Turkey documents 7,000 Turkic-Islamic tombstones and inscriptions

Turkey's Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, announced that approximately 7,000 historical artifacts have been documented as part of the National Inventory Project for Turkic-Islamic Period Tombstones and Inscriptions.

Launched in 2024, the project initially focused on field studies in Tokat, Denizli, Istanbul, and Diyarbakır during 2025. The scope of the initiative has since expanded to 18 provinces. The Ministry noted that in the project's first year, 859 artifacts were documented across the four initial provinces, including 504 items in Istanbul and 243 in Denizli.

Ersoy stated that these tombstones and inscriptions serve as vital historical documents, offering insights into the language, art, faith, and social life of their respective eras. The ultimate goal is to consolidate this heritage into a shared digital database to create a comprehensive scientific collection for future generations.