Rafet Güngör

Rafet Güngör was born in Çanakkale in 1947. He finished at İmam Hatip High School. He learned bookbindery from İslam Seçen and Muammer Ülker. He also learned the art of marbling (Ebru), and studied calligraphy with Hamid Aytaç. In 1982, Güngör received his professional license from Nevzat Kaya. Since then, he has been working as a bookbinder more than 40 years, and has restored more than 10,000 works at the Süleymaniye Library. Between 1984 and 1989, he worked at the Syria Nizamiye Medrese and Library. He restored the works of Selahaddin Eyyubi’s “Kaside-i Bürde”, and the works of “İbn-i Asâkîr” and “Tarih-i Demeskos”. Güngör has participated in many handicrafts fairs in Turkey and abroad. Within the context of UNESCO art activities, he participated in art fairs in Van, Ankara, Amasya and Istanbul. Güngör has received many awards. Currently, he teaches bookbindery at his workshop in Istanbul.

Reference: istanbulunustalari.com, dunyabulteni.net, İstanbul’un Ustaları (Istanbul: İstanbul 2010 Avrupa Kültür Başkenti, 2010), p. 44.