Pursuing Knowledge Scientific Instruments, Manuscripts and Prints From İstanbul University Collections

150 pp, color figures, pb, in Turkish-English bilingual.

The exhibition invites you to explore the historical adventure of people who sought knowledge for centuries long, and to witness their endeavours. This compelling pursuit guided by curiosity and necessitas began in various corners of our planet during prehistoric times and kept pace with the expansion of all cultures of the world ever since. Those who sought knowledge, tried to integrate the knowledge they accumulated through observations and experimentation, and eventually decipher the Laws of Nature. The inquisitive frame of mind to make sense of these efforts led to the birth of researches which encompass the substance of history of science. The exhibition reflects the mobility of knowledge between Central Asia and Western Europe from the late 13th to the early decades of the 20th century. The Ottomans, who sought knowledge in the Eastern cultures while their Empire was still in its period of expansion, opted for the Western scientific centres as from 18th century on. Subsequently, Ottoman territories became a vast field where knowledge transmitted from the ‘East’ and the ‘West’ of the capital city Istanbul were concurrently used, taught and practiced. The exhibited scientific instruments, manuscripts, prints and photographs perfectly represent the unfolding of this conversion. Hence, the exhibition may help in creating an opinion on the historical course that science took in Turkey, its reasons and results. The major objective is to attract lay attention to the history of science. This exhibition is a call to institutions and individuals in Turkey in caring for the preservation of material (scientific instruments, documents, software) pertaining to the history of science and technology.