History of Maps and Important Map Collections in Turkey

Hakan Anameriç∗

Abstract
Considering the historical process, mankind has produced many information sources and used
them in the most effective way when he needs. One of the most known and used of these resources is
books. However, there are many information resources in different formats except books. These
resources are called non-book materials. The one, which is regarded as the most strategic
information resource among the non-book materials, is map. Maps are information resources which
can give detailed and strategic information about any part of the world differ from the other
information resources. They have been used as widely as books in almost every age of the history.
Maps have been drawn and used after discoveries, excursions, and especially military expeditions.
Many countries, governments or managers ordered special maps for their countries and/or other
countries and paid serious budgets for them. The most important characteristics distinguishing maps
from other information resources are that they have many types and they can be used for many
purposes. Different applications were developed for organizing them because of the variety of the
information they contain. These characteristics of maps put forward that drawing and reading map
necessitate a special education. In the study, theoretical information about the process of maps’
occurrence, basic information fields on them, their types, making catalogues and access will be given
and the examples from the libraries, having rich map collections in Turkey, will be given.

Introduction

Map is described as documents showing a structure on the world or another celestial body,
which is made with abstract characteristics, with a particular scale on a flat surface in a graphical
and photogrametric way. These strategic information sources have usually been preserved in palaces
and military bases because of the value of the information they contain. The secrecy degree of these
documents necessitated this kind of
preservation.
Maps are one of the oldest
written information resources. Maps
are usually seen as being used them in
military operations and wars. For this
reason, when the map is named, firstly
wars come to the mind. However,
maps are used in many fields except
this field and they can be prepared
differently according to these fields.
This shows that it is necessary to
control the maps, produce them
according to particular rules and apply
Figure-1 The oldest map of the world that exhibits in the Museum different rules in access and
of Anatolian Civilisations in Ankara, Turkey
organization of them.

Development and Use of Maps in the World and in Turkey

Cartography, which knows as mapping or surveying map, had not seen as a science and
application field at first. They had been produced as related to mathematics, physics and geometry
since the ancient times until the end of the Middle Ages. In this context, drawing map is contemporary

∗
Dr., Department of Information and Records Management, Faculty of Letters, University of Ankara.
anameric@humanity.ankara.edu.tr, hakananameric@gmail.com

1
with beginning of using these sciences. Considering the historical process, it is known that the first
maps were drawn in the shape of plans and included narrower lands. These map drawings have been
seen in Mesopotamia, where the civilization occurred, for the first time. However, the first remnant
resembling a map (in fact a city plan) was found in the excavations of Çatalhöyük and this is dated
6200 B.C. This plan is in the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara (Bagrow, 1964:2-3; Brock,
2001). Another important map is the first world map drawn on a clay tablet by the Babylonians
(Bagrow, 1964:31; Bricker, 1968:11; Brown, 1949:33, 37).

Both of the two maps contain

important information about the
periods they were drawn. Especially
the world map gives clues about
religious, social and artistic activities of
Babylonians and gives answers to the
questions on those periods by
associating them to the findings.
Nature philosophers of ancient
times had important studies on map and
cartography. Among them, there were
philosophers who gave ideas on map
and cartography - especially on
mathematics and geometry - and even
drew maps. These are respectively
Thales, Pythsagoras, Aristotales,
Herodotos, Eratosthenes, Hipparchos,
Figure-2 The world map was drawn by Cosmas Indicopleustes in
Strabon and Ptolemaios. The maps
VIth Century
drawn by Eratosthenes and Ptolemaios
are important evidences for cosmography of the ancient times. Moreover, the world map in the work
called Christian Topography by Greek priest and traveler Cosmas Indicopleustes, is also an important
document.

Maps of the ancient times were drawn with limited opportunities and information in order to
prove the hypothesis generally on world, universe and cosmography, and concretize the information
on universe and world. Furthermore, it is seen that the journeys had important effect on forming these
maps. However, considering all maps drawn in that period, whole of Africa, Oceania and a great part
of Asia take place in them and generally Greece, Italy, Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal),
Anatolia, Egypt, Middle East, North Africa
(Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria), Iran and the
Caucasus are shown. This reflects the world of that
period.
Cartography in the Middle Ages began to
develop at the beginnings of the IXth century with
mostly for military purposes, and more detailed
studies covering wider areas were carried out. The
maps were drawn in the result of discoveries of
new settlement places, vegetations, geographical
characteristics, etc. after the military expeditions,
wars, migrations and journeys. The reason of this
Figure-3 World map was drawn by El-Đdrisi in 1154 development is the land / sea wars between the
(Köprülü Library-Đstanbul) Arabic Empire and Western World, Africa and the
scientific studies of Arab-Islamic scholars on
geography, mathematics, geometry, physics, cosmography and maritime. As known, the Arabs
conquered the whole North Africa, Sicily and Andalusia (Spain) in the middle of the VIIIth century.
Furthermore, the contributions of Arab-Islamic scholars between the VIIIth - XIth centuries are known

