Rare Ottoman maps coming to Cal State San Bernardino

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While the 11th International Istanbul Biennial is showing off the ancient city’s youthful side in a sprawling contemporary art exhibition, installed in three locations around town, Istanbul’s Bahcesehir University is sending a trove of historical maps on a world tour. And it’s coming to Southern California.

“The Katip Celebi Ottoman Map and Cultural Exhibition,” organized by the Turkish university’s Civilization Studies Center, will make its first U.S. appearance at Cal State San Bernardino’s Anthropology Museum in the Social and Behavioral Sciences Building, Oct. 19 to 31.

The collection of rare artifacts comprises works by 16th and 17th century geographers and cartographers, including Piri Reis and Katip Celebi, who based their world view on personal observations and experiences as well as maps made by their predecessors. Visitors will find the Islamic world’s first set of comprehensive atlases and a wide variety of hand-drawn maps offering insight into scholarship and intellectual curiosity during the Ottoman Empire.

— Suzanne Muchnic