150 years of Istanbul's Robert College now available in gigantic catalogue

ISTANBUL

The photos in the exhibition titled ‘The Anatomy of a Tradition: 150 Years of Robert College 1863-2013’ can be seen in a 670-page catalogue.

The Istanbul Research Institute, in collaboration with Robert College, presented an exhibition titled “The Anatomy of a Tradition: 150 Years of Robert College 1863-2013” between May 15 and Aug. 31 at the Istanbul Research Institute gallery.

The exhibition was organized on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Robert College, one of Istanbul’s longest-established and meritocratic educational institutions.

According to a written statement made by the college, the catalogue of the exhibition is now available. The 670-page catalogue shows the capacity of young people and the power of education to bring people together.

The work in the catalogue has been gathered from the Robert College Archive, Robert College Archaeology Collection, Columbia University Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Saint Joseph School and private collections.

Available in Turkish and English

The catalogue, curated by Cem Akaş, includes articles by Ted Widmer, Funda Soysal, Zafer Toprak, Üstün Ergüder, Nükhet Sirman, Kanat Emiroğlu, Herkül Millas, Mahmut Önder Hortaçsu, Zeynep Çelik, Dağhan Irak, Özdemir Nutku, Semih Gümüş, Nuri M. Çolakoğlu, Ayşe Kulin, Erkut Yücaoğlu and Cem Kozlu.

The Turkish and English catalogue can be purchased in all bookstores and online sales websites, Pera Museum online art shop and Robert College Alumni Association online store.

From a small building in Bebek to a campus above Rumeli Fortress to its final destination in the hills of Arnavutköy, Robert College has come a much longer way than first meets the eye
Robert College was founded in Istanbul in 1863 as the brainchild of Cyrus Hamlin and Christopher R. Robert. It is the first American school to be established in Ottoman territory, and outside the U.S., that still survives. Surviving revolutions, wars, earthquakes, fires and epidemics, the college has never closed throughout its 150-year history.

The college has educated seven prime ministers, including four Bulgarians, countless statesmen, writers, artists, musicians, actors, athletes, businessmen, engineers, doctors, lawyers and educators.

It has been the standard against which other schools measure themselves, even when Robert College itself had the challenge of living up to its own standards, facing the lack of funding, inadequate buildings, etc. at times throughout its history. It is still one of the best high schools in the country.