Istanbul High School (, ), also commonly known as Istanbul Boys' High School (, abbreviated İEL), is one of the oldest and internationally renowned

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

s of

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. The school is considered elite among Turkish public high schools. Germany recognizes the school as a ''Deutsche Auslandsschule'' (German International school). Istanbul High School is located in

Cağaloğlu Cağaloğlu is a quarter located in the Fatih district of Istanbul, Turkey. Much of the publishing industry in Istanbul is located in Cağaloğlu. It is also famous for its ancient hamam, or Turkish bath, known as the Cağaloğlu Hamam. Name The ...

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. The school has changed several buildings throughout its history. Since 1933 the school has used its current building. The building was designed by architects

Alexander Vallaury Alexandre Vallaury (1850–1921) was a French- Ottoman architect who established architectural education in the Ottoman Empire at the School of Fine Arts in Constantinople. Nicknamed "architect of the city" () by Osman Hamdi Bey, Vallaury, alon ...

and

Raimondo D'Aronco Raimondo Tommaso D’Aronco (1857–1932) was an Italian architect renowned for his building designs in the style of Art Nouveau. He was the chief palace architect to the Ottoman Sultan Abdülhamid II in Istanbul for 16 years. Early years D� ...

and inaugurated in 1882 as the ''Düyun-u Umumiye'' ( Council of Ottoman Revenues and Debts Administration) building, which overlooks the entrance to the

Bosphorus The Bosporus or Bosphorus Strait ( ; , colloquially ) is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul, Turkey. The Bosporus connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and forms one of the continental bo ...

and the

Golden Horn The Golden Horn ( or ) is a major urban waterway and the primary inlet of the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey. As a natural estuary that connects with the Bosphorus Strait at the point where the strait meets the Sea of Marmara, the waters of the ...

. A new building adjacent to the main historical building was inaugurated in 1984, providing new boarding and sports facilities. The primary languages of instruction are Turkish and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

. The secondary foreign language of instruction is English.

Overview

As a state school, admissions to Istanbul High School are through the Secondary Education Institutions Transition Exams (LGS), the central state school examination. Istanbul High School is one of the most difficult schools to enter of all the 400 ''Anadolu Lisesi''s (special state secondary schools) in the country. Admission to the Istanbul High School requires a tough competition, since only 180 students out of 1,400,000 applicants can make it through every year, and Istanbul High School is usually among the first choices of best ranked students along with

Galatasaray High School Galatasaray High School (, ), established in Istanbul in 1481, is the oldest and Selective school, highly selective high school in Turkey. It is also the second-oldest Turkish educational institution after Istanbul University, which was establi ...

.The school usually accepts students from the top 600 in Turkey. The school offers a tuition-free, high level education, providing voluntary boarding possibilities, and as such, draws a diverse group of students from all over Turkey, including students who cannot afford private education. The academic program enables students to pursue academic excellence and acquire fluency and literacy in German and Turkish. Istanbul High School is the first Turkish school * to offer private high school education (~ 1886) * to publish the first student newspaper (before 1887) * to use the title "Lise", equivalent of 'Lyceum' (1910) * to provide German education to students (1912) * to show a movie in the school (~1913) "Les Misérables", shown as "Jean’in Hikayesi" (Jean's Story) * to establish a student theater group (~1913) staging

Abdülhak Hâmid Tarhan Abdülhak Hâmid Tarhan (born Abdülhak Hâmid; January 2, 1852 – April 12, 1937)Some sources state Feb 2,1852 was an early 20th-century Ottoman Empire, Ottoman playwright and poet. He was one of the leading lights of the Turkish Romantic ...

's "Eşber" and “Pinti Hamid" (L'avare), a

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, ; ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the great writers in the French language and world liter ...

adaptation by Teodor Kasap * whose students wore hats in Istanbul, following the announcement of the Reform of headgear and dress (1925). The education period is five years (one year German preparatory, and four year high school). The German

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

has been offered at Istanbul High School since 2002. The Abitur diploma permits successful students the admission to any German university in almost any department. All science and mathematics courses in the last two years are at Abitur level. Istanbul High School has a very strong academic record, with a high proportion of its students proceeding to prominent universities in Turkey, Germany, Austria and the United States.

