Historic Orthodox Church Becomes Public Library in Adana, Turkey

The Agios Nikolaos Church has been turned into a library. Credit: Seyhan668 , CC BY-SA 4.0/Wikipedia

The Agios Nikolaos Church successful Turkey, besides known arsenic the Adana Greek Orthodox Church, has been transformed into a nationalist library, successful the latest twist of its astir two-century-long history.

Originally built successful 1845 by the section Greek Orthodox assemblage pursuing the 1839 Tanzimat Edict, which granted non-Muslims successful the Ottoman Empire the close to found places of worship and education, the religion stood arsenic a spiritual and taste landmark for decades.

After the 1923 population exchange betwixt Turkey and Greece, the religion was abandoned. It was aboriginal repurposed arsenic the Adana Archaeological Museum, 1 of the archetypal museums of the Republic, until 1972. From past on, it functioned arsenic a depository depot earlier reopening successful 1983 arsenic the Adana Ethnography Museum.

Following a broad restoration betwixt 2013 and 2015, it was renamed the Kuruköprü Church Memorial Museum. Since 2025, the historical gathering has welcomed a caller assemblage of readers. After its longtime location astatine the Sabancı Cultural Center was damaged successful the February 6, 2023 earthquake and slated for demolition, the Adana Provincial Public Library has relocated to the church.

The church’s striking architecture present offers a unsocial speechmaking atmosphere, with its walls lined by the library’s astir fashionable collection, which includes hundreds of literate classics.

Credit: Kuruköprü Church Memorial Museum

Adana has humanities connections to the Greek world

Adana, located successful confederate Turkey, has a agelong and layered history, and has humanities connections to the broader Greek world, particularly done the Hellenistic and Byzantine eras.

After the decease of Alexander the Great (323 BC), his empire was divided among his generals, and the portion astir Adana came nether the power of the Seleucid Empire, a Hellenistic authorities founded by Seleucus I Nicator. The Seleucids established galore Greek cities and dispersed Greek culture, language, and municipality readying crossed Anatolia, including successful Cilicia, the portion wherever Adana is situated. Adana itself was influenced by Greek medication and civilization during this period.

It aboriginal became portion of the Byzantine Empire, the Eastern Roman Empire which was profoundly rooted successful Greek language, Orthodox Christianity, and Greco-Roman traditions. During this time, Greek was the administrative and liturgical language, and Adana had a Greek-speaking Christian population.

Under Ottoman rule, Adana had a Greek Orthodox number community, arsenic was communal successful galore cities crossed the empire. This colonisation remained until the 1923 colonisation speech betwixt Greece and Turkey, erstwhile Orthodox Christians from Turkey were moved to Greece, and Muslims from Greece to Turkey.

Although fewer traces of the Greek colonisation stay successful modern-day Adana, immoderate architecture, taste echoes, and humanities references inactive constituent to its multi-ethnic past.