Selimiye Barracks ( tr, Selimiye Kışlası), also known as Scutari Barracks, is a Turkish Army

barracks Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...

located in the Üsküdar district on the Asian side of Istanbul, Turkey. It was originally built in 1800 by Sultan

Selim III Selim III ( ota, سليم ثالث, Selim-i sâlis; tr, III. Selim; was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1789 to 1807. Regarded as an enlightened ruler, the Janissaries eventually deposed and imprisoned him, and placed his cousin Mustafa ...

for the soldiers of the newly established '' Nizam-ı Cedid'' (literally "New Order") within the framework of the Ottoman military reform efforts. Today, it serves as the headquarters of the First Army of Turkish Land Forces. The Barracks is situated in the Harem neighbourhood between Üsküdar and Kadıköy, close to the Sea of Marmara. The highway connecting the ferry terminal and the overland bus terminal to the motorway Istanbul-Ankara runs right past the barracks.

Construction

The original wooden barracks was designed by

Krikor Balyan The Balyan family ( hy, Պալեաններ; tr, Balyan ailesi or ''Palyan ailesi'') was a prominent Armenian family in the Ottoman Empire consisting of court architects in the service of Ottoman sultans and other members of the Ottoman dynast ...

but was burnt down in 1806 by rebel

Janissaries A Janissary ( ota, یڭیچری, yeŋiçeri, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman Sultan's household troops and the first modern standing army in Europe. The corps was most likely established under sultan Orhan ( ...

, who were resisting the sultan's reforms. Sultan Mahmud II commissioned the rebuilding of the barracks in stone in 1825 and the work was completed on 6 February 1828. During the reign of Sultan Abdülmecid I, the barracks were renovated twice, first in 1842–43 and again in 1849–50. During this process, a tower seven stories in height was added to each of the four corners, giving the barracks its current appearance. The barracks is a vast rectangular building measuring with a large parade ground in the centre. Three of the wings have three floors but the eastern wing only has two floors due to the sloping terrain.

Crimean War

:''See also

Renkioi Hospital Renkioi Hospital was a pioneering prefabricated building made of wood, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel as a British Army military hospital for use during the Crimean War. Background During 1854 Britain entered into the Crimean War, and the ...

'' During the Crimean War (1854–56), the barracks were allocated to the British Army, which was on its way from Britain to the Crimea. After the troops of its 33rd and 41st foot regiments left for the front, the barracks was converted into a temporary military hospital. On 4 November 1854, Florence Nightingale arrived in Scutari with 37 volunteer nurses. They cared for thousands of wounded and infected soldiers until she returned home in 1857 as a heroine. During the war around 6,000 soldiers died in the Selimiye Barracks, mostly as the result of a

cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...

epidemic. The dead were buried at a plot near the barracks, which later became the

Haydarpaşa Cemetery Haydarpaşa Cemetery, also known as Haidar Pasha Cemetery, Istanbul, ( tr, Haydarpaşa İngiliz Mezarlığı), located in the Haydarpaşa neighborhood of Üsküdar district in the Asian part of Istanbul, Turkey, is a burial ground established init ...

. Today, the northernmost tower of the barracks houses a small museum partly in memory of Nightingale. File:93rd officers in the Crimea - photo.jpg, An early photo, taken at Scutari, of officers and men of the 93rd Highland Regiment, shortly before their engagement in the Crimean War, 1854. File:'One of the wards in the hospital at Scutari'. Wellcome M0007724 - restoration, cropped.jpg, An 1856 lithograph of the Selimiye barracks as a hospital during the Crimean War.

References

{{Üsküdar Üsküdar Military installations established in 1800 Krikor Amira Balyan buildings Buildings and structures of the Ottoman Empire Crimean War Florence Nightingale Buildings and structures in Istanbul Barracks in Turkey Military history of the Ottoman Empire Military in Istanbul Military history of Istanbul