Curriculum

The school combines both German and Turkish curricula. Mathematics, geometry, chemistry, physics, biology, computer science and German classes are instructed in German, while history, geography, civic education, military sciences, religion, philosophy, literature, physical education, art and music are taught in Turkish. Textbooks, curricula and standards are under the permanent supervision of the German government. German and English are the compulsory foreign languages taught at Istanbul High School. Since 1999 Istanbul High School has been a 5-year school. All students are required to spend their first year learning to master the German language, taking twenty-three hours of instruction in their first year and eighteen hours in their second year. Science, mathematics and English courses also start in the preparatory class. Biology is the first science class followed by physics and chemistry in the ninth and tenth grades (second and third years, respectively). In the eleventh grade the students choose between two majors: Mathematics and Sciences (FEN), or Turkish and Mathematics (TM). Students who aim to pursue careers in engineering, sciences or medicine, major in FEN, concentrating on science and mathematics courses. TM major is dominated by courses in social sciences and mathematics and is for students who want to study humanities, business, economics or social sciences. IELcorridor

The academic standards are demanding, and the grading system is strict. As the school follows both German and Turkish curricula, two evaluation scales are used. The grade equivalents in the Turkish evaluation are: A GPA of 2.0 is a passing grade, 3.5 is honors, 4.5 is high honors. In the German Department student grades are evaluated on a 15 scale:

History

Mehmet Nadir Bey, a retired Captain of the Navy, a prominent mathematician and teacher, together with Selanikli Abdi Kamil Efendi, a school principal, founded in 1882 the first private school in Istanbul, the ''Şems’ül Maarif'' (The Sun of Education), but for unknown reasons the partnership did not last long. Mehmet Nadir Bey established his own private school ''Numune-i Terakki'' (The Example of Progress) in 1884, which would be the foundation of ''İstanbul Lisesi''. At the beginning, the school provided primary and middle school education for boys, but would soon add high school classes, and also start accepting girls. In an interview to a newspaper in 1891, Mehmet Nadir Bey would express his pride to have established the first private high school in Turkey. The school would not only attract many students in a short time (the number of students would reach 600 in 1891, of which 150 were boarding students), but also catch the attention of the Ministry of Education, and of the Sultan himself. After the detection of some teachers’ involvement in an unsuccessful coup to overthrow

Abdülhamid II Abdulhamid II or Abdul Hamid II (; ; 21 September 184210 February 1918) was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1876 to 1909, and the last sultan to exert effective control over the fracturing state. He oversaw a period of decline wit ...

, the school was purchased by the Ministry of Education in 1896, which changed its name to Terakki İdadisi (Progress High School). From 1896 to 1908, the school became a day school, changed several buildings, and according to the facilities occupied, varied in size and number of students. Following the move to a larger building and the legislation combining the 4-year primary school and 3-year middle school into a 5-year education, the school was able to provide boarding again in 1908, and the name of the school was changed to ''İstanbul Leyli İdadisi'' (Istanbul Boarding High School) in 1909. IELcrownroom

In 1910, the school started to use the word ''Lise'' (Lyceum), a first in a Turkish school. ''İstanbul Lisesi'' was a 5-year boarding school charging tuition, and was admitting students following an examination. The physical education teacher of the school, Abdurrahman Roberson, established

İstanbulspor İstanbulspor Kulübü is a Turkish association football, football and sports club founded by Istanbul High School students in 1926. In 2004–05, they were relegated from the Turkish Süper Lig (Super League) to the TFF First League. For many d ...

and a boy scout group in 1912. The scout group, later named Sakarya in honor of the Turkish victory in

Battle of Sakarya The Battle of the Sakarya (), also known as the Battle of the Sangarios (), was an important engagement in the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922). The battle went on for 21 days from August 23 to September 13, 1921, close to the banks of the Sakar ...

, is still active to this day. Also in 1912, during the

First Balkan War The First Balkan War lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and involved actions of the Balkan League (the Kingdoms of Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Greece, Greece and Kingdom of Montenegro, Montenegro) agai ...

