{"id":8895,"date":"2025-06-04T10:37:59","date_gmt":"2025-06-04T10:37:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bibliopera.org\/?p=8895"},"modified":"2025-06-04T10:44:57","modified_gmt":"2025-06-04T10:44:57","slug":"introducing-the-machiel-kiel-archive-a-glimpse-into-the-ottoman-balkans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bibliopera.org\/en\/introducing-the-machiel-kiel-archive-a-glimpse-into-the-ottoman-balkans\/","title":{"rendered":"Introducing the Machiel Kiel Archive: A Glimpse into the Ottoman Balkans"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"8895\" class=\"elementor elementor-8895\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cc13d62 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"cc13d62\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-de660ff elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"de660ff\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>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&#8217;s work offers a vital record of Ottoman monuments, many of which have since been destroyed or significantly altered.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8cb82db e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"8cb82db\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2aab8a5 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"2aab8a5\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1250\" height=\"898\" src=\"https:\/\/bibliopera.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/oich.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-8880\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bibliopera.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/oich.jpg 1250w, https:\/\/bibliopera.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/oich-300x216.jpg 300w, https:\/\/bibliopera.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/oich-1024x736.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/bibliopera.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/oich-768x552.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1250px) 100vw, 1250px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c711dde e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"c711dde\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f1ee9f2 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"f1ee9f2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Vidin, Pazvantoglu M. [XXXII-27-1975]; Bulgaria. Machiel Kiel Photographic Archive, Netherlands Institute in Turkey.<\/p><p>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.<\/p><p><strong>Who Is Machiel Kiel?<\/strong><\/p><p>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.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4f73b3f e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"4f73b3f\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f50421f elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"f50421f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"935\" height=\"1396\" src=\"https:\/\/bibliopera.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/mi.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-8885\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bibliopera.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/mi.jpg 935w, https:\/\/bibliopera.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/mi-201x300.jpg 201w, https:\/\/bibliopera.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/mi-686x1024.jpg 686w, https:\/\/bibliopera.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/mi-768x1147.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 935px) 100vw, 935px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-dae6ffe e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"dae6ffe\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-234680b elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"234680b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>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.<\/p><p>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.<\/p><p>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\u2019 \u00c9cole des Hautes \u00c9tudes, and Utrecht University. He also worked with UNESCO as an advisor on heritage preservation in Bosnia and Herzegovina.<\/p><p>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\u2019s architectural and demographic history.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0f2c0b4 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"0f2c0b4\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-39f7a77 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"39f7a77\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1398\" height=\"963\" src=\"https:\/\/bibliopera.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/te.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-8888\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bibliopera.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/te.jpg 1398w, https:\/\/bibliopera.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/te-300x207.jpg 300w, https:\/\/bibliopera.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/te-1024x705.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/bibliopera.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/te-768x529.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1398px) 100vw, 1398px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b2992df e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"b2992df\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9fcf88a elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"9fcf88a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Tepelene, Ottoman bridge [1967]; Albania. Machiel Kiel Photographic Archive, Netherlands Institute in Turkey.<\/p><p><strong>A Life\u2019s Work in Numbers<\/strong><\/p><p>Prof. Kiel has authored nearly 200 academic studies and encyclopedia entries, many for the <em>Turkish-Islamic Encyclopedia<\/em> (TDV \u0130sl\u00e2m Ansiklopedisi), focusing heavily on Balkan cities. The Center for Islamic Studies (\u0130SAM) will soon publish a book dedicated to Machiel Kiel where his contributions to the <em>Turkish-Islamic Encyclopedia<\/em> (TDV \u0130slam Ansiklopedisi) throughout the years will be appear together with corresponding images from the Machiel Kiel Photographic Archive.<\/p><p>His notable works include:<\/p><ul><li><em>Art and Society of Bulgaria in the Turkish Period<\/em> (1985)<\/li><li><em>Ottoman Architecture in Albania: 1385\u20131912<\/em> (1990)<\/li><li><em>Birgi: An Old Turkish Cultural Centre in Western Anatolia<\/em> (2013)<\/li><li><em>Ost-Lokris in t\u00fcrkischer und neugriechischer Zeit (1460\u20131981)<\/em> (co-authored with Friedrich Sauerwein, 1994)<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f65a70f e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"f65a70f\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b50d7ca elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"b50d7ca\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1194\" height=\"1783\" src=\"https:\/\/bibliopera.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Picture6-1.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-8890\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bibliopera.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Picture6-1.jpg 1194w, https:\/\/bibliopera.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Picture6-1-201x300.jpg 201w, https:\/\/bibliopera.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Picture6-1-686x1024.jpg 686w, https:\/\/bibliopera.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Picture6-1-768x1147.jpg 768w, https:\/\/bibliopera.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Picture6-1-1029x1536.jpg 1029w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1194px) 100vw, 1194px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-fe942ee e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"fe942ee\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-68b2ff3 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"68b2ff3\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Szigetvar, Ali Pasa church turned mosque C. [L01-10-1970] Hungary. Machiel Kiel Photographic Archive, Netherlands Institute in Turkey.<\/p><p><strong>The Significance of the Archive<\/strong><\/p><p>Kiel\u2019s 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.<\/p><p>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 <a href=\"mailto:nit@nit-istanbul.org\">nit@nit-istanbul.org<\/a>.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d178028 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"d178028\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e1bb4eb elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"e1bb4eb\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Aysel Arslan<\/strong><\/p><p><strong>Netherlands Institute in Turkey<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Netherlands Institute in Turkey (NIT) houses the photographic archive of Prof. Machiel Kiel, a pioneering scholar of Ottoman architecture [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":8883,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[130],"tags":[164,141,162,165,163],"class_list":["post-8895","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nit-en","tag-architecture","tag-archive","tag-balkans","tag-ottoman","tag-photo-archive"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bibliopera.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8895","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bibliopera.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bibliopera.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bibliopera.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bibliopera.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8895"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/bibliopera.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8895\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8899,"href":"https:\/\/bibliopera.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8895\/revisions\/8899"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bibliopera.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bibliopera.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8895"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bibliopera.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8895"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bibliopera.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8895"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}