2
by the whole world. In this period, giving place to maps in books became widespread. The most
important one of these maps is the world map in Nüzhet’ül-Müştak fî Đhtirak’il-Afak by El-Đdrisi1
(1099/1100-1166), who corrected much information which had been known as wrong until that time in
the mentioned work. A copy of this work is in Köprülü Library in Istanbul (Adıvar, 1970:129,
Anameriç, 2006:198). On the contrary of the Arabs, the Christianity in Europe stayed away from this
kind of developments and did not get out of the world described in the Gospel. For this reason,
cartography in Western World could not develop until the end of the XVth century.

Another civilization progressing in

cartography in the Middle Ages was the Chinese.
The Chinese developed cartography with the
purpose of government service and made it an
important means of scientific experience
(McClellan and Dorn, 2006:158).
The first examples of using and drawing
map in Turks started to be seen in the XIth
century. The most important example of them is
the Turkish World map in the work called Kitab-
ı Divan-ı Lügat’it Türk2, which is the first
Turkish dictionary, written by Kaşgarlı Mahmut
(1008-1075). In the XIVth century, the additions
made to the works of Arab-Islamic geographers
and Arabic studies became a matter of primary
importance. There are a lot of world maps and Figure-4 Map of Turkish world was drawn by Kaşgarlı
regional maps among those studies. The Mahmut (Millet Library-Đstanbul)
important ones of them are Đbn Havkel’s
Suret’ül-Arz (1 world map and 17 other maps)3, El-Belhi’s Süver’ül-Ekalim (1 world map and 20 other
maps)4 and Ibn’ül Verdi’s Haridat’ül-Acaib (World Maps)5. Cartography was developed in the middle
of the XVth century, the rising period of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans, who showed
developments in almost any field with the conquest of Istanbul in 1453, produced important works in
different sciences. They produced world-famous works especially in geography and history. It could
not be possible to think the cartography showed no development in the Ottoman Empire, which
dominated the important land and sea trade roads in the Mediterranean, Egypt, Middle East, Caucasus,
Crimea and Balkans, moreover, preparing of detailed maps and/or plans of the country or regions was
necessary in order to capture the mentioned trade roads and apply the economic system in those
regions. The reasons of success of the Ottoman Empire in land and sea wars in the XVth, XVIth and
XVIIth centuries, were map reading and drawing skill besides the war techniques and tactics. This
skill is seen in the world map drawn by Turkish Admiral Piri Reis (1465/1470-1554), who had an
important fame even in the Western World. As known, only one piece of the world map, drawn by

1 Ebu Abdullah Muhammed ibn eş-Şerif El-Đdrisi. Đdrisi drew a world map in 3.5x1.5m. dimensions as containing the
places of the important centers not only with their latitudes and longitudes and also with their distances to each
other and their climatic zones, after a 15-year study thanks to the information he had obtained in Palermo-Sicily.
2 This work, which is only one copy, was saved from disappearing among the boks, which were moved from Public

Library , damaged in the earhquake on August 17th 1999, to Beyazıt State Library. Ali Emiri Efendi (1857-1924),
the founder of the Public Library, bought this work for 30 golds from a second-hand book seller.
3 His real name is Muhammed bin Ali en-Nasibi al-Bağdadi. His birth and death dates are not exactly known. He

drew maps of Arabia, Persian Gulf and surrounding, North Africa, Andalusia, Sicily, Egypt, Syria, the
Meditarrenean, el-Cezire and Iraq. The work is registered by number A3346 and A3347 in the Library of Topkapı
Palace Museum.
4 Ebu Zeyd Ahmed bin Shal’el Belhi (787-886). The work is registered number A3348 and A3349 in the Library of

Topkapı Palace Museum.