, about 30 students volunteered for the defense of the capital against the advancing Bulgarian army. IELfacade

The school name was changed to ''İstanbul Sultanisi'' (Istanbul High School) in 1913. Following the closing of the foreign schools in Istanbul due to the beginning of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, ''İstanbul Sultanisi'' was moved to the buildings of the , and some parts of the buildings were changed to dormitories. The faculty was supported with the addition of prominent teachers, and the student populace exceeded 1600. Subsequent to the increased collaboration between the German and Ottoman Empires, 22 German teachers were sent by the German Ministry to the school, and the curriculum was changed to German. The curriculum was similar to

, only the foreign language was German instead of French. The students would take 14 hours of weekly lessons in German, and the same lectures again in Turkish, except history and literature, which were taught only in Turkish. The

Armistice of Mudros The Armistice of Mudros () ended hostilities in the Middle Eastern theatre between Ottoman Turkey and the Allies of World War I. It was signed on 30 October 1918 by the Ottoman Minister of Marine Affairs Rauf Bey and British Admiral Somerset ...

, the subsequent occupation of Istanbul, and the incompetence of the government in Istanbul had important effects on the school. As the school was given only 2 days to evacuate the building by the commander of the occupying forces, most of the valuable library and the educational material had to be left behind. The school was not able to find a suitable building for a long time, and some students continued their education in different buildings, sometimes in different schools. Nonetheless, the faculty was still very strong and many of the teachers, such as Hasan Ali Yücel, Mazhar Nedim, Memduh Şevket Esendal, would become the prominent figures and/or leaders that contributed to the shaping of the society, ideological basis, and the governance of the

Republic of Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. Some of the students and many alumni would join Atatürk in his struggle for independence at very early stages, and some would lose their lives during the battles. With the declaration of the Republic, the school moved to the Fuat Paşa Mansion in Beyazıt and its name was changed to ''İstanbul Erkek Lisesi'' (Istanbul Boys' High School) in 1923. On Atatürk’s instructions, the school moved to the building of the former ''Düyun-u Umumiye (Council of Ottoman Revenues and Debts Administration)'' in 1933. During the Second World War the German education was suspended in 1942. Curriculum in German was introduced again in 1958 with the Bilateral Collaboration Agreement on Culture and Education between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Republic of Turkey. Last students of the regular high school curriculum would graduate in 1962, and the school started to admit girls in 1962, although the boarding was only provided to boys. The school remained a 7-year secondary school (1 year of preparatory, 3 years of middle school, and 3 years of high school). The status of the high school was changed to Anadolu Lisesi, and the name was changed back to ''İstanbul Lisesi'' in 1982. In 1988 it gained a special status offering 2 year preparatory, 3 years of middle school, and 3 years of high school education. With the legislation on the extension of the compulsory primary school education from 5 years to 8 years in 2003, the education period was changed to 1 year German Preparatory and 4 year high school.

School principals

;Empire * Abdi Kamil Bey (1884–1885) & (1903–1904) * Mehmet Nadir Bey (1885–1896) *Numan Bey (1896–1897) *Memduh Bey (1897–1900) *Nadir Bey (1900–1903) *Ziya Bey (1904–1906) *Tevfik Danış Bey (1906–1908) *Ali Reşat Bey (1909–1911) *Hüseyin Avni Bey (1911–1912) *Yanyalı Ali Lütfü Bey (1912-1912) *Ebul Muhsin Bey (1912–1913) *Süreyya Bey (1913-1814) *Saffet Bey (1913-1913) *Hüseyin Hazım Bey (1914–1918) *Şakir (Seden) Bey (1918–1919) *Akil Bey (1919–1920) *Feridun Bey (1920–1921) *Fuat Bey (1921-1921) *Ali Haydar Bey (1921–1923) *Şemsettin Bey (1923–1924) ;Republic *Yanyalı Ali Lütfü Bey (1924–1925) *Hüseyin Besim Bey (1925–1926) * Celal Ferdi Gökçay (1926–1936) & (1939–1947) *Şerif İnan (1936–1939) *Salim Atalık (1947–1949) *Rıza Özkut (1950–1951) *Ahmet Özbey (1951–1960) *Selman Erdem (1960–1961) *Halit Özler (1961–1966) *Muammer Yüzbaşıoğlu (1966–1976) *Sami Ertek (1976–1979) * Mahir Yeğmen (1979–1996) *Kadriye Ardıç (1996–1999) *Fatma Tan (2000–2003) (by proxy) *Sadık Tanyeri Akkuş (2003–2004) *Adnan Ersan (2004–2010) *Dr. Sakin Öner (2010–2012) *Hikmet Konar (2015–2018) *Fatih Güldal (2018–2020)

