The Turks in Egypt and their Cultural Legacy

Before becoming secretary general of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) in 2005, Ihsanoglu was the founding director general of the Research Center for Islamic History, Art, and Culture (IRCICA). While he was there we used to discuss, for years, God and the world while taking walks on the outskirts of Istanbul. His comprehensive history, with annotated bibliography of TurkishEgyptian relations from 1805 to1952, analytically displays the printed Turkish patrimony in Egypt since Muhammad [Ali (d.1849). This had been preceded by the author’s earlier studies of (i) Ottoman Monuments in Cairo and (ii) The Interaction between Turks and Egyptians before the French occupation of Cairo, both published in 2003. The book comes with 28 black and white photographs, annotated bibliographies (on disqueette),and 137 plates. It was translated from Turkish into Arabic and first printed in 2006. The English version, by Humphrey Davies, is based on the Arabic. (p. xxv)