The documentary film "Ottoman America", which will remind the world of Ottoman immigrants in the United States, became a book. The book "Ottoman America" will tell the stories of the Ottoman world lived in the USA to the international public and readers will be able to watch each chapter written in the book by scanning the QR codes under the chapter title. The documentary and the book were produced in collaboration with Bay Atlantic University, Bahçeşehir University Civilization Studies Center (MEDAM), and Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities. The introduction and presentation of the "Ottoman America Book" was held on Sunday, September 18, 2022, at 19:30 in the United States of America at Rockefeller Center in New York State by the Turkish-American National Steering Committee (TASC) and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB) with the participation of President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The program, in which 250 guests came together in a special session, continued with the distribution of Ottoman America QR Books to the guests after the book trailer. A signed book was also presented to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan by YTB President Abdullah Eren.
The book, which aims to objectively tell the stories of the Ottoman world lived in the USA to the international public, sheds light on the lost Ottoman America of personal stories. In addition, it will be ensured that readers are both informed and part of their personal stories during the rediscovery of this lost time.
An Introduction to Anatolia Will Be Made
The goals of the book are to reveal the contributions of Turkish immigrants to both the USA and Turkey who came to the USA in the early 1900s, to provide a common platform for Turks, and to bring their contributions to the country to light.
The book aims to provide a strong historical database to business people and politicians of Turkish origin, contribute to tourism by promoting Anatolia, to bring a new perspective to the immigration debate in the country by positively changing the misperceptions about those who immigrated to the USA and to reinforce the belonging of the members of the Turkish community that lived in the USA for more than 100 years.
The book is about the arrival points of immigrants in America and their lives in America, the human stories of the Ottoman people who started to contribute to American society, economy, and politics in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Mehmed Ali Efendi, an Imam who was assigned as an attache to Washington Embassy in 1919 by the Ottoman Government, who speaks 6 languages and has a mosque built in the area where the World Trade Center will be located in the future, is also among the names whose story is told.