5 The work is registered by number A3020, A3021, A3022 and A3025 in the Library of Topkapı Palace Museum,

with the number 2040 in Esat Efendi Library (Đstanbul), with the number 435 in Hacı Beşir Ağa Library (Đstanbul),
with the number 1423 in Murat Molla Library (Đstanbul), with the number 1075 in Köprülü Library (Đstanbul). In
abroad, it is registered by number AFT 151 in Bibliotheque Nationale de France.

3
Piri Reis, could be found. The other pieces have not found yet. The map was drawn by Piri Reis in
1513, but the only known piece of the map was found in Topkapı Palace in 1929.6 There is another
world map Piri Reis drew in 1528.

Figure-5/6 Two world maps of Piri Reis. They were drawn in 1513 and 1528.
Piri Reis collected his notes and observations he obtained during his voyages in the work called
Kitab-ı Bahriye. This book was one of the most important maritime books of the period, and it
attracted great attention in Europe, too. There are a lot of maps in the book as well as the important
maritime information. Many domestic and foreign studies were carried out on these maps.

In the XVIIth century; the most

important cartography studies are
Cihannüma and Tuhfet’ül-kibar fi Esfar’ül
Bihar by famous geographer, bibliographer
and historian Katip Çelebi, who is known as
Hacı Halife or Hacı Kalfa in Europe.
In the Ottoman cartography, a
Turkish dominance existed between the
XVth and XVIIIth centuries. Nearly all
book and maps were written and drawn by
Turkish travelers, scientists, seamen and
statesmen. However, since the beginnings
of the XVIIIth century officer of foreign
countries, some non-Muslim citizens of the
Ottoman Empire and some members of
important families, for example Medici,
started to have maps drawn.
XVIIIth century is a transformation
and innovation period of Turkish Figure-7 Waterway map of Süleymaniye Külliye (Complex)
cartography. Because, in 1729 the was drawn in second half of XVIIIth century. It exhibits at
government initiated to found the first Museum of Turkish-Islamic Arts in Đstanbul Inventory No.
Ottoman-Turkish printing house and 3337
Đbrahim Müteferrika (1674-1745) printed
his first works in that printing house. Besides the manuscripts, the books and maps started to be
printed with printing techniques from this date. Müteferrika printed 17 works until his death. Ibrahim

6 The map is registered by number R1633 in the Library of Topkapı Palace Museum.

4
Müteferrika gave place 47 maps among the works printed in the first Turkish printing house and this
can be regarded as an important development for Turkish cartography history. The first of these maps
is the map of the Marmara Sea, whose original is a gravure scraped on boxwood. The map’s date is
1719/20. There is an expression dedicated to Ahmet III, the sultan who reigned between (1703-1730),
on the map: “My illustrious sir, if you order bigger ones will be made”8. The second map is 1724/25
dated Black Sea map. The map is in 65x95cm dimensions and it was presented to Nevşehirli Damat
Đbrahim Pasha (1718-1780), the grand vizier of the period (Goodrich, 1997: 30-31).9 The third map is
the map of Iran, printed in 1729/1730. The map was formed by uniting four sections and there are
records carrying the signature of Ibrahim Müteferrika inside of the sections

(Ersoy, 1959:37).11 These maps were

printed when the first Turkish printing press was in
trial period and they give information about the
geographical, socio-economic and cultural
situation of the period. Among the interesting
maps drawn in the XVIIIth century, there are the
maps of water ways of various districts of Istanbul.
These maps are in the Library of Topkapı Palace
Museum, Museum of Turk-Islam Works and in the
General Directorate of Waqfs in Istanbul. In
Figure-7, a water way map, which is exhibited in
the Museum of Turk-Islam Works, is seen.
Examining the libraries with important map
collections, it is seen that a lot of maps have been
drawn both in books and also separately. Another
characteristic attracting attention in this period is
more detailed maps of smaller areas were drawn.
Topkapı Palace, which had been the
administration center of the Ottoman Empire until
the beginnings of the XIXth century, was also the
treasury and state archive of the Ottoman Empire.
For this reason, the Library of Topkapı Palace
Museum and Archive have a lot of maps belonging
to the different periods of the Ottoman Empire. In
the XVIIIth century, plans, which were drawn in
different scales and details, were collected as well.
Most of them are about wars, sieges and
Figure-8 Basra-Baghdad map was drawn by Ragıp expeditions. The reason of increase in maps and
Ağa in 1848 and printed in Mühendisane-i Berriye-i
plans in the XVIIIth century is that the Empire was
Hümayun10
(Ankara University Library of Faculty of Letters
frequently in war. The Ottoman cartographers
Manuscript Section ) drew maps and plans of borders of the country,
other countries’ military maneuvers and the sieges
in a detailed way. The most important examples of them are in the Library of Topkapı Palace

