The Health Institutions in Iskenderun in the Second Half of the 19th Century and the Beginning of the 20th Century
Servet ÖzkanSince the establishment of the Ottoman Empire, Darüşşifas, which are the most important structures in the field of health, have been replaced by the modern hospitals by the 19th century. During this period, health institutions called by different names were built. The quarantines established in port cities against epidemic diseases have also attracted attention. Commercial activities and population increased with the drying of the marshes in Iskenderun, as one of the these cities, which began to develop in the 19th century. The buildings providing health services in the city are two quarantine buildings, a military hospital, a Gureba hospital and a French hospital. All of the structures are located close to the sea and at the point where they can be intervened during quarantine periods. Of these institutions, only the French-era hospital has survived to the present day. The existing sketches of the hospital, which were examined on-site and documented with photographs, have been redrawn digitally. In addition, the French inscription belonging to the identified structure was documented with photographs and translated. The Ottoman archives and Yıldız archives were searched for documents and images related to other structures, and the necessary documents were purchased. From the architectural point of view, it has been seen that the quarantines are wooden, small-scale and capable of responding to instant intervention. Data on the architecture of the military hospital, which is larger than the quarantines, has not been found. Gureba and French hospitals provided adequate health services for Iskenderun and reflected the artistic taste of the period with their Neoclassical styles. This study aims to examine the health institutions in Iskenderun in detail with archival data, historical images and on-site determinations, compare them with similar examples and introduce them to the scientific community.
19. Yüzyılın İkinci Yarısı ve 20. Yüzyıl Başlarında İskenderun’da Sağlık Kurumları
Servet ÖzkanOsmanlı’nın kuruluşundan itibaren sağlık alanındaki en önemli yapılar olan Darüşşifaların yerini 19. yüzyılda modern hastaneler almıştır. Bu dönemde farklı adlarla anılan sağlık kuruluşları inşa edilmiştir. Salgın hastalıklara karşı liman kentlerinde kurulan karantinahaneler de dikkat çekmiştir. Bu kentlerden biri olan ve 19. yüzyılda gelişmeye başlayan İskenderun’da bataklıkların kurutulmaya başlanması ile ticari faaliyetler ve nüfus artmıştır. Kentte sağlık hizmeti sunan yapılar iki karantina binası, askerî hastane, Gureba hastanesi ve Fransız hastanesidir. Yapıların hepsi deniz kenarına yakın ve karantina dönemlerinde müdahale edilebilecek noktada konumlanmıştır.
Bu kurumlardan günümüze sadece Fransız dönemi hastanesi ulaşmıştır. Yerinde incelenen ve fotoğraflarla belgelenen hastaneye ait mevcut krokiler dijital ortamda yeniden çizilmiştir. Ayrıca tespit edilen yapıya ait Fransızca kitabe de fotoğraflarla belgelenmiş ve çevirisi yapılmıştır. Diğer yapılarla ilgili belge ve görseller için Osmanlı arşivleri ve Yıldız arşivleri araştırılmış, gerekli dokümanlar satın alınmıştır. Mimari açıdan karantinahanelerin ahşap, küçük ölçekli ve anlık müdahaleye cevap verecek nitelikte olduğu görülmüştür. Karantinahanelere göre daha büyük olan askerî hastanenin mimarisi hakkında veri bulunamamıştır. Gureba ve Fransız hastaneleri ise İskenderun için yeterli sağlık hizmetini sunmuş ve Neoklasik tarzları ile dönemin sanat zevkini yansıtmıştır. Bu çalışmada arşiv verileri, tarihî görseller ve yerinde tespitler ile İskenderun’daki sağlık kurumlarının ayrıntılı olarak incelenmesi, benzer örneklerle mukayese edilmesi ve bilim camiasına tanıtılması hedeflenmiştir.
From the establishment of the Ottoman Empire, the most significant healthcare institutions, known as “Darüşşifas”, began to give way to modern hospital structures from the 19th century onwards. During this period, numerous hospitals were constructed for various purposes under different names. Quarantine stations, established in port cities as a precaution against epidemic diseases, were also crucial in this field. The city of İskenderun, which began to develop in the 19th century, was one of the important port cities where a quarantine station was established. From the late 19th century to the early 20th century, İskenderun had two quarantine buildings, a military hospital, a Gureba hospital, and a French hospital providing healthcare services.
