Adana Dârüleytâm-ı Osmani () was an

orphanage An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or abusi ...

that was built in

Adana Adana is a large city in southern Turkey. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the northeastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the administrative seat of the Adana Province, Adana province, and has a population of 1 81 ...

for the

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 around the ...

orphans of the

Adana massacre The Adana massacres (, ) occurred in the Adana Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire in April 1909. Many Armenians were slain by Ottoman Muslims in the city of Adana as the Ottoman countercoup of 1909 triggered a series of pogroms throughout the prov ...

. The building is now part of the Adana Fen Lisesi.

History

An estimated 3500 Armenian orphans were left homeless at the aftermath of the Adana Massacre that occurred in April 1909. The Adana Governor Cemal Bey who was appointed on August 8 to investigate the massacre, decided to build an orphanage for the Armenian children. Together with the Armenian Charity Foundation,

Vilayet A vilayet (, "province"), also known by #Names, various other names, was a first-order administrative division of the later Ottoman Empire. It was introduced in the Vilayet Law of 21 January 1867, part of the Tanzimat reform movement initiated b ...

began construction in late 1909. Daruleytam Adana

The orphanage was opened in 1911 with the accommodation of around 500 Armenian orphans. Despite the prior Armenian orphanages and the Protestant missionary orphanages, the teaching language of the orphanage was solely Turkish. Orphanage administration was sampled from the missionary orphanages. An Armenian, Vahakn Datevyan, was appointed as the principal, though the citizenship and secularism provisions of the 1908 Constitution were put in effect which prevented

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

teachings and the

Armenian language Armenian (endonym: , , ) is an Indo-European languages, Indo-European language and the sole member of the independent branch of the Armenian language family. It is the native language of the Armenians, Armenian people and the official language of ...

. In regards, Armenian Patriarchate filed complaint to the Ministry of Internal Affairs in 1912. The complaint was dismissed, since the aim was the

Turkification Turkification, Turkization, or Turkicization () describes a shift whereby populations or places receive or adopt Turkic attributes such as culture, language, history, or ethnicity. However, often this term is more narrowly applied to mean specif ...

of orphans and raising them for the military. During the

World War I 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 ...

, the orphanage was renamed the '' Enver Paşa Dar el Yetem''. The Principal Datevyan was executed in 1916, in front of the

Catholicosate A catholicosate () or catholicate is a particular ecclesiastical primacy, headed by a primate titled as a catholicos. Such regional primacies exist within various branches of Eastern Christianity, especially those of Oriental Orthodox tradition. ...

Sis Sis or SIS may refer to: People *Michael Sis (born 1960), American Catholic bishop Places * Sis (ancient city), historical town in modern-day Turkey, served as the capital of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia. * Kozan, Adana, the current name ...

. After 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 Vorpağnam organisation administered the orphanage, appointing Haçadur Kruzyan as the Principal. In 1920, there were almost 1200 orphans, with the newcomers from

Sivas Sivas is a city in central Turkey. It is the seat of Sivas Province and Sivas District.İl Beledi ...

and

Kayseri Kayseri () is a large List of cities in Turkey, city in Central Anatolia, Turkey, and the capital of Kayseri Province, Kayseri province. Historically known as Caesarea (Mazaca), Caesarea, it has been the historical capital of Cappadocia since anc ...

Vilayets.Un siècle d'histoir de l'UGAB, Imp. CHIRAT, 2006

Building today

Dârüleytâm was closed with the foundation of the Republic of Turkey. Since then the building served as public school. The first school that settled was the ''Teacher's School for Boys''. Then after, the building was used by the ''Teacher's School for Girls'',

Çukurova University Çukurova University () is a public research university located in Adana, Turkey. The university features sixteen faculties, three colleges, seven vocational colleges, three institutes, and twenty-six research and application centers. Its campus i ...

Faculty of Education and the ''Adana Anatolian High School''. Finally, Adana Fen Lisesi (English: Adana High School for Science) moved into the building in 1987.

Notable alumni

Ruhi Su Mehmet Ruhi Su (1912 – 20 September 1985) was a Turkish opera singer, Turkish folk music, Turkish folk singer and baglama, saz virtuoso of probable Armenians, Armenian

(1912-1985), Opera singer

Gallery

Image:AFL Building.jpg, Dârüleytâm building now a part of Adana Fen Lisesi Image:Darüleytam4.JPG, Rear view Image:Darüleytam5.JPG, View from the Backyard Image:Darüleytam6.JPG, Roof windows Image:Darüleytam3.JPG, Courtyard

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adana Daruleytam History of Adana Buildings and structures in Adana Orphanages in Turkey Armenians from the Ottoman Empire