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Dr. rana babac celebi

Dr. Rana Babaç Çelebi

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Medical historian, perfumery scholar, and living custodian of Anatolia’s ancient olfactory heritage.

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From the cuneiform tablets of Mesopotamia to the handwritten prescriptions of Ottoman physicians, Dr. Rana Babaç Çelebi has devoted her life to tracing the hidden paths of incense, perfume, and ancestral healing formulas.

 

As an academic at Istanbul Medipol University’s International School of Medicine, she unearths forgotten traditions and breathes new life into them alongside her students, reawakening the splendor of history’s medicinal and fragrant legacies.

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Third-generation granddaughter of the legendary Anatolian folk healer Çerçi Yusuf, she has never forgotten the scent of the healing plants from her childhood years.

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Today, on her land nestled around Mount Ida (Kaz Dağları), she cultivates rare medicinal and aromatic botanicals, reading the deep memory of the soil with her own hands.

 

Selected as the official spokesperson for the 2026 Marie Claire Türkiye Perfume Awards,

Dr. Rana Babaç Çelebi is now carrying Anatolia’s millennia-old fragrance heritage onto the

international stage. For her, perfume is never merely a fragrance; it is a cultural narrative, the olfactory signature of a civilization.

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Under the aegis of Atelier Aromaterapi, her pioneering initiatives “Perfume Routes” and “Lost Traditions” craft unparalleled sensory journeys drawn from the depths of history, designed for both discerning individuals and the world’s most prestigious luxury houses.

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She calls her projects “time machines”: alchemical bridges that transport not only lost scents but an entire civilization’s philosophy of well-being, aesthetics and sensory memory into

the present day.

 

A former competitive show jumper and lifelong passionate equestrian, she once soared over fences with the same precision and grace she now brings to her scholarly and sensory pursuits. Today Dr.

 

Rana Babaç Çelebi stands as an elegant bridge connecting the past to the present, and Anatolia to the world.

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TÜBİTAK: TBTK-0064-8643

ORCHID: 0000-0001-6798-9886

Books, Academic Articles & Other Publications

  • Cenker, A., Demirbolat, İ. & Babaç Çelebi, R. (2026) Feces, fragrance and medicine chemical evidence of ancient therapeutics in a Roman unguentarium. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. Volume 70, April 2026, 105589. ISSN 2352-409X

  • Babaç Çelebi, R. (2025) Alchemy of Scent: Essential oils at the cross-roads of medicine, perfumery and innovation​. ISEO2025 Book of Abstracts. 55th International Symposium on Essential Oils. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina - September 07-10, 2025

  • Babaç Çelebi, R. (2025). Treatment with Incense. Istanbul: Albaraka Publishing.

  • Babaç Çelebi, R. (2024). Prof. Dr. Ayten Altıntaş: Introducing the Isparta Rose to the World as a Medicine. In: Yakıncı, C., Durmaz, Y., Erkurt, M.A., Altuntaş, F. (Eds.), Pioneers in Medicine Through Memories – I (1st ed.). Ankara: Akademisyen Kitabevi. ISBN: 978-625-375-136-4.

  • Babaç Çelebi, R. (2024). From Antiquity to the Present: Incense. Istanbul: GeoTurka Publishing.

  • Babaç Çelebi, R. (2024). Bibliography of Medical Texts from Antiquity. In: Gültekin, E. (Ed.), Sources in Research on the History of Turkish-Islamic Medicine (1st ed.). Ankara: Türkiye Klinikleri.

  • Babaç Çelebi, R. (2023). The Art of Making Therapeutic Perfume in Antiquity: The Case of Susinum. Türkiye Klinikleri Journal of Medical Ethics, 31(3), 184–190. https://doi.org/10.5336/mdethic.2023-96647

  • Babaç Çelebi, R. (2022). Aromatherapy: From Soil to Breath (1st ed.). Istanbul: GeoTurka Publishing.

  • Babaç Çelebi, R. (2021). Aromatherapy in the World of Perfume. In: Altıntaş, A., Kartal, M. (Eds.), Aromatherapy (1st ed., pp. 129–134). Ankara: Türkiye Klinikleri.

  • Babaç Çelebi R. Equine Aromatherapy: Aromatheraphy Applications on Behavioural Issues. Aromatika: 2020. 7.4.1 p.32-39

Congress, Conference & Symposium Presentations

  • "Pages of a Lost Heritage: Healing, Olfactory Knowledge and Visual Splendour in Medieval Manuscripts" (December 2025) Türkiye Yazma Eserler Kurumu Başkanlığı 1st INTERNATIONAL MANUSCRIPT SYMPOSIUM. Rami Kütüphanesi, İstanbul https://www.yek.gov.tr/yazmaesersempozyumu/#sempozyum-bilgileri

  • “The Tradition of Incense Therapy in Anatolian Medicine: A Pharmacological Tracing through Medical Manuscripts” (October 3-5, 2025) 3.Geleneksel ve Tamamlayıcı Tıp Kongresi (3rd Traditional & Complementary Medicine Congress)– İstanbul (https://getatkongresi.com.tr/)