It is understood that the first step in the field of healthcare in İskenderun was the construction of a quarantine station to apply quarantine measures to incoming traders. In 1848, there was knowledge of the existence of a quarantine organization in the city. By 1853, a quarantine station and quarantine pier were built in İskenderun. There is no detailed information available regarding the architecture of the quarantine building. However, based on a photograph found in the Yıldız Archive’s II. Abdülhamid Khan Photo Album, it is assumed that the flag-bearing building in the center was the quarantine building. The two-story structure with wooden windows had a wooden veranda on the second floor. It is understood that the building had a traditional residential architectural style with its pitched roof and alaturka tile covering. Due to its small size, the quarantine station proved insufficient for interventions, leading to the decision to construct a new quarantine station in 1868. According to a drawing found in Ottoman archives, the building consisted of a rectangular hall in the center with rectangular rooms on either side. There were doors at both ends of the hall. The facade drawing indicates vertical rectangular windows, and the roof was covered with alaturka tiles.
The second quarantine station served İskenderun adequately until 1896. As the needs at the port increased over time, efforts to expand and renovate the building began. It was decided to construct a new building with three rooms on the existing quarantine site, and Sultan Abdülhamid’s approval was obtained in 1896. Information that the two-story vacant building left by the quarantine was converted into a hospital after the quarantine left suggests the possibility of a new building being constructed in place of the old quarantine building. The upper floor of the newly built hospital building was used as an examination room, while the lower floor served as a pharmacy. This building primarily served as a military hospital for the treatment of soldiers. There is no available data regarding the architecture of this building. However, the military hospital became inadequate due to the population growth in İskenderun and the city’s expansion. Therefore, a new and larger hospital with a pharmacy and thirty-six beds was planned to be constructed. Construction began in 1903, and it was named the Hamidiye Gureba Hospital in honor of Sultan Abdulhamid II. From an old photograph of the building, it is evident that the structure was single-story built on top of a ground floor, with access to the upper floor via a double-sided staircase. There is no available data on the floor plans of the building, but it is understood that the central staircase on the front facade led to a central hall or lobby, with rooms on either side. The upper floor of the hospital was used as dormitories, a kitchen, and a servant’s room, while the ground floor served as a pharmacy. The ground floor had rectangular windows, while the upper floor featured round-arched windows.
One of the significant developments in the field of healthcare in İskenderun was the construction of a modern hospital building during the French colonial period. There is some variation in the dating of the building, with some sources suggesting 1928, while others indicate a range of 1930-1932. However, in research conducted in 2018, an original inscription was discovered in the first-floor meeting room of the Catholic French School, which was built by the mission group St. Joseph de l’Apparition in İskenderun. This French inscription indicates that the hospital was constructed between 1927 and 1929. The building was constructed as a single-story structure above a ground floor and had a symmetrical plan consisting of three blocks extending in a northwest-southeast direction. There was a central block in the middle and two rectangular side blocks extending northeast-southwest on both sides. Connection corridors were built to connect the blocks, and the central block was kept short, creating an “H”-shaped plan. The building consisted of a central corridor with various-sized rooms on both sides of each floor. The main facade (northeast) featured a pointed-arched entrance section, Palladian arched windows, and triple windows that added visual interest. On the other facades, round windows were used on the ground floor, and rectangular windows were used on the upper floors.
The original inscription for the French hospital has not been found in the building. It is presumed that the inscription niche was located above the door leading to the balcony on the second floor of the central block. However, old photographs of the building show that the original door featured a Palladian arched triple arrangement. Therefore, it is suggested that the inscription may not have been placed due to the mismatch between the inscription’s form and the architectural design of the building.
Of these institutions, only the hospital built during the French colonial period has survived to the present day. From an architectural perspective, the quarantine stations were small-scale, wooden structures designed to respond to immediate needs. These characteristics reflect the general character of the first Ottoman quarantine stations. No architectural data were found regarding the military hospital, which was reported to be larger than the quarantine stations. The Gureba Hospital represents a significant development in İskenderun’s healthcare system, serving as the city’s first modern hospital during the Ottoman Tanzimat era. The French hospital in İskenderun was the most comprehensive healthcare institution in the city, both in terms of architectural size and spatial functionality.