School colors

In 1914 the buildings of Saint Benoit High School were assigned to the ''İstanbul Sultanisi''. With the beginning of the

, some parts of the buildings were converted into a hospital, and as an indication, the building was painted yellow as a sign of hope. When all the 50 volunteered senior students fell during the Battle of Gallipoli at Kabatepe, on May 19, 1915 at 3:30 am, the remaining students painted all the windows and the doors of the school in black ''in memoriam''.

School emblem

The first school emblem was designed in around 1915/1916. It incorporates the first letters of ''İstanbul Sultanisi'', elif and

sin In religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law or a law of the deities. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered ...

in Arabic, a rose, the star, and the crescent. It was modified by the Turkish sculptor Nejat Sirel (IS '07) in 1917. Sirel's design did not include the rose, whose symbolic meaning, if any, is still unclear. The final form of the school emblem was designed by Orhan Omay (graduated in 1937) and has been in use since 1970.

Istanbul High School sports

Istanbul High School extracurricular activities

Publications

* Bab-ı Ali – The School's Newspaper published monthly * Çığlık – The Literature Magazine published quarterly * Dirim – The Literature Magazine published seasonal * Numune-i Terakki – The School's Science Magazine published seasonal * Tarih Odası – The School's bilingual History Magazine published seasonal

Sports

* Basketball * Association football * Fitness * Handball * Volleyball * Table tennis * Skiing * Swimming * Cricket

Scouting

The Scouting Group of Sakarya is the oldest Scouting Group of Turkey, which was started in 1912 by the PE teacher Abdurrahman Robenson. At the same time the scouting group of Galatasaray was started by his brother Ahmet Robenson.

Music

* Choir * German Choir * Percussion band * Flute * Guitar * Ney * Piano * Strings * German Jazz & Soul Band

Clubs

* Art and Drawing * Chess * Comics * Computer-Aided Design and 3D Printing Society (IELCAD) * Dancing * Go * Debating * Society for Entrepreneurship * French Language * Film Making and Cinema * Folklore * Football * German Theatre * History * Library Science * Music and Rhythm * Model United Nations (IELMUNC) * Philosophy * Picture and Photography * Robotics Society (IELTECH) * Science and Technology * Scouting (Sakarya İzci Grubu) * Social Solidarity, Red Crescent and Green Crescent * Sport * Technology Student Association (TSA) * Theatre (İLTAT) * Society for Science Olympiads (Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Computer Science) * Travel and Sightseeing

Festivals and organizations

International Chess Festival (Chesstival)

The International Chess Festival is held every year since 2001. It starts when the guests arrive and ends after the winners get their prizes. Around 60 schools from both Turkey and other countries, take part each year. The 24th Chesstival was held in April 2025.

Culture Week

At the end of each academic year, the students and alumni engage in cultural activities, including concerts, discussions with alumni and leading people from art and science circles.

International Sportfest

International Golden Bull Short Film Competition

IELMUN (Istanbul Erkek Lisesi Model United Nations)

Istanbul Erkek Lisesi Model United Nations is a conference by IELMUN Club, in Istanbul, Turkey. Even being a High school MUN Conference, is the world's first and only Model United Nations Conference with three languages English, German and Turkish and also first MUN Conference in German, out of Germany. Because of being a German foreign high school and its other international relations with tens of universities and high schools, hundreds of university and high school students from countries all over the world participate in IELMUN and experience a high academic level and amazing social activities in the capital of culture and history, Istanbul. http://ielmun.org/

Notable alumni

Prime ministers

Mesut Yılmaz Ahmet Mesut Yılmaz () (6 November 1947 – 30 October 2020) was a Turkish politician. He was the leader of the Motherland Party (, ANAP) from 1991 to 2002, and served three times as Prime Minister of Turkey. His first two prime-ministerial term ...

