The handwritten narrations of the refugees, classified geographically, are directly related to the oral history material. The majority of the manuscripts were composed after 1922 by refugees in the reception areas, following the encouragement of the Centre for Asia Minor’s associates.

The Collection continues to expand: from the 1970s onwards, the refugees themselves and their descendants have voluntarily provided manuscripts to the foundation.

Currently, 504 manuscripts from all over Asia Minor are deposited at the Centre for Asia Minor Studies and are classified according to the geographical criteria followed by the Oral Tradition Archive. In total there are approximately 40 manuscripts dated prior to 1922, some of which were composed in the 19th century by Asia Minor scholars and local historians (see the list in Ioanna Petropoulou, ‘Χειρόγραφα πριν το 1922 στο Κέντρο Μικρασιατικών Σπουδών’ [Manuscripts before 1922 at the Centre for Asia Minor Studies], Δελτίο Κέντρου Μικρασιατικών Σπουδών, vol. B’ [1980]).