nit-istanbul.org.
Aysel Arslan
Netherlands Institute in Turkey