Necmettin Erbakan Necmettin Erbakan (29 October 1926 – 27 February 2011) was a Turkish politician and political theorist who served as the 23rd prime minister of Turkey from 1996 to 1997. He was pressured by the military to step down as prime minister and was la ...

Ahmet Davutoğlu Ahmet Davutoğlu (; born 26 February 1959) is a Turkish academic, politician and former diplomat who served as the List of Prime Ministers of Turkey, 26th Prime Minister of Turkey and Leader of the Justice and Development Party (Turkey), Justice ...

(İEL '77)

Ministers

İhsan Sabri Çağlayangil İhsan Sabri Çağlayangil (1 January 1908, Istanbul – 30 December 1993, Ankara, Turkey) was a Turkish politician and diplomat who served as Acting President of Turkey in 1980, from the Justice Party (). He also served as Minister of Fo ...

(İEL '28) * Fuat Köprülü *

Adnan Adıvar Abdülhak Adnan Adıvar (1882 – 1 July 1955), also known as Adnan Bey, was a Turkish politician, writer, historian, and medical doctor. He undertook original research and wrote on the history of science. He was also an early supporter of the ...

* Zeyyat Baykara * İsmail Rüştü Aksal *

Mümtaz Tarhan Mümtaz Tarhan (1908 – 18 January 1970) was the governor of Istanbul The governor of Istanbul ( Turkish: ''İstanbul Valiliği'') is the civil service state official responsible for both national government and state affairs in the Provi ...

* Emin Kalafat * Hüseyin Celal Yardımcı * Hasan Tahsin Banguoğlu * Abdullah Aker * Ahmet Sebati Ataman * Cemil Sait Barlas * Yusuf Kenan Bulutoğlu * Esat Budakoğlu * Arif Demirer * Ali Enver Güreli * Zeyyat Mandalinci * Cevdet Menteş * Nedim Ökmen

Scientists

Ekrem Akurgal Ekrem Akurgal (March 30, 1911 – November 1, 2002) was a Turkish archaeologist. During a career that spanned more than fifty years, he conducted definitive research in several sites along the western coast of Anatolia such as Phokaia (Foça), ...

(İEL '31) *

Niyazi Berkes Niyazi Berkes (21 October 1908 – 18 December 1988) was a Turkish Cypriot sociologist. Early life and education Berkes was born in Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus, on 21 September 1908, shortly after the Young Turk Revolution in Turkey.

(İEL '28) * Nurettin Sözen (also former mayor of Istanbul) *

Cahit Arf Cahit Arf (; 24 October 1910 – 26 December 1997) was a Turkish people, Turkish mathematician. He is known for the Arf invariant of a quadratic form in characteristic (algebra), characteristic 2 (applied in knot theory and surgery theory) in ...

* Siyami Ersek

Musicians

*Hasan Ferit Alnar *Hüseyin Sadeddin Arel *Bertuğ Cemil *Mesut Cemil *Fecri Ebcioğlu *Akın Eldes * Erol Evgin (İEL '65) *Korhan Futacı (İL '96) *Ayşe Tütüncü (İEL '78) *Alaeddin Yavaşca (İEL '44)

Artists

* Sadri Alışık * Raik Alnıaçık * Hakan Altıner (İEL '70) * Ulaş Tuna Astepe (İL '07) *

Bahadır Baruter Bahadır Baruter (born 1963) is a Turkish caricaturist and one of the founders of the ''L-manyak'', ''Penguen'', ''Lombak'' cartoon magazines. He is the husband of writer Mine Söğüt. Biography After completing his education at Istanbul Hi ...

* Orhan Boran * Fikri Çöze * Avni Dilligil (İEL '29) * Savaş Dinçel * Salih Dizer * Muhterem Durukan * Orhan Erçin * Renan Fosforoğlu (İEL '44) * Şerif Gören * İlhan Hemşeri * Ruşen Kam * Çetin Köroğlu * Ercüment Behzat Lav * Hüseyin Mandal *

Münir Özkul Münir Özkul (15 August 1925 – 5 January 2018) was a Turkish cinema and theatre actor who was awarded the title of "State Artist of Turkey". In 1972, he won a International Antalya Film Festival, Golden Orange Award for Best Actor for his ...

