Documenting the Destruction of Balkan Waqf Institutions | András Riedlmayer

Ottoman History Podcast

E305 | The destruction of Ottoman-era waqf institutions in the Balkans during the wars of the 1990s was extensive, from masjids and tekkes to bridges and libraries. A bibliographer at Harvard's Fine Arts Library, András Riedlmayer, traveled throughout the region to document this destruction during and after the wars. In this podcast, Riedlmayer describes his work on waqf institutions in the Balkans and his testimonies about the destruction of culture for international war tribunals over the last two decades. We discuss the fate of antiquities during wars and the ethical implications for historians, collectors and museums. More at http://www.ottomanhistorypodcast.com/2017/03/balkan-waqf.html András Riedlmayer is the bibliographer in Islamic Arts and Architecture for the Agha Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at Harvard’s Fine Arts Library. He specializes in the history and culture of the Balkans, and documented the destruction of cultural heritage in Bosnia and Kosovo during the wars of the 1990s. Shireen Hamza is a doctoral student in the History of Science department at Harvard University. Her research focuses broadly on the history of science and medicine in the Islamicate Middle Ages, and more specifically on the history of medicine and sexuality. Gwendolyn Collaço is a Ph.D. candidate at Harvard University's joint program for History of Art and Architecture and Middle Eastern Studies. She specializes in Ottoman painting and social history. Her dissertation analyzes costume albums produced by bazaar artists and their translations into European turquerie across media. CREDITS Episode No. 305 Release Date: 10 March 2017 Recording Location: Harvard University Audio editing by Shireen Hamza Music: Istanbul'dan Ayva Gelir Nar Gelir - Azize Tozem and Sari Recep; Ben Yemenimi Al Isterim - Hafiz Burhan; Nazmiye - Rizeli Sadik Special thanks to Kara Güneş for permission to use the composition "Istanbul" Images and bibliography courtesy of with András Riedlmayer available at http://www.ottomanhistorypodcast.com/2017/03/balkan-waqf.html