Changes After Construction
The building was constructed in 1485 as a primary school (sıbyan mektebi) by Davut Pasha, the grand vizier of Sultan Bayezid II.
Situated within a complex that included a mosque, madrasa, and bathhouse, the building was destroyed in the 1894 earthquake, except for the wall facing the street.
In 1897, by order of Sultan Abdulhamid II, the Minister of Education Ahmet Zühtü Pasha had it rebuilt as a three-story masonry structure.
During the Balkan War, due to its proximity to Cerrahpaşa Hospital, the building was used as a hospital.
In 1913, the building resumed educational use and today operates under the name Davutpaşa Anatolian High School.
In 2004, the inscription above the door of the old building was restored by Fatih Municipality.
Between 2019 and 2021, a large-scale restoration was carried out by the Istanbul Governorship.
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Following Galatasaray High School, it is the first Turkish school established in Istanbul.
Known as the first Turkish primary school (sıbyan mektebi) in Istanbul, the institution is also referred to as Davutpaşa Stone School and Nazperver Women’s School.
With changes in the Ottoman education system, the school served as the first Rüştiye School, where the Minister of National Education at the time, Ahmet Kemal Pasha, taught.
In the early Republican period, it operated as a boys’ secondary school, became coeducational in 1955, and has functioned as a high school from 1969 to the present.
Among its more than 100,000 alumni are composer Mehmed Celaleddin Dede, violinist Abdülkadir Bey, famous divan poet Nevi, storyteller Mehmet Muhittin Sevilen, Ali Suavi, Ahmet Kaya, and Fatma Girik.
Renowned for its sports activities, the school represented Turkey at the Inter-High School World Championships held in Italy in 2008 and in China in 2010, earning medals.