* Nedret Selçuker (İEL '45) * Semih Sergen * Nejat Sirel (İS '17) *

Şener Şen Şener Şen (born 26 December 1941) is a Turkish film and theatre actor who has won the Golden Orange for Best Actor twice for his roles in '' Muhsin Bey'' (1985) and '' Gönül Yarası'' (2005), the Golden Orange for Best Supporting Actor for ' ...

* Orhan Şener * Secaattin Tanyerli * Mesut Cemil Tel

Writers

Sait Faik Abasıyanık Sait Faik Abasıyanık (18 November 1906 – 11 May 1954) was one of the greatest Turkish people, Turkish writers of short stories and poetry and considered an important literary figure of the 1940s. He created a brand new style in Turkish lit ...

* Salim Alparslan (İEL '69) * Can Ataklı * Hüseyin Nihal Atsız * Başar Başarır (İL '87) * Cevat Fehmi Başkut * Tanıl Bora (İEL '80) * Tarık Buğra *

Edip Cansever Edip Cansever (pronounced ; 1928 – 1986) was a Second New Movement Turkish poet. Talât Sait Halman referred to Cansever as in the light of surrealist Asaf Halet Celebi and Orhan Sarıkaya characterized him as a nonconformist. Biography Bo ...

* Rakım Çalapala * Engin Ertan * Erem Ertekin (İEL '63) * Necdet Evliyagil * Kemal Zeki Gençosman * Hakkı Süha Gezgin * Banu Güven (İL '87) * Erol Kaner (İEL '54) * Ertuğ Karakullukçu * Evrim Kaya (İL '03) * Ümit Kıvanç (İEL '74) * Enis Behiç Koryürek * Hüseyin Nail Kubalı (İEL '24) * Raif Ogan * Turgay Olcayto (İEL '60) * Kemal Özer * Çetin Özkırım * Orhan Özkırım * Yılmaz Öztürk (İEL '55) * Adnan Özyalçıner * Kerim Sadi (İS '19) * Ali Saydam (İEL '65) * Ayşe Cemal Sözeri (İEL '76) * Enver Behnan Şapolyo * Yeşim Tabak (İL '98) * Samih Nafiz Tansu (İEL '25) * Hüsnü Terek (İEL '72) * Nurettin Topçu * Naşit Hakkı Uluğ * Mahmut Yesari

Businessmen

* Sarp Aral (İEL '79) * Mehmet Ali Berkman * Fethi Evyap * Abdullah Kiğılı (İEL '58) * Ahmet Kocabıyık * Asım Kocabıyık * Mustafa Nezih Kubaç (İEL '79) * Demir Kunter (İEL '66) * Mehmet Serdar Sarıgül (İEL '79) *

Murat Ülker Murat Ülker (born 1959) is a Turkish billionaire businessman, and the chairman of Yıldız Holding, the largest food company in the CEEMEA region (Central & Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa). Yıldız owns businesses including Godiva Cho ...

Sabri Ülker Sabri Ülker (1920 – 12 June 2012) was a Turkish industrialist and businessman, and the founder of Ülker. Early life Sabri Ülker was born in 1920 in Crimea.Pelin TurgutÜlker: Ambitious confectioner snaps up Belgium's Godiva ''Financial Times ...

Sports people

Ercan Aktuna Ercan Aktuna (1 January 1940 – 20 September 2013) was a Turkish footballer who played as a defender for Fenerbahçe and İstanbulspor. Aktuna started his career in 1957 at İstanbulspor, then transferred to Fenerbahçe in 1965. He won fiv ...

* Cem Atabeyoğlu (İEL '45) * Orhan Ayhan * Levent Bıçakcı * Ahmet Çakar * Rüştü Dağlaroğlu * Melih Erçin *

Şükrü Gülesin Şükrü Mustafa Gülesin (14 September 1922 – 10 July 1977) was a Turkish football player and sports journalist. Almost two meters tall, he was a strong and quick striker, as well as a free kick and penalty specialist,

* Bülend Karpat (İEL '61) * Cem Papila * İsmail Uyanık

İEL Alumni Aşure Day

Istanbul High School Alumni gather every year in the school, on the first Sunday of Culture Week, to enjoy the traditional Aşure Day.