7 Three of these four maps are in the Library of Topkapı Palace Museum. There is only printing cliche of the
Marmara Map. Egypt Map, which is claimed to be printed, has not been found yet.
8 Turkish form, “Benim devletlü efendim, eğer fermanınız olursa daha büyükleri yapılır.”
9 The map is registered by number H1817 in the Library of Topkapı Palace Museum.
10 Harita koruma kabı ile birlikte A.Ü.D.T.C.F. Kütüphanesi M.O. I 156’no’da kayıtlıdır. Bu haritanın çizilip basılması

ile ilgili olarak T.C. Başbakanlık Devlet Arşivleri Genel Müdürlüğü Osmanlı Arşivi Daire Başkanlığı’nda 5 adet
belge bulunmaktadır. Bkz: 20 Cemazi’ül-evvel 1264 (24 Mayıs 1848), 4-45, Sadaret Amedi Kalemi (A.}AMD), 25
Cemazi’ül-evvel 1264 (29 Mayıs 1848), 62-1786, Đradeler-Mesail-i Mühimme (Đ.MSM), 14 Receb 1264 (16 Haziran
1848), 62-1788, Đradeler-Mesail-i Mühimme (Đ.MSM), 22 Receb 1264 (24 Haziran 1848), 3-147, Cevdet Nafia
(C.N.), 18 Zil’hicce 1264 (16 Ekim 1848), 7-73, Sadaret-MühimmeKalemi Evrakı (S.MKE) fonlarına kayıtlı
belgeler.
11 The facsimile of the map is registered by number H1817 in the Library of Topkapı Palace Museum.

5
Museum. The most interesting
examples are plans of Prut War in
1711, one of the last successful wars of
the Ottoman Empire in the XVIIIth
century, the plan of Adakale Siege, and
the maneuver plans in Poland,
Moldova and Hungary of the Russian
Army in 1768-1769 in the Ottoman-
Russian War in 1768-1774. Memealik-
i Osmaniye map, dated 1727, is also
important.12

In the XIXth and XXth

centuries, both developments in the
techniques of cartography and also in
the press techniques became diagnostic
in map producing. In the libraries of
Turkey, there are maps mostly
belonging to this period. Moreover in
these centuries, the foreign travelers
and officials coming to Turkey gave
places to maps in their works or drew Figure-9 Map of Prizren was printed in Vienna in 1902
maps in sections. These works and ( Ankara University Library of Faculty of Letters, D34641)
maps are especially belonging to the archeological regions in Anatolia, Egypt and Middle East. For
example, French orientalist and Turcologist Francis Vyvyan Jago Arundell (1780-1846) gave places to
maps in his two books published in 1828, 1834 and 1839.13 Famous German orientalist Heinrich
Kiepert (1818-1899) drew maps of the archaeological areas where he traveled and searched.14 Helmuth
von Moltke (1800-1891), who served in the Ottoman army in the periods of Mahmut II (1808-1839)
and Abdülmecit (1839-1861), carried out studies on map in Anatolia. Especially the map of Istanbul
(Karte von Konstantinopel) printed in Berlin in 1842 is important. Another German officer Baron von
Vincke drew the first map of Ankara in 1846 and its plan in 1854 and had it printed in Berlin.15

12 These plans are registered by numbers E1551/1, E9439, E1551/2 and H447 in the archive of the Topkapı Palace
Museum.
13 A Visit to the Seven Churches of Asia was published in London in 1828 and in 1834. Discoveries in Asia Minor waas

published in London in 1839.

14 Karte von Kleinasien, Berlin 1843-1845; Karte von Kleinasien, Berlin, 1844 (6 sections); Karte von Kleinasien, Berlin, 1854

(2 sections); Memoir über die Konstruktion der katre von Kleinasien uns Armenien von v. Vincke, v. Moltke un Kiepert, Berlin,
1854; Spezialkarte von westlichen nach seinen eigenen Reisen und nach anderen grösstentails nach unver öfflichen Rauten-
Aufnahmen, 1890-1892, Berlin (15 sections).
15 Karte der Umgegend von Angor, Berlin, 1846; Plan der stadt Angor, Berlin, 1854.

