The Centre’s research was initially focussed on the expatriated populations of Asia Minor. For many years (1930-1975) field research was conducted on the spot in refugee settlements both within and beyond the Attica basin. The oral testimonies of 5051 refugees from all regions of Asia Minor were recorded, 1475 residential units were examined, and over one hundred associates collaborated for this purpose. Those testimonies formed the Oral Tradition Archive, which consists of 300,000 handwritten pages and constitutes the core of the archival material of the Centre for Asia Minor Studies.

This rich informative material refers to the peaceful period – before the Catastrophe – and describes the entire life cycle of the Asia Minor populations in their native lands. It has been classified according to geographical region (Aeolis, Ionia, Caria, Lycia, Pamphylia, Cilicia, Pisidia, Phrygia, Galatia, Lycaonia, Cappadocia, Paphlagonia, Pontos, Bithynia, Lydia, Mysia, Eastern Thrace, the lands of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and the Caucasus).

This particular classification of the Archive allows for the examination of the Asia Minor settlements within the broader geographical and social entities into which they were integrated. Asia Minor has been divided into 20 provinces and approximately 120 prefectures. The categorisation of the settlements was based on empirical criteria from the 1930s. After examining the possibilities for geographic distribution of the material according to the Ottoman administrative authorities and the ecclesiastical provincial structure, the ancient Roman division of Asia Minor was ultimately selected, and the ancient Greek nomenclature was employed to the extent possible. The investigation of each settlement, approached primarily from a folkloristic perspective, is multifaceted and comprehensive, while the collected evidence covers a wide range of fields. Among the topics examined are the following: language, geography, economy, social and religious life, education and local history.

In the Oral Tradition Archive you may find material for the following settlements (in alphabetical order): List of Settlements.