# Ep. 14 | Ottoman Boston: Discovering Little Syria | Chloe Bordewich and Lydia Harrington ## expand\_more ![Lydia Harrington](/sites/g/files/omnuum9396/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/aisp/files/lydia-akpia-headshot-1-edited.jpg?itok=bUql373X) Lydia Harrington ![Chloe Bordewich](/sites/g/files/omnuum9396/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/aisp/files/img_7849-2-768x1024.jpeg?itok=XhvEfVky) Chloe BordewichIn this episode, we leave Harvard and Cambridge to explore the little-known history of immigration from the former Ottoman Empire to Boston in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. While completing their PhDs at Boston University and Harvard, **Dr. Lydia Harrington** and **Dr. Chloe Bordewich** began to research the history of the neighborhood in today's Chinatown and South End once known as Little Syria. Through the study of property maps, newspapers, oral history interviews, and immigration records, Chloe and Lydia have uncovered the story of this diasporic community from today’s Syria and Lebanon and added both to our understanding of Ottoman immigration to the United States and the history of Boston. The resulting public history project now includes walking tours of Little Syria, an article in both English and Arabic, an exhibit, and a digital humanities project. [**Dr. Lydia Harrington**](https://lydia-harrington.com/) is Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at MIT. She earned her PhD in the History of Art and Architecture at Boston University. [**Dr. Chloe Bordewich**](https://chloebordewich.com/) is Public History Postdoctoral Associate at the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research. She earned her PhD in history and Middle Eastern studies at Harvard University. Learn more: - [Boston Little Syria Project](https://bostonlittlesyria.org/) - ["Boston's Little Syria: The Rise and Fall of a Diasporic Neighborhood"](https://aljumhuriya.net/en/2022/11/19/bostons-little-syria/) by Chloe Bordewich and Lydia Harrington in *al-Jumhuriya* - [Anton Abdelahad](http://www.anton-abdelahad.com/) Embed [Harvard Islamic Studies](https://soundcloud.com/harvard-islamic "Harvard Islamic Studies") · [Ep. 14 | Ottoman Boston: Discovering Little Syria | Chloe Bordewich and Lydia Harrington](https://soundcloud.com/harvard-islamic/ep-14-ottoman-boston-discovering-little-syria-chloe-bordewich-and-lydia-harrington "Ep. 14 | Ottoman Boston: Discovering Little Syria | Chloe Bordewich and Lydia Harrington") ### Credits expand\_more **Episode 14** **Release date**: April 3, 2023 **Hosts**: Meryum Kazmi and Harry Bastermajian **Recording location**: Media Production Center, Harvard University **Sound engineer**: Jeffrey Valade **Audio editing**: Meryum Kazmi **Audio elements (used with permission)**: Chinatown field recording, ["Back to Sorrento" by Anton Abdelahad](http://www.anton-abdelahad.com/live), ["Wings - III Chorinho" by Aitua](https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Aitua), ["Wings - I Adante" by Aitua](https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Aitua), ["Camille Saint Saens - Carnaval des animaux - XII Fossiles" by Aitua](https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Aitua/Carnaval_des_Animaux/Aitua_-_08_Camille_Saint_Saens_-_Carnaval_des_animaux_-_XII_Fossiles/), ["Ifrah Ya Albi" by Anton Abdelahad](http://www.anton-abdelahad.com/live), ["Walk to the Ray" by Lobo Loco](https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Lobo_Loco/aa-sea/walk-to-the-ray-id-1331), ["Misirlou" by Anton Abdelahad](http://www.anton-abdelahad.com/live) **Photo**: Sahara Syrian Restaurant, photo by Meryum Kazmi **Transcription**: Otter (modified for readability) ### Transcript expand\_more [Ottoman Boston: Little Syria Transcript](/file_url/568) ### Photos expand\_more ![Arabic Music](/sites/g/files/omnuum9396/files/styles/hwp_1_1__960x960_scale/public/aisp/files/arabic_music.jpg?itok=NQSpk7uE) Newspaper advertisement for a Syrian grocery store, Arax Grocery Co., al-Samana al-Suriyya ![Building](/sites/g/files/omnuum9396/files/styles/hwp_1_1__960x960_scale/public/aisp/files/building.jpg?itok=AZqbaBY0) Quincy Grammar School in the 19th century, before a fire and other natural events necessitated architectural changes ![Chinese Benevolent Association](/sites/g/files/omnuum9396/files/styles/hwp_1_1__960x960_scale/public/aisp/files/chinese_benevolent_association.jpg?itok=W8FlDWxP) Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, formerly the Quincy Grammar School ![Quincy School](/sites/g/files/omnuum9396/files/styles/hwp_1_1__960x960_scale/public/aisp/files/quincy_school.jpg?itok=9qIiBHFE) Plaque commemorating the former location of the Quincy Grammar School, now the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association ![Dennison House](/sites/g/files/omnuum9396/files/styles/hwp_1_1__960x960_scale/public/aisp/files/dennison_house.jpg?itok=ibP2WkN4) Dennison House, a settlement house that supported the local immigrant community ![Empty Lot](/sites/g/files/omnuum9396/files/styles/hwp_1_1__960x960_scale/public/aisp/files/empty_lot.jpg?itok=GIiTFQqU) Empty lot at 6 Hudson Street, once the site of al-Lokanda al-Wataniyya ![Fatat Boston](/sites/g/files/omnuum9396/files/styles/hwp_1_1__960x960_scale/public/aisp/files/fatat_boston.jpg?itok=uHYL6OCK) Fatat Boston, an Arabic-language newspaper published in Boston during the World War I years ![Hudson and Kneeland Streets](/sites/g/files/omnuum9396/files/styles/hwp_1_1__960x960_scale/public/aisp/files/hudson_and_kneeland.jpg?itok=wqX8nK3c) Hudson and Kneeland Streets ![John Lufty Square](/sites/g/files/omnuum9396/files/styles/hwp_1_1__960x960_scale/public/aisp/files/john_lufty_square.jpg?itok=dfP-vleh) John S. Lufty Square, commemorating John Lufty (1897-1918) ![Thomas Karem Square](/sites/g/files/omnuum9396/files/styles/hwp_1_1__960x960_scale/public/aisp/files/thomas_karem_square.jpg?itok=r9pNYD7z) Thomas Karem Square, commemorating Thomas Karem (1898-1918) ![Tyler Street](/sites/g/files/omnuum9396/files/styles/hwp_1_1__960x960_scale/public/aisp/files/tyler_street.jpg?itok=Kuysb-xx) Tyler Street ![Deeb Corner](/sites/g/files/omnuum9396/files/styles/hwp_1_1__960x960_scale/public/aisp/files/deeb_corner.jpg?itok=H7GSdOsF) Deeb Corner, commemorating Ernest Deeb (1923-2020) ![Syrian Import Store](/sites/g/files/omnuum9396/files/styles/hwp_1_1__960x960_scale/public/aisp/files/syrian_import_store.jpg?itok=6JHz699i) The Syrian Grocery Store, one of the few landmarks of Little Syria that remains on Shawmut Avenue ![Syrian Sahara Restaurant](/sites/g/files/omnuum9396/files/styles/hwp_1_1__960x960_scale/public/aisp/files/syrian_sahara_restaurant.jpg?itok=pBwvE5s4) The Syrian Sahara Restaurant, although it has been closed for many years, still stands on Shawmut Avenue