Changes After Construction
Although the educational tradition in Kumkapı goes back earlier, the building phase known by the name Bezciyan began with the rebuilding of the school destroyed in the fire of 1826 by Harutyun Amira Bezciyan.
The 1894 Istanbul earthquake damaged the building. After this, with the initiative of Patriarch Mağakya Ormanyan, a new construction process was started by Hovhannes Tavşancıyan and Atanakine Eknayan, and the walls were raised until 1914.
The First World War stopped the construction. During this period, education continued in other buildings within the patriarchate complex, and the school building could only be reopened to students in 1924.
With the opening of the secondary education section in 1944, the building ceased to be only a primary school building and turned into an expanded educational structure.
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The building is also known by the names “Bezciyan Armenian School” and “Bezciyan School.”
The school is located in the same historic setting as the patriarchal centre in Kumkapı and Surp Asdvadzadzin Patriarchal Church.
It is described as one of the distinguished examples of Armenian architecture.
Ara Güler is among the best-known graduates of Bezciyan School.
