Çankırı’da Günümüze Ulaşamayan Bir Eğitim Yapısı: Ertuğrul Mektebi

Abstract

One of the areas in which Ottoman reform movements were intensively seen in the 19th century was the educational system. With the establishment of the Ministry of Education (Maarif-i Umumiye Nezareti) and the organization of education in the provinces, it was aimed to spread the education to grassroots. Particularly, in the period of Sultan Abdülhamid II, many educational structures were built with state-citizen cooperation. One of these structures was the Ertuğrul Mektebi, built in the Çankırı Sanjak of Kastamonu Province. In this study, the construction process and architectural features of Ertuğrul Mektebi, which has not been the subject of any study before, have been discussed and the place and importance of the structure among the late Ottoman architectural works have been revealed. In this study, based on literature research and field work, the building process, plan and space design, façade features and materials were determined by means of old photographs and Ottoman archive documents such as correspondence, maps, and floor and façade drawings. Furthermore, two inscriptions registered in the inventory of Çankırı Museum are proven to have belonged to Ertuğrul Mektebi and contrary to some sources, it was confirmed that the school was built by Hasan Feham Pasha in 1892 (1309 H.), not by Abdulvahab Pasha.