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A total of 114 Quran manuscripts from 44 countries are now on show in Istanbul, bringing together rare examples that trace how the same sacred text has been written, printed, and visually shaped across different eras and regions.
Hosted at the Taksim Mosque Culture and Arts Center, the exhibition runs until Jan. 17 and is presented under the title “Golden Letters: 114 Mushaf, One Word.”
The exhibition sets out to line up manuscripts (mushaf: a written or printed codex of the Quran) from across the Islamic world and beyond, so visitors can follow a changing visual language, from early, plain line layouts to later calligraphic schools that built up distinctive proportion, rhythm, and balance.
General coordinator Abdullah Dide Senturk said the works come from the collection of the “mynameislam” platform, whose activities include organizing festivals for orphaned and impoverished children abroad and producing Palestine-themed items whose proceeds are donated to Gaza.
He explained that the collection grew as the team traveled to different countries, and the exhibition concept was then shaped around the Quran’s structure.
Senturk said the show was set up around a three-part link: 114 surahs, 114 manuscripts, and 114 concepts. Each manuscript is displayed openly at a specific surah and a key concept tied to that surah is placed in front of it, reflecting what organizers see as the surah’s central message.
Among the most attention-grabbing pieces is what Senturk described as the exhibition’s oldest item: a Latin Quran printed in Hamburg in 1698 under the title “Al Corani,” presented as a window into the early Western printing history of the Quran.
The exhibition also includes a manuscript associated with the Iraqi calligrapher Ibn al-Bawwab, as well as handwritten works from Chad, Egypt and Sudan.
Alongside these, visitors can see facsimile editions of prestige works and examples linked to major Ottoman calligraphers, including Seyh Hamdullah, Ahmed Karahisari, and Sekerzade Seyyid Mehmed.
The show also features “loh” boards, described as wooden boards used by children in parts of Africa while memorizing the Quran.
Another display includes a three-piece work from Egypt, decorated with turquoise and other stones, bearing the surahs of Falaq, Nas, and Ikhlas, while a separate case holds miniature manuscripts that are largely handwritten and, in some instances, written on leather.
Senturk said visitors can not only walk through the displays but also take part in programs where the concepts featured in the exhibition are discussed.
He added that, besides manuscripts, the venue includes certain decrees and certificates from earlier periods, as well as calligraphy panels put up for sale to benefit Gaza, while noting that the manuscripts themselves are not sold.
The exhibition also sets aside space for a selection of Palestine-themed items prepared by the “mynameislam” platform, drawn from a wider range of products the group sends to institutions, foundations, civil society groups, schools, and destinations from the United States and Canada to Switzerland and Germany.
The exhibition can be visited daily between 10:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. until Jan. 17.
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