Abstract:

The process following the proclamation of Tanzimat (1839) and Islahat Ferman (1856) in the Ottoman Empire brought together a period of concentration of missionary activities. The innovative education policy of this period has accelerated the opening of many schools by both Ottoman and non-Muslim communities. However, the states led by America, France, Britain, Italy and Germany have built various educational institutions as part of missionary activities in the Ottoman geography throughout the 19th century. Especially the schools that America opened in the Ottoman geography, appeared as a result of its detailed missionary work. The Board (The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions) missionaries have opened many educational institutions within these regions by dividing Anatolia into three main areas: the West Turkish Mission, the East Turkish Mission and the Central Turkish Mission. The Center of Turkey College (1874), which forms the core of the Central Turkey Mission, opened in Antep, is one of the most important educational institutions of the time with the campus arrangement that can be considered the pioneer of today's schools, the medical department opened in it and the hospital. Although there are many sources about the history of the college, there is no work done in the field of architecture and art history. In this article, the Central Turkish College, using the documents and data obtained from the Ottoman archives, has been studied in the framework of the plan, architecture and art history research methods.