Historic military hospital to regain its former glory in Türkiye’s west

EDIRNE

Edirne Central Military Hospital, which was used especially for the treatment of wounded soldiers during the Balkan Wars and currently has just one wall standing, will be restored by the Presidency of National Palaces.

Built in the western province of Edirne, the center of the second Ottoman Army during the reign of Abdülhamid II, the hospital served with 500 beds and modern operating rooms ahead of their time after the end of the 1877-1878 Russo-Turkish War to provide mass care for the wounded and sick.

Scaffolds were established around the historic building where restoration works are expected to start in the near future. Edirne Central Military Hospital is expected to be rebuilt in accordance with its original structure and opened to visitors.

Edirne Governor Yunus Sezer, who said that the historical building will be brought back to its feet, said, "I really want this place to be like the Çanakkale Martyrdom. We are preparing a project with a structure starting from the hospital and stretching to the Balkan Martyrdom in the Sarayiçi district. The maintenance of the martyrs' cemeteries is done by the Provincial Special Administration, we want to organize it within the framework of a project together with our municipality."

Sezer noted that, along with the Military Hospital in the city, the restoration of the six-century-old Gazimihal Hamam (bathhouse) will be realized in 2024. He also shared that more plans to restore and preserve buildings in the province have been initiated.

Regarding the restoration of the bathhouse built in the name of Gazimihal Pasha, one of the important pashas of the Ottoman Empire who lived in the city in the 1400s, Sezer said, "We have not held a tender for the Gazimihal Hamam yet. We will do it this month. If there is no bidder and we cannot do it with the build-operate-transfer model, we promise to do it ourselves."

"The tender for Evliya Kasım Pasha Mosque, Şeyh Şücaettin Mosque, Şükrü Pasha Monument is also underway. Our goal is to leave no work unfinished in Edirne. There are nearly 40 mansions in the historic Kaleiçi area which we have identified. Every week, we tender the mansion projects. Some of them are in the project phase, some of them will be tendered after the project is completed," He added.