Pacradooni Kaloost Vartan was the son of a poor

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

tailor, he was born in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

in 1835 and founded

the Nazareth Hospital The EMMS Nazareth Hospital, also known as Scottish Hospital and English Hospital, is the general hospital of the city of Nazareth, Israel. It was founded as a Christian mission by Dr. Kaloost Vartan and the Edinburgh Medical Missionary Society in 1 ...

, the first hospital in Ottoman

Galilee Galilee (; he, הַגָּלִיל, hagGālīl; ar, الجليل, al-jalīl) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon. Galilee traditionally refers to the mountainous part, divided into Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and Lower Galil ...

Early life

Vartan attended

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

's first American missionary school. He joined the British army, serving in the Crimea as an interpreter, but after witnessing the dreadful inadequacies of battlefield medical facilities he resolved to become a surgeon.

Medical training and mission in Palestine

After his initial Crimean experiences he traveled to Edinburgh where he trained as a doctor under the auspices of the

Edinburgh Medical Missionary Society EMMS International is a non-denominational christian Non-governmental Organization (NGO) that provides medical aid to countries around the world and operates field offices in the UK, Malawi, India, Israel, and Nepal. Founded to provide clinic ...

(EMMS). He married Mary Anne Stewart, a Scottish nurse, and immediately after the wedding he and his bride left for Palestine. Vartan's work was sponsored by the EMMS to whom he reported every quarter. With fundraising led by William Thomson, he was able to start the Nazareth Hospital. These documents provide valuable evidence of his struggle to set up the hospital in the face of the unshakeable faith of local people in old wives' tales, leeches and bone-menders as well as their prejudices against Evangelical missionaries. When he arrived in

Nazareth Nazareth ( ; ar, النَّاصِرَة, ''an-Nāṣira''; he, נָצְרַת, ''Nāṣəraṯ''; arc, ܢܨܪܬ, ''Naṣrath'') is the largest city in the Northern District of Israel. Nazareth is known as "the Arab capital of Israel". In ...

in 1861, average life expectancy was 22 years for males and 24 years for females. The first floor of the house he rented housed the dispensary, with a separate room for four beds. That was in the area of the Old Suuq today. The extended house eventually became inadequate and, after many difficulties, the land on which the present hospital stands was purchased in 1906. Patients came from Nazareth and the surrounding countryside for medical care. In addition, hospital staff ran clinics in the villages neighboring Nazareth. When the Free Church of Scotland mission wanted advice about starting their own missionary work, they asked him. The Vartan family were members of

Christ Church, Nazareth Christ Church ( he, כנסיית המשיח; ar, كنيسة المسيح) is an Anglican church located in the town of Nazareth, Israel. Due to financial troubles the church couldn't be completed by 1871 and lacked its intended spire, until one w ...

John Zeller John Zeller (1830–1902), also known by his German name Johannes Zeller, was a 19th-century Protestant missionary in Ottoman Palestine. Zeller's four decades left a lasting impact in the areas of Protestant Christianity, scholarship, and educati ...

, the pastor of the church, assisted Vartan with his work in founding

. Vartan died in 1908. An

iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants * Iris (color), an ambiguous color term Iris or IRIS may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional ent ...

Iris vartanii ''Iris vartanii'' is a plant species in the genus ''Iris''. It is classified in the subgenus ''Hermodactyloides'' and section ''Reticulatae''. It is a bulbous perennial. It was once though to be part of the ''Iris'' subgenus ''Xiphium''. It is ...

') was named by Sir Michael Foster after Dr. Vartan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vardan, Kaloost 1835 births 1908 deaths Christian medical missionaries Palestinian people of Armenian descent Armenian Protestant missionaries Physicians from Istanbul Armenians from the Ottoman Empire Armenian expatriates in the United Kingdom People from Nazareth Protestant missionaries in Palestine (region) Protestant missionaries in the Ottoman Empire