6
 Orientalists, travelers and foreign
officials usually drew the topographic
and archaeological maps of Anatolia,
where is called as Asia Minor
(Kleinasien) in the West. These maps
mostly include the years between
1830-1950. Polarities became clear and
preparations for war began towards the
XIXth century. As known, the Ottoman
Empire started to become closer to
Germany, Prussia and Austria since the
1850s and invited many foreign experts
from those countries to the Empire.
The number of these experts increased
before and during the Ist World War.
However, some changes happened in
the purposes of drawing and contents
of the maps, mine and railroad maps Figure-10 Map of Selonica Province was drawn by handmade
(transportation) became dense during and it’s date is unknown
the war. In this period; maps in form of ( Ankara University Library of Faculty of Letters Manuscript
paper sections glued to the cloth for Section No. Đsmail Saib II 4782)
using longer time were especially drawn and duplicated by military institutions. In the Library of
Ankara University, Faculty of Letters, there are 1216 interesting examples of this kind of maps. These
maps were printed as sections and added to a cloth ground in 1898-1912. The company called
ARTARIA & CO.17, which began to publishing with music notes of Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
and Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) in 1765 in Vienna, published these maps. Bringing the maps
side by side, it is seen that Niş-Edirne-Larissa-Corfu-Draç-Đşkodra line occurred. Considering the
strategic centers, drawing and printing dates on these maps, the possibility of being prepared for a
particular purpose occurred. As known, the Ottoman Empire experienced four big and destructive
wars, political tumult and innumerable rebellions in the end of the XIXth and in the beginning of the
XXth centuries. In the results of 1897 Ottoman-Greek, 1911 Tripoli, 1911-1912 the Ist Balkan War and
1912-1913 the IInd Balkan Wars, Albania, Macedonia, Kosovo and Teselia (Greek) broke away from
the Ottoman Empire.
The studies of German and Australian cartographers were dense in the last periods of the
Ottoman Empire and in the first periods of Turkish Republic. Maps of regions and cities (city plans)
started to be drawn as detailed in order to determine the new borders and apply the settlement policies.
In the XXth century, the maps started to be drawn with a newer cartographic technique,
photogrammetry. Moreover, a central institution was founded for drawing and duplication of the maps
bigger than 1/5000 with the foundation of Harita Umum Müdürlüğü (General Command of
Cartography) in 1925. This institution has still been on duty today.

16 D34639-Niš (Niş), 1898, Vienna; D34637-Durazzo (Draç), 1900, Vienna; D34634-Larissa, 1901, Vienna; D34641-
Prizren-Novipazar (Prizren-Yenipazar), 1902, Vienna; D34633-Vodena, 1903, Vienna; D34640-Adrianopel (Edirne),
1903, Vienna; D34632-Janina (Yanya), 1904, Vienna; D34635-Manastır-Skoplje (Manastır-Üsküp), 1904, Vienna;
D34631-Rodosto (Tekirdağ), 1907, Vienna; D34645-Valona(Avlonya), 1908, Vienna; D34638-Plevlje-Zvornik, 1912,
Vienna; D34642-Novipazar-Užice (Yenipazar-Uzice), 1912, Vienna.
17 The famous company with music publishing and cartographic studies.

7
 The Map Collection and Its Characteristics of the National Library and General
Command of Cartography
The National Library of Turkey (NLT) and the Library of General Command of Cartography are
the libraries having the most important map collections of Turkey. There are nearly 5.000 maps in
Turkish-Ottoman and in foreign languages in the NLT. Among them, there are examples drawn in
different types and scales between the XVIIIth century and the XXth century. The oldest maps
according to the records of the NLT are the maps called “The North Part of Turkey in Europe-
Slovenia” drawn by Herman Moll (1654-1732) in 172618 and “Nieuwe kaart van Europisch Turkyen”
drawn by the famous Netherlander cartographer Isaak Tirion (1705-1765) and printed in Amsterdam
in 1732.

