GABAM, full name KOÇ UNIVERSITY-STAVROS NIARCHOS FOUNDATION CENTER FOR LATE ANTIQUE AND BYZANTINE STUDIES, research center based at
Koç University (KU). Founded in 2015 with the support of KU and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, which was established by ship-owner Stavros Niarchos. The center supports and partakes in academic research into the art, history and archeology of Late Antiquity and the Byzantine Era (approximately 300-1500 AD).
As the first academic research center in Turkey to focus on Byzantine art, history and archeology, GABAM supports research projects suited to its founding purpose, provides scholarships for doctoral and postdoctoral research, organizes conferences, symposiums and workshops, publishes scientific works and engages in initiatives to conserve and publicize the cultural assets of Byzantine civilization.
GABAM supports the International Sevgi Gönül Byzantine Studies Symposium, organized every three years by the
Vehbi Koç Foundation and ANAMED (KU Research Center for Anatolian Civilizations). One of the center’s first projects after it was established in 2015 was the Byzantine Monuments Photographs Archive. In 2016, a study was completed documenting Damatris Palace, the summer residence of Byzantine emperors, located on Istanbul’s Asian side, and the archive opened for use in 2017. It comprises 1,173 photographs and can be accessed via GABAM’s website and the Koç University Suna Kıraç Library department of digital collections.
The Rhodiapolis Episcopal Church Mosaic Restoration and Architectural Documentation Project, the Archaeological Settlements of Turkey (TAY) Project and the Küçükyalı ArkeoPark Project are among those supported by the center.