Changes After Construction
The school is part of the Şehzade Complex, which Suleiman the Magnificent had built in memory of his son Şehzade Mehmet, who died at the age of 22.
It was damaged in the Istanbul fires of 1613 and 1633 and was renewed by Sultan Murad IV.
In the early years of the Republic, it was used for educational purposes under the name “İnönü Primary School.”
After 1950, it became the printing warehouse of Istanbul University.
The structure, whose restoration was completed in 1999, is today allocated to the Istanbul University Faculty of Political Sciences Alumni and Members Foundation.
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It is also known as “Şehzade Sıbyan Mektebi” (Ottoman Primary School) and “Şehzadebaşı Sıbyan Mektebi” (Ottoman Primary School).
The complex, one of the works from Mimar Sinan’s apprenticeship period, is the first sultan-founded complex.
Sıbyan schools, which were primary education institutions in the Ottoman Empire, were opened in Istanbul during the reign of Mehmed the Conqueror, and the admission of only orphaned and poor children was required.
The school is covered by a large central dome approximately 7.5 meters in diameter.