Nearly 5.000 maps in the NLT are preserved on wooden shelves, designed for maps, in a special
room where they are not damaged because of various outer factors. This application is a system
applied in many big libraries. Maps are preserved on these shelves without contacting to each other
and by being numbered according to their coming (record) order. The place number is written on the
background of each map and the maps are placed
in the way that this number can be seen. Maps
usually tried to be placed according to their
length. For this reason, different length notations
such as AD, C, CD, D and DD tried to be given
to the maps. For example, C notation is usually
used for foreign originated maps.
Transparent nylon pieces are placed
between maps in order to prevent them from
contacting each other, moisturizing and sticking.
Paper rolls and special boxes are used for
preservation of maps. As seen in Figure-12, the
place numbers and the seal of the NLT can easily
be seen. Access to maps is made with the place
number obtained from the search in the Library
Automation Program of the National Library.
This number begins with Hrt. abbreviation and
lasts with inventory number and also expresses
the type of material. There are important maps
about the history of Turkey in The National
Library. One of them, the one mentioned before,
is the Heinrich Kiepert’s Map of Turkey
(Anatolia), the Balkans, the Caucasus and the
Middle East, dated 1892.
In the NLT, there are mainly maps drawn
by domestic and foreign soldiers, officers,
researchers and experts in the XIXth century.
Figure-11/12 Milli Kütüphane harita rafları ve harita The maps are ib the Non-book Department of the
odası National Library of Turkey. A great part of maps
were collected by the means of collecting. In
addition, the grants and donations of institutions-foundations and persons to the library also help the
development of the collection of the NLT. The maps were not digitized. Access is provided by
classical ways and readers can examine on special map desks and can take photos if necessary. Some
relief models in the NLT are specially framed and exhibited on the walls of the Map Room (See
Figure-11). The NLT attracts attention of readers by having one of the important collections of
Turkey. The map collection is rich for the maps of cities and provinces in Rumelia and Anatolia in the
domination of the Ottoman Empire.

18 The printing date of the map was given as 1732 in some sources.

8
 Another institution having important collections is General Command of Cartography (GCC).
This institution was founded as the Directorate of General Cartography in 1925; his name was
changed into GCC in 1983. It has continued drawing, printing, buying and controlling of the smaller
maps than 1/5000 since 1925. GCC has also continued the map collecting process in which a copy of
the maps drawn by different public institutions and foundations and persons, is preserved. The maps
printed, drawn and sent to GCC by other institutions are preserved in the archive and museum of
GCC. There are important relief models having historical value among these maps. They are exhibited
in the General Command of Cartography Museum. Most of the relief models were made in the end of
the XIXth century, and a great part of them consists of maps of Rumelia, Istanbul and Greece.

Evaluation and Conclusion

Maps are information
resources having different types,
which are drawn for different
purposes. They have an important
and strategic characteristic due to
the information they contain.
Although the fields in which they
are used in daily life are limited,
they are important evidences in
researchers and some law trials.
Today, maps on meteorology,
agriculture, mines, earth figures and
climates are drawn with various
techniques and methods.
Considering the mentioned matters
as a research area, maps are
important as being information
resources used in many sciences Figure-13 The map named “Carte Générale der Provinces
such as geology, geography, Européennes et Asiatiques de L’Empire Ottoman” was prepared by
astronomy, agriculture, botanic, Heinrict Kiepert in 1892 (National Library of Turkey Hrt.1994 D 452)
zoology, mining, geodesy,
seismology and history. Maps are important means which are preferred as visual information resources
in which a region is shown as being minimized and details of that region is given.
For this reason, maps need to be preserved in suitable conditions in order to use them in
researches and making evidential characteristics of them important and they need to be controlled
bibliographically. In Turkey, this control is given to both NLT and also GCC. In Turkey, according to
the 2nd item of Deposit Law, which came into force in 1934, map collections are in the obligatory
materials. According to the 4th and 5th items of the Law of General Command of Cartography, which
came into force in 1925, and changed in 1961, maps, which all ministries and public institutions and
foundations need, are printed by GCC and at least one copy of the maps drawn by municipalities, city-
county administrations, and each institutions and foundations should be sent to GCC. The control of
these strategic information resources tried to be provided with these two legal regulations.
There are a few libraries and archives having important map collections except these two
libraries in Turkey. In this study, necessary information about their general situations is given. The
information centers need to be applied and examined for maps with historical values, are the Library
of Topkapı Palace Museum, the Library of Istanbul University, the Library of Istanbul Archeological
Museum and Süleymaniye Library. In some of these libraries, limited service is given since
arrangements and innovation works have still been continued.