    "Ottoman Perfumery (Workshop)" (September, 2025) 55th International Symposium on Essential Oils - Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovinaa - https://www.iseoils.com/info-2025/

  • "Alchemy of Scent: Essential oils at the cross-roads of medicine, perfumery and innovation" (September, 2025) 55th International Symposium on Essential Oils - Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovinaa - https://www.iseoils.com/info-2025/

  • "Aroma-frequency" (July, 2025) Balıkesir Municipality 6th International Aromatherapy Festival, BAÇEM, Balıkesir

  • "The Medicinal Use of Perfume: A Panoramic View from Antiquity to Modern Pharmacology" (Februrary, 2025) 4. Fitovizyon Doğal ve Sağlıklı Yaşam Kongresi, Istanbul

  • "The Art and History of Perfumery in Ancient Anatolia" (October, 2024) Perfume Production in the Ancient World: Second Meeting (21–23 October 2024) Institute of Philosophy, Czech Academy of Sciences

  • "The Therapeutic Use of Incense Throughout History" (July, 2024) Balıkesir Municipality BAÇEM Aromatherapy Festival,BAÇEM, Balıkesir

  • “From Dioscorides to Çerçi Yusuf: Adana’s Traditional Medicine Heritage” (January 2024) AdanaKültür ve Dayanışma Derneği 5 Ocak Adana’nın Kurtuluşu Etkinliği, Yenikapı Etkinlik Medyanı, İstanbul Büyük Şehir Belediyesi

  • “The Lost & Forgotten Legacy of Fragrance: Anatolia" (August 2022) Cumhuriyet Senfoni Orkestrası ADA Sahnesi, T.C. Ministry of Culture

  • "From Banquets to Harem: The Daily Use of Beautiful Scents in Ottoman Palace Culture" (June,2022) National Association of Holistic Aromatherapy

  • "The Art of Perfume Making in Antiquity" (July, 2023) Balıkesir Municipality BAÇEM Aromatherapy Festival, BAÇEM, Balıkesir

  • "Natural Perfume" (July, 2022) Balıkesir Municipality BAÇEM Aromatherapy Festival, BAÇEM, Balıkesir

  • "The Role and Use of the fragrant Isparta Rose in Medical Prescriptions According to European Medical History Texts" (June, 2022) 1st International / 4th National Health Services Congress. Süleyman Demirel University, Faculty of Medicine, Isparta. https://www.inhsc.org/

  • “Çerçi Yusuf: The Medical Legacy of an Anatolian Folk Healer from the World War I Era to the 21st Century” (May, 2022) Integrative & Anatolian Medicine Kongresi. Merinos AKKM, Bursa https://integratifveanadolutibbikongresi.org/

  • “The Current State of Phytotherapy & Aromatherapy in Turkey’s Equine Industry” (May, 2022) Workshop on the Use of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in Animal Production & Health and Needs Analysis. Bezmialem University, İstanbul

  • “Creating Economic Value from Medicinal and Aromatic Plants” (November, 2021) Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University

  • "Gen Z Reconnecting with Nature Through Science" (August, 2021) 4004 TÜBİTAK Doğa Eğitimi & Bilim Okulları

  • "Turkey’s Agrotourism Potential with Comparative Case Studies” (December, 2020) Ulusal Kırsal Kalkınma Ağı Toplantısı (UKAFEST’ 2020) sözlü bildirisi. IPARD & T.C. Ministry of Agriculture & Forestry

  • “Incense from Past to Present: Its History, Culture & Production” (June, 2020) Merkez Efendi Traditional & Complementary Medicine Festival. ZeytinBurnu Belediyesi

  • “The Commercial Use of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants” (January,2020) Beykoz Agriculture Workshop. Beykoz Municipality, Beykoz

  • “Future of Naturals in the Cosmetics Industry” (October, 2019) I. International Aromatic Plants & Cosmetics Symposium (ARAPCOS) Iğdır University, Iğdır

  • “Perfume; Its History, Culture & Production” (June, 2019) Balıkesir Municipality BAÇEM Aromatherapy Festival, BAÇEM, Balıkesir

  • “Aromatherapy for Animals” (May, 2019) Koku & Tat Zirvesi (Smell & Taste Summit). Acıbadem Hospital, İstanbul

  • “Equine Aromatherapy: Applications of Aromatherapy on Horses with Behavioral Issues”(April, 2019) II. International Traditional & Complementary Medicine Congress poster presentation.(Award nominee) World Health Organization & TC Ministry of Health, İstanbul

  • “Quality & Standardization in Aromatherapy Practices” (October, 2018) Member of the Aromatherapy Committee, 2nd Workshop on Quality and Standardization in Traditional and Complementary Medicine. Düzce University, Düzce

  • “Quality & Standardization in Aromatherapy Practices” (May, 2018) Member of the Aromatherapy Committee, 2nd Workshop on Quality and Standardization in Traditional and Complementary Medicine. Düzce University, Düzce

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