Cries and Whispers in Karamanlidika Books

Book excerpt: The Karamanlides are Greek Orthodox Christians originally located in Central Anatolia with Turkish as their primary language. Cries and Whispers in Karamanlidika Books contains the papers presented at the First International Conference on Karamanlidika Studies (Nicosia, 11th-13th September 2008). Since the main problems of research in "Karamanlidika" are the lack of analytical studies, the absence of scholarly exchange between researchers, as well as the politicization and political manipulation of the subject, the conference was intended to bring together specialists in the field to present papers dealing expressly with the phenomenon without political dilatation and expansion. Being a first approach to the intricate subject, the conference aimed to create a scientific platform for further research and cooperation between scholars. Historians, linguists and researchers in literature were asked to pose questions concerning the production of Karamanlidika printed works and manuscripts, the reasons that determined this production, its quantity and its quality as well as the subjects who produced and assimilated it.