9
 Classification and cataloguing
are made in a different way than the Sistem Numarası
Numarası
000641269
other materials. The most important System System No. / Inventory No.
points, which need to be taken to
consideration in classification, are the Materyal Türü Kitap (Book)
dimensions, types, the purpose of Type of Material
drawing and the information they
contain. In addition, preservation of Yer Numarası
Numarası
Hrt 1994 D 928/11
maps - especially the ones having Call Number
historical value and high possibility to
Eser Adi / Title Ankara
wear out and frequently used - in
necessary conditions is important for BasımBasım Berlin: Dietrich Reimer Geographische
this kind of material. For this reason, Place of Publication Verlaghandlung, 1906
preservation of maps and providing
access in digital spaces like other Descr. 1 hrt.
hrt : rnk. ; 45x57 cm
materials became a current issue.
Dil / Language GER
However, it is seen in the result of
researches that there is not any project Figure-14 A calalog card was prepared for a map in National
on this matter in libraries having Library of Turkey
valuable map collections and other
information centers. Maps, in a more comprising expression cartographic materials have been
described as “insufficient and bad arranged” even in the countries, which have progressed in
librarianship, and archiving.19 As known, maps are usually prepared by using leather, cloth and paper.
Of course, the places and conditions in which they are preserved are different. In order to decrease the
possibility of being damaged and worn out, they should be transformed into digital space by the means
of digital cameras and developed scanners. It provides transfer of the maps, which are information
resources and art-culture works, as well, to the next generations. However, this kind of preservation is
not quite effective in the maps, which are regarded as drawing in books. Because these maps are
catalogued as “book” since they are parts of the books or periodicals and the possibility of
disappearing of them increase when they part from the books / periodicals. For this reason, these maps
are catalogued with “Hrt” place number as map in NLT. In NLT, geographical classification was used
in map classification in previous periods.20
Basic fields which should be placed in a map:
a. Place (Place is also used as subject),
b. Scale,
c. History,
d. Name of the work / Name of the Map,
e. Drawer / Publisher / Printer,
f. Edition,
g. The Number of Sections,

19 See Rebecca L. Lubas. “The Evaluation of Bibliographic Control of Maps”, Cataloguing and Classification Quarterly 35
(3-4), p. 437, 2003.
20 In this classification technique, a division about the contents of map is divided and this division is expressed with

letters. As the subject becomes private, letter and number combination is made. For example, A letter is used for
universe map, B for general appearance and structure map of the world, C for Europe, D for Asia, E for Africa, F
for North America, G for Middle America, H for South America, I for Australia, J for the Pacific Ocean, K for
the Atlantic Ocean, L for the Indian Ocean, M for the Arctic and N for the Antarctic. For example to classify the
map of Ankara a combination is used with Turkey’s continent number (D), then the number of Turkey (D30) and
at last the number of Ankara (D 30.12). The Map of Ankara=D 30.12. The Map of London=C 19.40. Europe
(C), England (C 19), London (C 19.40). Letters and numbers are widened as new cities or regions are added. See
Mükerrem Kunkut, Harita ve Atlasların Tasnif ve Kataloglama Kaideleri, 1968, Ankara, Milli Kütüphane.

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 h. Measures,
i. Order,
j. Notes
These 10 fields are used in making bibliographic description and they also show the access
points.
In cataloguing of maps, a different technique than other material types, is not applied according
to AACR II and MARC. However, the point which should be taken into consideration in cataloguing
of maps is choosing good access point from the information the map gives. In many maps - especially
in the ones drawn in the beginnings of the XIXth - XXth centuries - there are not the mane of the
author and date. In other words, access point should be the theme of map (region, country, city, etc.)
since the users are searching maps with their themes, not with their author or drawer. Therefore, this
necessitates the correct classification of themes.
In conclusion, considering the above mentioned examples, it is seen that the usage fields of
maps have increased throughout the history. Maps, which started to be frequently used in determining
wars and borders, have become widespread towards more private fields than general field such as
journeys, geographical discoveries and physical geography. Maps in various scales and dimensions
were drawn in building, railroads, mail organization, espionage, mining, water sources and
meteorological. For this reason, map has become a secret and strategic information resource on its
own. These characteristics of maps necessitate being well classified, catalogued, preserved and
accessed.

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