The Sismanoglio Megaro of the Consulate General of Greece in Istanbul is situated in the middle of the Grand Rue de Pera, today’s Istiklal Street. It houses the residence of the Consul General and a range of cultural and educational activities. The history of the building epitomises the history of the Greeks of the East, of Istanbul, of the Sismanoglou family of benefactors, of Greece and indeed of Turkey. Furthermore, in a purpose-designed and furnished section of the building, it hosts, part of the extensive book collection of the Rev. Meletios Sakulidis (1926-2009), a donation to the Consulate General. The Sakoulidis Collection comprises a unique collection of Greek and foreign editions published from the 18th up to the early 20th centuries, mainly in İstanbul and other Greek centres of the Ottoman Empire. It contains rare documents that refer to almost every aspect of the multi-century history of the Greek communities in the Ottoman Empire and particularly that of Constantinople. It constitutes a valuable source especially on topics such as the history and topography of Constantinople/Istanbul, the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Greek community’s educational establishments, the publishing activities of the Greeks, etc. One of the most precious units of the Collection is the “Karamanlidika”, books written in Turkish using the Greek alphabet.

The process of digitizing and uploading of the most significant books in the collection is underway. Digitised books are uploaded to “Medusa”, the digital repository of the Public Library of Veria (http://medusa.libver.gr) and through it to the European database “Europeana” (http://europeana.eu) and to the Beyoğlu Research Centers Network “BiblioPera” (https://www.bibliopera.org).

Digitized items will open automatically by clicking the link to the Sismanoglio Megaro. Please contact the librarian for items that have not been digitized yet.

Use of the collection is open to researchers free of charge. Researchers are required to acknowledge the Library as the source for any oral or written publication.

The library is open daily (except weekends and public holidays) and accessible to all researchers. For further questions regarding the use of the Library please contact the Secretary of Sismanoglio Megaro by phone (+9 (0) 212 244 8640) or e-mail (grgencon.kon@mfa.gr and sismanogliomegaro@gmail.com).