Çavuşbaşı Ottoman Primary School

Audio Narration:

Construction Year:

1704–1705

Location:

Üsküdar, İstanbul

Ordered By:

Şehit (Martyr) Ahmed Pasha

Architect:

Unknown

Changes After Construction:
  • The school, which was in a dilapidated condition, was repaired in 1881 by a benefactor named Ali.
  • The 1894 earthquake caused severe damage to the structure; the structure fell into a dilapidated condition during this process.
  • The staircase leading to the upper floor collapsed; some units, such as the toilets, have not survived to the present day.
  • The Directorate of Foundations included the structure in a restoration program in order to use it as a children’s library; the ruined facades were completed and the structure was covered with a roof sloping in four directions; the work later stopped.
  • The structure was partially restored in 1991.
  • In municipal records, the 2016 restoration project is listed among the “completed projects.”
Prominent Features:
  • It is also known as Şehit Ahmet Pasha Primary School.
  • It is in a fevkani arrangement; beneath it are a fountain, a water reservoir, and toilets, and the classroom was placed above these units.
  • Its plan is rectangular; on the front facade facing the street, alternating masonry of three courses of brick and one course of cut stone was used.
  • The upper school/classroom unit has a square plan; traces of corner squinches show that the upper covering had a domed construction.
  • The fountain beneath it is of cut stone in the classical style; its marble inscription in thuluth script gives the date A.H. 1116 and records the patron’s title of “çavuşbaşı” and his martyrdom in the Battle of Varadin.