Travelers on the Margins: Mobility of Arabic-Speaking Christians in the Ottoman Empire

8–10 July 2025, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich

We invite scholars to submit abstracts for the conference Once, We Were Here: Traces of Mobility across the Ottoman Empire. While much scholarship has focused on travelers, their routes, and destinations, there remains a wealth of history embedded in the material traces travelers left behind. This conference invites scholars to explore these material aspects, shedding light on the motivations, experiences, and broader social, religious, and economic dynamics they reveal.
This conference is organized in the framework of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie project Travelers on the Margins: Mobility of Arabic-Speaking Christians in the Ottoman Empire, which focuses on the marginal notes left by Arabic-Speaking Christian travelers in manuscripts at St. Catherine’s Monastery in Sinai, Egypt. The conference expands its lens to encompass material traces of travelers across various religious and cultural backgrounds in the Ottoman Middle East. We welcome contributions examining not only marginal notes in manuscripts but also inscriptions, objects, and other forms of material culture. Our exploration poses questions about and drawing upon three core elements:

1. Travelers and Their Journeys
Who were the individuals who left behind traces of their travels, both in written records and material artifacts? What were their social, political, and religious motivations? How did internal travels compare with external journeys beyond the Ottoman realm? What strategies did travelers use to navigate the challenges of travel and the complex socio-political landscape?

2. Road Stops and Destinations
How did religious and secular institutions serve as facilitators of mobility? What roles did they play in documenting, preserving, and fostering interactions during travelers' journeys?

3. Material Traces
What material traces—such as marginalia, inscriptions, or personal artifacts—did travelers leave behind? How do these remnants illuminate the social and religious networks that sustained them? How can material culture studies offer new perspectives on the experiences of Eastern Christians and other communities in the Ottoman world?
We are delighted to announce that the conference will host Professor Dr. Heleen Murre-van den Berg (Radboud University) and Dr. Boris Liebrenz (Saxon Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Leipzig) as keynotes speakers.
We have also invited scholars specializing in the Ottoman Empire, mobility, and minority communities during the Ottoman era, and we strongly encourage PhD students and early-career researchers to submit abstracts to further enrich the conversation.
While the focus remains on Eastern Christian mobility within the Ottoman Middle East, this conference also seeks comparative approaches that explore similar themes across different regions or religious traditions. This may include the mobility of other minority religious groups or travelers from diverse regions who left behind material traces.

Practical Notes

• Abstracts of no more than 250 words, accompanied by a 300-word biography, should be submitted to v.zaki@lmu.de by 30 January 2025. Applicants will be notified of the outcome before the end of February 2025.
• Conference presentations will be in English, with each talk lasting 20 minutes followed by 10 minutes for Q&A.
• It is planned to publish selected papers in a collective volume.
• Accommodation in Munich will be provided for successful applicants, and travel costs will be reimbursed within a set limit.
• For any queries, please contact Dr. Vevian Zaki (v.zaki@lmu.de).

In the Ottoman era, individuals and groups exhibited a complex pattern of mobility: Internal and external, temporary and permanent, individual and communal. while much attention has been paid to travelers, their routes, and sights, there remains a rich history hidden in the material traces left behind. This conference invites scholars to explore the material aspects of these travelers’ experiences, their motivations, and the broader social, religious, and economic dynamics these traces reveal.
This conference is organized in the framework of the project “Travelers on the Margins: Mobility of Arabic-Speaking Christians in the Ottoman Empire,” which focuses on the marginal notes left by Arabic-Speaking Christian travelers in manuscripts at St. Catherine’s Monastery in Sinai, Egypt. The conference takes a broader approach, expanding the scope to material traces left behind—not only in marginal notes of manuscripts but also in inscriptions, objects, and other forms of material culture. Also, it encompasses the journeys and movements of travelers from various religious and cultural backgrounds across the Ottoman Middle East. The conference, in turn, poses questions about and drawing upon three core elements:

Travelers and their Journeys: Individuals who left evidence of their travel through religious and secular institutions, not only in written records but also through material artifacts. Who were these individuals? What were the social, political, and religious motivations behind these movements? How did these internal travels compare with external journeys outside the Ottoman realm? What strategies did travelers employ to navigate both the challenges of the road and the complex political and social landscapes of the Ottoman Empire?

Road stops and destinations (religious and secular institutions along travel paths): How did these institutions facilitate mobility, and what role did they play in documenting and preserving these histories, and fostering interactions?

Material Traces: What kinds of material traces (e.g., marginalia, inscriptions, personal belongings) did the travelers leave behind, and what do these artifacts tell us about the social and religious networks that sustained them? How can the study of material culture—from inscriptions to marginal notes—offer new perspectives on the experiences of Eastern Christians and other communities in the Ottoman world?
While the focus remains on Eastern Christian mobility within the Ottoman Middle East, this conference also seeks comparative approaches that explore similar themes across different regions or religious traditions. This may include the mobility of other minority religious groups or travelers from diverse regions who left behind similar material traces.