Changes After Construction
It was built by Recai Mehmed Efendi, the Reisülküttap (Minister of Foreign Affairs) during the reign of Sultan Mustafa III.
The structure, whose lower floor was built as a sebil (fountain) and upper floor as a sıbyan school, was used as a children’s library between 1923 and 1928.
Official records show that in later years it was used outside its original purpose as a lodging house, workshop, and warehouse.
In 2009, it was restored through the partnership of the Eminönü Municipality of the period and İlim Yayma Foundation, and it serves under the name “Recai Efendi Library.”
Featured Highlights
It is one of the finest examples of Ottoman Baroque and Rococo architecture. It has refined decorations and a curved, aesthetic façade.
Recai Mehmed Efendi donated this structure upon a vow he had made that, if he recovered from the illness he had contracted, he would have a sebil and a sıbyan school built.
The inscriptions on the entrance door and on the sebil belong to Yesari Mahmud Efendi, the famous calligrapher of the period.
