Quarantine Island undergoes restoration after 155 years

İZMİR

The Quarantine Island, established in İzmir’s Urla district in the Ottoman era to prevent infectious diseases, takes its visitors on a historical journey.

While the materials used centuries ago are still exhibited as they were new, The Quarantine Island was restored for the first time in its history after 155 years. Detailed work was carried out during the three-year restoration process, taking every precaution not to damage the original texture of the island.

The permission for the restoration was given for the first time in 155 years for the island, which was founded on an area of ​​323,000 square meters in 1869 to protect against infectious diseases. The island is protected as a first-degree archaeological site by the Ministry of Health, General Directorate of Health for Borders and Coasts of Türkiye.

While an on-site project was made by experts for the centuries-old island, the restoration process was carried out on the structures without damaging their originality. During the restoration of the structures, concrete or other materials that could damage the texture of that period were not used.

The restoration of the island, which was used for a while during the COVID-19 pandemic, had a cost of approximately 80 million Turkish Liras.

The process that started in 2022 was completed at the end of 2023, and the historical island was partially opened to group visits by appointment only. Individual citizens are not allowed to enter.

First complete restoration in its history

The Quarantine Island Manager Turgut Yılmaz said that there are 20 historical quarantine buildings on the island.

“They are historical buildings, and the ground of the island is a first-degree archaeological site. In other words, since the building is a cultural asset that needs to be protected and the ground is also a protected area, we were not able to carry out an ordinary restoration. The restoration was carried out under the supervision of the museum officer, the archaeologist of the excavation directorate, the reports of the monuments board and experts and university professors at every stage. Definitely, no cement was used in the work. The procedures were carried out according to the restoration practice rules of the Ottoman period. It was the first complete restoration in its history,” he said.

The Quarantine Island, which was used against infectious diseases of the period such as cholera and typhoid, takes visitors back to that period with an impressive atmosphere. The huge island, including quarantine wards, disinfection rooms and shower areas, takes visitors on a historical journey. The machines, shower areas, cabinets and many other materials in the Tebhirhane are preserved intact.

Providing information about how the island was used at that time, Yılmaz said, “The Quarantine Organization was established in April 1838 in the Ottoman Empire. This place became a quarantine place for the city of İzmir in 1869. Normally, there were around 140 quarantine facilities in the Ottoman Empire. But this is the first place in the Ottoman Empire where scientific quarantine took place. This is like a quarantine campus. This was the place where people were kept before coming into contact with people in İzmir. In the case of a disease, people were taken to that isolation place and were not allowed to come into contact with the society until recovering. Then they were allowed to enter the city after a 10-day quarantine process. Accommodation was provided for those people here for 10 days. There were dormitories, a restaurant, a telegraph office and a translation office. There were people from different nationalities here and their needs were met.”

Clothes were cleaned with high steam pressure and dry air

Stating that passengers came to the island by ships at that time, Yılmaz said that their belongings were first cleaned in the disinfection room and explained the process, saying, “After the entrance, there was an area where passengers’ belongings were put and it was called “tebhirhane,” a system that provided disinfection with high steam pressure and dry air.”

Yılmaz also added that there are projects to use Quarantine Island as a quarantine museum.