Taha Zahid ÖZDEMIR
Taha Zahid Özdemir was born in Istanbul, Fatih. He completed his undergraduate education at the Faculty of Architecture of the International University of Sarajevo. He completed his master’s degree at Yıldız Technical University, Faculty of Architecture, Department of Surveying and Restoration, where he is currently continuing his PhD studies.
Having undertaken various roles in the private sector, Taha Zahid Özdemir worked between 2013 and 2016 on the restoration project of the Ottoman Arcades at the Kaaba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Between 2016 and 2025, he worked at the Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA) in Istanbul, which is affiliated with the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and headquartered in Jeddah, an organization with 58 Islamic member states. At IRCICA, he held chief positions in the departments of Conservation of Islamic Architectural Heritage and Islamic Arts. During this period, he was involved in a wide range of duties both domestically and internationally, including exhibitions, summer schools, conferences, symposiums, diplomatic meetings, fairs, workshops, academic reporting, field reports, preparation of academic publications, and organizational activities. While in office, he carried out activities in Muslim countries and countries with Muslim minorities, particularly in the Turkic States, Balkan countries, the Middle East and North Africa, and Asia.
Continuing his work in the fields of conservation of Islamic and Turkic world architectural and cultural heritage and Islamic arts, Özdemir speaks English, Arabic, and Bosnian. He is married and the father of two children.