Centre for Asia Minor Studies

What I can see

The building that currently houses the Centre for Asia Minor Studies is a two-storey house, built during king Otto’s reign. It has a Π-shaped floor plan and neoclassical elements, such as the arch array facing the courtyard. It is one of the first houses in Athens of independent Greece; it refers to the pre-revolutionary mansions and was probably designed by Stamatis Kleanthis. The aim of the Centre for Asia Minor Studies is the research of the history and culture of Asia Minor Greeks from antiquity to the exchange of populations between Greece and Turkiye in 1924, as dictated by the Treaty of Lausanne. Its collections consist of audio-visual material, documents, codes of communities and parishes of Asia Minor, special editions of books and editions in the Karamanli script. Its library includes approximately 16,000 titles of Greek and foreign language books and journals.

What I can't see

One of the centre’s first research activities was the collection, documentation and preservation of the oral tradition of the Asia Minor peninsula (current Turkiye). It collaborates with universities in Greece and abroad, publishes a scientific journal, scientific articles and holds temporary exhibitions, workshops, conferences and seminars. Its rich archive is divided into 7 sections: Archive of Oral Tradition, Archive of Manuscripts, Archive of Photographs, Archive of Maps and Sketches, Private Archives, Musical Folklore Archive, Archive of Melpo and Octavius Méliès. Moreover, the building had been the residence of prominent personalities during the first years of the Greek state.

Info

• Address: 11 Kydathinaion St.
• Postal Code : 10558
• Phone: +30 210 3239225
• E-mail: [email protected]
• Website: http://www.kms.org.gr

Bibliography