The fourth Travellers in Ottoman Lands (TIOL) seminar will be held in Thessaloniki, Greece, from 21 to 24 April 2027. Titled “Travellers in Ottoman Lands 4 – TIOL4,” the academic gathering will examine travel to Thessaloniki and other parts of the Ottoman world through a wide range of themes, including architecture, cultural heritage, identity, music, cuisine, archaeology, women travellers and relations among different religious communities. The deadline for paper proposals is 15 November 2026.

Organised by Travellers in Ottoman Lands (TIOL) and the Levantine Heritage Foundation (LHF) in cooperation with the University of Macedonia, TIOL4 will explore travel and mobility in the Ottoman world from an interdisciplinary perspective.

The event is also supported by institutions including the British School at Athens and Cornucopia.

Travel to Thessaloniki and the wider Ottoman world

The seminar invites paper proposals focusing on journeys to Thessaloniki — historically known as Salonica — as well as travel to other regions of the Ottoman Empire.

Suggested topics include architecture and landscape, artist-travellers and early photographers, diaspora and heritage, ethnic and religious identities, cuisine and music, botanists, relations among different faith communities, monuments and cemeteries, places of worship, political travellers, ports and coastlines, consulates and interpreters as support networks, travellers to classical and archaeological sites, and women travellers.

Three days of academic sessions and one day of excursions

TIOL4 will feature three days of academic presentations in Thessaloniki, followed by a final day devoted to excursions and field activities.

The event continues a seminar series previously held in Edinburgh, Sarajevo and Istanbul.

The first seminar was organised in Edinburgh in 2017 under the title “The Botanical Legacy,” the second in Sarajevo in 2022 as “The Balkans, Anatolia and Beyond,” and the third in Istanbul in 2025 under the theme “Places Forgotten, Places Remembered.”

Peer-reviewed proceedings from the first two seminars have been published, while the proceedings of the third seminar in Istanbul are being prepared for publication.

Paper proposals due by 15 November

Researchers may submit proposals for individual 20-minute presentations or panels consisting of three to four speakers.

Applications should include a biography of up to 200 words, a presentation title and a 200-word abstract.

The deadline for submissions is 15 November 2026. All proposals will undergo peer review, with results expected to be announced in mid-January 2027.

Registration is scheduled to open on 31 January 2027, when the draft programme, participation fees and details of six student bursaries supported by the EES/ASTENE Fund are also expected to be announced.

Amy Singer and Philip Mansel among keynote speakers

Keynote speakers include Ottoman historian Amy Singer of Brandeis University and historian Philip Mansel of the Institute of Historical Research.

Singer will deliver a presentation titled “The Routes to Edirne: Reconstructing the Ottoman Capital through Travellers’ Eyes and through Eyes on Travellers.”

Mansel will speak on “Three Sultans in Salonica: Abdulmecid (1859); Abdulhamid (1909–12); Mehmed Reshad (1911), and the Politics of Travel in late Ottoman Rumeli.”

Ottoman heritage and mobility through an interdisciplinary lens

TIOL4 aims to examine not only travel narratives but also the movement of people, ideas, cultural forms and institutions across the Ottoman world.

The seminar will therefore bring together researchers working in fields such as history, tourism history, cultural heritage, art history, archaeology, architecture, religious studies, gastronomy and social history.

Event: Travellers in Ottoman Lands 4 (TIOL4)
Dates: 21–24 April 2027
Venue: Thessaloniki, Greece
Abstract submission deadline: 15 November 2026
Acceptance notifications: Mid-January 2027
Registration opens: 31 January 2027
Programme: Three days of academic sessions and one day of excursions
Organisers: Travellers in Ottoman Lands, Levantine Heritage Foundation and University of Macedonia