Conference Papers & Presentations by Naci Cem Oncel

Necro-Ist Workshop—Cemeteries as Archives: Interdisciplinary Applied Perspectives on Necro-geographies of Istanbul, Sabancı University, Karaköy Minerva Han Communication Center, December 13, 2025., 2025

This is the full text of the paper presented at the Necro-Ist Workshop—Cemeteries as Archives, Sa... more This is the full text of the paper presented at the Necro-Ist Workshop—Cemeteries as Archives, Sabancı University, December 2025. It argues that cemeteries functioned as far more than sites of interment and attempts a classification of the relationship between "cemetery – daily life." A further objective is to determine methodological research pathways for cemetery history studies based on the proposed categories. To this end, it elaborates on the "death and rebirth of cemeteries" and addresses the question: "In which categories can cemetery history be examined?"

Necro-Ist Çalıştayı: Arşiv Olarak Mezarlıklar, Sabancı Üniversitesi, Karaköy Minerva Han, 13 Aralık 2025, 2025

Aralık 2025'te Sabancı Üniversitesi Minerva Han'da düzenlenen "Necro-Ist Çalıştayı: Arşiv Olarak ... more Aralık 2025'te Sabancı Üniversitesi Minerva Han'da düzenlenen "Necro-Ist Çalıştayı: Arşiv Olarak Mezarlıklar"da sunulan, Türkçe çevirisini paylaştığım bu bildiri, mezarlıkların defin alanı olmanın ötesinde işlevler üstlendiğini savunurken "mezarlık – gündelik yaşam" üzerinde bir sınıflandırma önermektedir. Bu kategorilerden hareketle mezarlık tarihi çalışmaları için yöntemsel araştırma yolları belirlemeye çalışır. Ayrıca aynı doğrultuda “mezarlıkların ölümü ve hayata dönüşü” sürecine göz atarken “mezarlık tarihi hangi kategorilerde işlenebilir?” sorusuna yanıt arar.

Articles / Columns by Naci Cem Oncel

Hürriyet, Feb 1, 2015

"Don't tell me tales", On failed Ottoman - Turkish urban reforms in Istanbul and the decay of 'ma... more "Don't tell me tales", On failed Ottoman - Turkish urban reforms in Istanbul and the decay of 'mahalle'.

Hürriyet, Oct 5, 2014

A brief history of history magazines in Turkish. Popüler tarih dergilerinin tarihi üzerine...

Hürriyet, Sep 28, 2014

"Nice Smells Coming From the Past", on history of smells, perfumes and aromatherapy in Ottoman cu... more "Nice Smells Coming From the Past", on history of smells, perfumes and aromatherapy in Ottoman culture.
Osmanlı kültüründe güzel kokular ve hastalıkların tedavisinde kullanımı üzerine.
Keywords: Ottoman perfume history
Anahtar Kelimeler: Osmanlı parfüm tarihi

Hürriyet, Sep 14, 2014

The connection between Iceland and Turkey regarding the existence of "Tyrkland / Turkland" in Ice... more The connection between Iceland and Turkey regarding the existence of "Tyrkland / Turkland" in Icelandic sagas.
İzlanda ve İskandinav destanlarında Türklerin izleri hakkında...

Hürriyet Newspaper, Oct 17, 2013

"The Real Secret of Piri Reis", A Brief Analysis of Piri Reis, 1513 World Map and the legends aro... more "The Real Secret of Piri Reis", A Brief Analysis of Piri Reis, 1513 World Map and the legends around it.

Hürriyet Newspaper, Nov 10, 2013

"Ataturk's History Exam": Ataturk's deep interest in history both as a personal interest and a t... more "Ataturk's History Exam": Ataturk's deep interest in history  both as a personal interest and a tool for "nation building".

Hürriyet Newspaper, Nov 3, 2013

"The Fırst Imam of Japan": A Brief Sketch of Abdurresid Ibrahim and his efforts on creating a pol... more "The Fırst Imam of Japan": A Brief Sketch of Abdurresid Ibrahim and his efforts on creating a political alliance between Japan and the Islamic world, especially with the Ottoman Empire and Muslims under Russian hegemony.

Hürriyet Newspaper, Oct 20, 2013

"Once Upon A Time An Internal Visa was Required To Visit Istanbul", obligations and conditions of... more "Once Upon A Time An Internal Visa was Required To Visit Istanbul", obligations and conditions of travels and journeys in pre-industrial times and late Ottoman Empire. The article also contains some information on the internal passports and "mürur tezkereleri".

Hürriyet Newspaper, Sep 22, 2013

"An Illustrated History of Women's Body". (1789-1919). A very short depiction of the use and abus... more "An Illustrated History of Women's Body". (1789-1919). A very short depiction of the use and abuse of women's body by ideologies and politics, rather than really focusing in their problems both in the West and Ottoman Societies.

Hürriyet Newspaper, Sep 1, 2013

"The Swimming Pool Problem of the Republic", The changing attitudes of the use of beaches and swi... more "The Swimming Pool Problem of the Republic", The changing attitudes of the use of beaches and swimming pools in the late Ottoman and early Republic period of Turkish social life. It also covers the "Karadeniz Pool" at Atatürk Orman Çifliği, in Ankara.

Hürriyet, Jul 21, 2013

"An Illustrated History of Turkish Police" A very brief sketch of the history of Turkish police o... more "An Illustrated History of Turkish Police" A very brief sketch of the history of Turkish police organization.

Hürriyet Newspaper, Jun 9, 2013

A Brief History of Taksim Square and Gezi Park.

Hürriyet Newspaper, May 26, 2013

"Don't Touch My Dear Infidels" A brief look at inter-faith relations during the Ottoman conquest ... more "Don't Touch My Dear Infidels" A brief look at inter-faith relations during the Ottoman conquest of Istanbul, elaborating the legend of Cibali (Cebe Ali), a Muslim dervish who fought on the Byzantine side against the Ottoman Conquest.

Book Reviews by Naci Cem Oncel

Book review of “The Emergence of Early Sufi Piety and Sunni Scholasticism: Abdallah b. al-Mubarak... more Book review of “The Emergence of Early Sufi Piety and Sunni Scholasticism: Abdallah b. al-Mubarak and the Formation of Sunni Identity in the Second Islamic Century”, by Feryal Salem, 2016.
The article is written for non-academic readers.

Book review of Abdurrahman Atçıl's "Scholars and Sultans in the Early Modern Ottoman Empire". The... more Book review of Abdurrahman Atçıl's "Scholars and Sultans in the Early Modern Ottoman Empire". The article is written for non-academic audience.